Thinking Outside the Box -- Macaroni and Cheese with a Secret Ingredient

1/10/10: Macaroni and Four Cheeses with Classic Lyonnaise Potatoes

Meal details: For the main course I made a baked macaroni and cheese casserole that contains a surprising secret ingredient. And for a side I made a baked potato dish that has butter and lots of onions.

Defining moments: I've done casseroles before, so nothing was new for me this week.

Recipe sources: Both recipes came from the Food Network website. The mac 'n cheese recipe is a recipe created by Ellie Krieger, the host of Healthy Appetite and the potato dish was created by Emeril Lagasse, the host of Emeril Live and the Essence of Emeril. I specifically chose these two recipes because I am a member of the Food Network Chef Cooking Challenge that is being hosted by the writer of the I Blame My Mother blog. I've been a bit behind in the challenge for awhile, especially now since I've been testing some recipes from my new cookbook, but I'm still chugging along!

What I learned: OK, now to tell you the secret ingredient in the mac 'n cheese. Hope you're sitting down! Ready? The ingredient is. . . Butternut squash. You weren't ready for that, were you? If you're hovering the mouse cursor over the "back" button, hold on! Just scroll down to the "How it tasted?" section of the post; you might be surprised.
Besides learning how to pick out a recipe that scared the pants off my sister, I didn't gather any new techniques or tips from these two recipes. They both are very straightforward recipes and do not require a whole lot of ingredients, so that is probably the reason for it! But I think it is extremely good that I try some easy recipes every so often; if I don't I would go out of my mind. It is like what Ina Garten said on her show, Barefoot Contessa a couple of weeks ago: "I love to cook, but I don't like to spend the whole day cooking." I'm like her.

Any modifications? Yes, I made some changes to the mac 'n cheese recipe. I omitted the ricotta cheese (because some people on the website said that the ricotta made a grainy texture), I just used sharp cheddar cheese, and I used Ritz cracker crumbs instead of bread crumbs (because didn't have plain bread crumbs in the house).
Another modification I made, and this time to both recipes, was the oven time. I left both dishes in the oven for an hour--a whole lot longer than what the recipes say. We like our casseroles and potatoes to be a bit crispy on the edges.

How it tasted? What was more surprising than using our frozen butternut squash in the recipe was that every single member of my family (eight in all) liked the macaroni and cheese! Even some who don't care much for squash in the first place! A lot of them, including me, couldn't really detect the squash flavor. The squash, however, did add something to the dish and that was: texture. It made for a really creamy casserole.
The Lyonnaise Potatoes were alright. I think I should have cooked the onions for a longer time so they would have been sweeter. I don't think it is the best way to prepare potatoes.

How about a 2nd time? I would pull out Ellie's recipe again but I think Emeril's potato recipe will be in my recipe binder for awhile.

Linguine Roman Style and Broccoli and Cheddar Buns--Buon Appetito!

1/03/10: Linguine Roman Style and Four-Leaf Clover Broccoli and Cheddar Buns

Meal details: For the main course I made a simple pasta dish that uses ricotta and cheese for the sauce. And I paired the pasta with a whole wheat bun that has broccoli puree added to the dough and sharp cheddar baked on top.

Defining moments: Making a vegetable puree was entirely new to me! I haven't used our blender a whole lot yet so anything done in that machine is a real eye opener to me. :)

Recipe sources: The pasta dish came from a new cookbook that just came out. It is called Ciao Italia, Five Ingredient Favorites and it is written by Mary Ann Esposito, the host of Ciao Italia. The broccoli buns came from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, another newly published book, written by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois.
Note to Rebekah: I did one recipe and had enough dough for 26 buns.

What I learned: I began to realize that even though a recipe (like the broccoli buns here), may sound tedious and require a good amount of steps, I shouldn't be intimidated. When I first looked at the bun recipe I thought they would take a long time to do, especially with all that dough dividing and shaping. But the authors of the book knew from the start that their recipes need to be quick for their readers, and so they made certain that their breads take on simple shapes. These buns are just made up of four small pieces of dough put together by pressing in the center. Really easy to put together and I have to say, they were adorable!
The pasta dish was very easy to do. So easy that I can remember exactly what to do next time, I usually need to go back to a recipe again and again. So I'm thinking that I will start feeling like one of those chefs that can whip up a dish without one glance at a recipe card. A dream come true!

Any modifications? Yes, I made one modification and that was to the pasta recipe. Instead of using pecorino cheese, I used parmesan. Why? Couldn't find the former in the grocery store.

How did it tasted? Both recipes were wonderful. The pasta's flavors were simple and very satisfying. And I love to know that not many dollars went into its creation. The buns were so very good! I was hoping to have the buns look like clovers more but the ridges weren't that pronounced when they came out of the oven. However! Because of the unique way you roll and shape these buns, you can easily tear off one "leaf" at a time when you're eating them. Easy eats!

How about a 2nd time? Yes, I would like to do these two recipes again.