Stovetop Mac & Cheese

The past couple days were so fun. Mom and I covered a lot of ground on her trip, from the Crime and Punishment Museum (seriously creepy) to the Mall (lawn version, not retail) to Alexandria’s Old Town and a lot in between. I took her to Le Pain Quotidien, which I realize is a chain but is one of my favorite breakfast/lunch places. She loved it so much we went twice! We ordered the seasonal special tartine, which had tuna salad with pickled onions and melted white cheddar. We regretted splitting. We shared a mixed berry tart for dessert, and agreed that fruit tarts are one of – if not the best – desserts out there.

For her last night, I wanted to make dinner. I found a recipe for mac and cheese in my Food & Wine magazine that used marscarpone cheese (which I happened to have left over from another recipe). You just make a basic roux with flour, butter, paprika and milk.

Add the marscarpone, cheddar, fontina cheese and salt (and I added a few dashes of cayenne pepper for spice). Dump in the cooked whole wheat noodles, and keep over heat until bubbling.

It was creamy and comforting, just like mac and cheese is supposed to be. We had it with broccoli topped with gorgonzola and a simple salad.

Unfortunately, all Sunday I could tell I was coming down with something…and sure enough I was up almost all night feeling terrible and feverish. At least I’m on spring break and don’t have to go to work this week!

Crostata with Apples, Gorgonzola and Walnuts

Yay! My mom came from far and wide to visit me for the weekend. So, as I do with most things, I started planning way in advance for what we were going to do, where we were going to go and what we were going to eat. When I was at the gym last week I saw Giada (per usual) make her apple, gorgonzola and walnut crostata, and I penciled it into the planner for Thursday night’s dinner.

This would have been just fine if my mom’s plane had arrived on time, but that would’ve been too much to ask. Her plane was 4 hours delayed and the costata turned into breakfast on Friday.

The recipe was actually more brunch-like so no harm, no foul.

Giada gives instructions on how to make this crostata here. It may seem a little scary at first, but you can always cheat by buying a premade pie crust and rolling it out in place of homemade crust. (Though I don’t recommend this as the dough was one of my favorite parts).
Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  
• 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
  
• 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
  
• 3 tablespoons ice water

Filling:

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  
• 4 small Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick slices
  
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  
• 1/3 cup crumbled Gorgonzola
  
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  
  



For the crust: In a food processor combine the flour, salt, and sugar. Pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is finely chopped and the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add the mascarpone cheese and lemon juice and pulse a few times. Add the ice water and run the machine just until the mixture is moist and crumbly, but does not form a ball. Do not over mix. Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Press into a disc, cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

For the filling: Place an oven rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Melt the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the apple slices, sugar, and cinnamon. Cook, stirring frequently, until the apples are softened, but not mushy, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice, lemon zest, walnuts, and Gorgonzola.

Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the inside of a 12 by 17-inch baking sheet and place on a work surface. Place the chilled dough on the parchment paper. Roll the dough out into an 11-inch circle, about 1/4-inch thick. Lift the parchment paper and transfer to the baking sheet. Spoon the apple filling into the center of the dough. Spread the filling evenly, leaving a 2-inch border. Fold the dough border over the filling to form an 8-inch round. Pleat the edge of the pastry and pinch to seal any cracks in the dough.

Using a pastry brush, brush the crust with the beaten egg. Bake until the crust is golden, about 25 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

”This was the best thing I’ve had in like…six months” –Mom

Homemade Granola-Almost-Bars

I am the most suggestible person I know. Yesterday at the gym, Giada was making granola bars…so what did I do after the gym? I popped into WF and picked up dried fruit and almonds to make some granola bars! I don’t know if I should be calling them bars, as these didn’t quite hold their shape after I cut them – but they are quite delicious. (It’s been a decent substitute for not eating candy).

I used Giada’s recipe for homemade granola bars… but changed a few things:

2 tbsp butter
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup brown sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup chopped roasted almonds
1 cup dried fruit (I used chopped prunes and dried cherries)
handful white chocolate chunks
2 tbsp flour

Melt the butter in a large pot, mix in honey, sugar and salt. Add in the remaining ingredients and stir until combined. Press into an 8x8 baking dish lined with parchment and bake for 30 minutes at 300 degrees. Wait until completely cool to cut into.

Greek-Style Tortellini Soup

I’m not going to say Day 1 without candy was easy, because it wasn’t. But I’m taking it one day at a time, like any 12 step program. I need to send a shout out to my mother for the delicious and easy dinner I made tonight. Anyone can make this recipe (and should make this recipe). Not to mention it could feed a family of 5. Cha-ching: leftovers.

Ingredients:

4 cups less-sodium chicken broth

2 cups water

1/2 cup white wine

1/4 cup lemon juice (2 lemons)

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

dash –or 2- of crushed red pepper flakes

9 oz package 3-cheese tortellini

1 cup diced roast chicken (I bought a roasted chicken to save time)

1 14 oz can artichoke hearts, quartered

1 6 oz package fresh baby spinach

plain yogurt

Combine first six ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a boil and add tortellini. Cook until just tender, then add remaining ingredients (except yogurt). Serve with a scoop of plain yogurt on top.
A side of beer and bread compliment it nicely.

Spicy, lemony, YUM.

Tuna Salad with Crunch

Tuna is definitely one of my go-tos- if you haven’t picked up on that already. This recipe has morphed each time I make it, but the essential ingredients are:

2 cans white tuna
white beans
red wine vinegar
fresh lemon juice
dijon mustard
capers
onion
bell pepper
red pepper flakes
salt + pepper

To this I’ve added tomatoes, roasted red peppers, spinach, basil, shredded cabbage and/or pita chips. Tonight, I just went with a little shredded cabbage and pita chips. After determining an easy dinner, the more challenging decision came up: what to give up for Lent? Now, if you knew me 1-2 weeks ago, you may be surprised that I’m planning on even participating in Lent. Somewhere down the line of starting a new job at an Episcopalian school, working around children and attending chapel this morning, I’ve realized this might be something I should take more seriously. Religion is something I want in my life and I think the opportunity and drive have finally meshed. To answer my own question, I’m thinking I might give up candy (eek!). It’s a nice mixture of not impossible, but definitely wont be easy. We’ll see how it goes!

Chicken Tacos & Chocolate Chip Cookies

I don’t know why it’s taken me this long to embrace hard shell tacos. They’re so much better than soft!

Seeking out the flat bottomed taco shells would have been smart, because these guys didn’t like standing up.

Baking the tacos for a few minutes binds everything together very nicely.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 bell peppers, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb ground chicken
1 tbsp paprika
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 cup tomato sauce
2 tsp salt
hard taco shells

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onions, red peppers and green peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and just starting to brown, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook a few more minutes. Add ground chicken, paprika, chili powder, cumin, oregano, cayenne, and salt. Turn heat to high; use wooden spoon to stir and break chicken into small clumps until chicken is partially cooked, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce, then turn heat down to low. Simmer, stirring occasionally and breaking chicken into smaller clumps, for 10-15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Taste to adjust seasoning.
Meanwhile, set taco shells into a square or rectangular baking dish so that they stand upright. When chicken is done, spoon mixture into each shell, spreading evenly. Bake filled tacos in preheated oven for 7-10 minutes, or until hot. Serve immediately with guacamole, shredded cabbage, cilantro and/or sour cream.

After dinner, Evan said that someday soon he’d like me to make chocolate chip cookies…He was in luck. I happened to have all of the necessary ingredients, and felt like chocolate chip cookies (which isn’t luck, that’s just how I always feel). I just used the handy-dandy recipe on the back of the chocolate chips and swapped in some white chocolate chunks.

And a thank you to Kathy for giving me these cute dish towels

Carolina Blue Skies

The sky wasn’t exactly blue all weekend, but it might as well have been. Not only we were lucky enough to have Evan’s parents come into town and treat us to delicious meals, but the Tar Heels beat the Blue Devils, which is (if you didn’t know) one of the biggest rivalries out there. Evans roommates, parents and I went out to dinner at Clydes in Georgetown, before heading over to Public Bar to watch the game. The picture below taken by my blackberry does not do it justice, though you get the idea that there were tvs lining the walls. There was a huge UNC constituency, which made it the perfect environment to watch such an important game.

Final Score:

UNC – 81

Duke – 67

 

 

 

Earlier that day, we had brunch at Founding Farmers. This place is one of my favorites, and here’s why:

Homemade chips with green goddess dressing, pimento cheese and onion dip.

Banana Fluffer Nutter: bread, peanut butter, marshmallow fluff and bananas with crunchies on top.

Sheet Music: Mixed Greens, Peas, Radishes, Corn, Golden Beets, Jonny’s Nuts, Parmesan Crisp, House Vinaigrette.

New Orleans Style Stuffed French Toast: House-Made Brioche Soaked in Brandy Creme Anglaise, Flash Fried and Filled with Vanilla Pastry Cream.

Benedict Florentine with spinach and tomato and a side of leek hash browns (mine).

This is making me hungry…

We walked (slowly, with very full stomachs) to the Newseum, which I’ve been to three times now but never get tired of seeing. Seriously, if you’re going to go to one museum in DC, go to this one. Whirlwind of a weekend!