My Mom's Smokey Roni - Kind of...

My friend, Cathy, is celebrating a birthday today and her dear husband, Carl, asked her friends to each send a handwritten recipe and photo of their favorite macaroni and cheese recipe. Carl's request got me thinking about a recipe that my mom used to make called Smokey Roni. It was in the regular dinner rotation. I thought it might be a fun recipe to give to Cathy.

Over the years, I've collected a number of the cookbooks that I grew up with (and that my mom still uses), so I decided to see if the recipe was included in one called, "Dinner in a Dish." Sure enough, it was listed in the index but when I turned to the recipe it read "1 box macaroni and cheese." My mother NEVER made it with boxed macaroni and cheese! 

You know, I give my mom crap for not being much of a cook but the truth is I liked her cooking growing up. She put dinner on the table every night. Sure, it was the 1970's and we ate a lot of casseroles but my mom did a lot from scratch. We always had a garden, and to this day she cans, pickles, and freezes fresh vegetables every summer. She didn't share my passion for cooking but she did a fine job of feeding the family. I laugh now about her "regular rotation" menu selections but here I am 40 years later collecting her old cookbooks and looking up nostalgic recipes. So, I was actually quite impressed to see that although she'd used the Smokey Roni recipe as a guideline, she'd gone out of her way to make the mac-n-cheese from scratch. (Way to go, Mom!) Following in my mother's footsteps, I created my own mac-n-cheese recipe homage to Smokey Roni.

Vince tasted tested the recipe with glee and absolutely loved it. A hit all the way around! Thanks Carl and Cathy for inspiring me to revisit a wonderful childhood recipe. Hope you like it as much as we did.

Smokey Roni

Serves 4

8 ounces elbow macaroni (substitute gluten free if you like)

2 tablespoons butter, plus additional for buttering casserole dish

2 tablespoons finely minced onion

1 tablespoon potato starch (for gluten free) or flour 

1 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic

pinch of freshly ground black pepper

2 cups half-n-half or whole milk

10 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated (approximately 3 cups)

10 ounces frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained well (approximately 2 cups)

6 ounces diced ham, (approximately 1 cup)

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Cook elbow macaroni as directed on package. Aim for al dente since the pasta will cook longer in the sauce. Drain and rinse with cool water to stop the cooking process. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400F. Grease a 2 quart casserole pan with butter.

Meanwhile in a medium saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium-low heat. Add minced onion and sweat until translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in potato starch, salt, dry mustard, granulated garlic and pepper. Stir until smooth and beginning to bubble. Slowly stir in half and half. Increase the heat to medium and cook until the mixture is just about to simmer. Add the grated cheddar and stir until the cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth.

Pour the drained macaroni into the casserole pan. Add the chopped broccoli and diced ham. Pour the cheese sauce over the top and mix gently until everything is nicely coated. Top with grated parmesan and bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes until the dish is bubbling and the top has turned a light golden brown. 

Want Breakfast in Bed this Mother's Day? Here's Your Family's guide!

Okay ladies, here’s a little blog for you to print and post on the refrigerator this week.  Your family will be grateful for the “subtle” suggestion. 

Psst… are you looking for a way for your family to pamper Mom this Mother’s Day?  How about starting her special day with breakfast in bed!  Even younger kids can help out to make Mother’s Day special and they will feel so proud to help.

Here are some fun and creative ways to tell Mom how much she’s loved:

• Pick a flower from your garden for the breakfast tray.  If you don’t have a bud vase, try a handful of flowers in a pretty mug.

• If you don’t have a breakfast tray, tape paper onto a cookie sheet and let the kids decorate it with drawings for Mom.

• Pick the tops off dandelions or other pretty blooms and place a few on the breakfast tray.  Their bright yellow blooms add a little sunshine to breakfast and help to clean up your lawn.  

• Stretch the fun out and make it easier for little ones to help by bringing in things one at a time.  Start with the decorated breakfast tray, then, ask your child to bring in an empty coffee cup or juice glass.  You can follow with the coffee pot or pitcher.  Mom will feel like she’s at a restaurant.

• You don’t have to cook to show you care.  Breakfast in bed can be anything from a bagel and cream cheese or dry cereal, to scrambled eggs or Eggs Benedict.  No matter what you serve, it will be appreciated.

• You can also plan ahead by mixing up some delicious Oven-Baked French Toast the night before.  The recipe is simple and all you have to do is pop it in the oven in the morning. 

Oven-Baked French Toast

8 slices of your favorite French bread (or try something different like a fluffy brioche or cinnamon swirl bread)
butter or cooking spray

2 Tablespoon sugar

8 eggs
2 cups milk
1 1/2 teaspoonvanilla

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Powdered Sugar

Grease a large rectangular baking dish with butter or cooking spray. Lay the slices of bread in the baking dish like playing cards – each slice slightly overlapping the one before. In a medium-size mixing bowl, beat together the sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla; pour over bread. Cover the pan and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, uncover the pan and sprinkle the French toast with nutmeg.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 45 minutes until the bread begins to turn golden brown. Sprinkle with a little powdered sugar and don’t forget the syrup.  Makes 8 servings.

Serve your French toast with fresh fruit and, perhaps, a mimosa!  Mom will feel like a queen on her special day.

Rhubarb Put's Some Zing in Your Spring!

As I sat thinking about spring vegetables for this blog, my first thoughts were about fresh asparagus. Then I thought, "everyone thinks asparagus in spring." Everywhere I turn there's an asparagus recipe. It's not that I don't like asparagus. I love it. I just didn't want to offer the ubiquitous asparagus recipe when there are so many other vegetables popping up in the springtime. So what could I suggest that was unique?

The answer came to me while walking through my neighborhood. I noticed a home with planter boxes overflowing with tawny-pink rhubarb stalks and was inspired.

Rhubarb is one of those often overlooked vegetables but it's delicious, simple to work with, and a great source of potassium and vitamin C. The early pink stems are the best for cooking. You'll definitely have to add some sugar to offset their natural tartness though. Oh! Do remember that the stems are the edible portion of the plant so trim away all the leaves before cooking.

I'm sure that moment I mentioned rhubarb many of you thought of pies, but since I am not much of a baker I decided to develop a different type of recipe - a Spiced Rhubarb Compote.

If you like tangy, sweet and sour sauce, you'll love this compote! It's quick, easy, and so versatile. I've spooned over roasted pork and duck, served it as a condiment for a glazed ham, and topped savory goat cheese cheesecakes with a dollop. So yummy!

Spiced Rhubarb Compote

6 cups diced rhubarb stalks (about 2 lbs)

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup water

1 cup cider vinegar

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 ground allspice

1 pinch of nutmeg

Combine all the ingredients in a large sauce pan. Simmer over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the rhubarb is tender, about 20 minutes. Simmer a bit longer to thicken, if you like.

The compote can be served warm, at room temperature, or cold and will keep up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator. Enjoy!

If you are inspired to try other rhubarb recipes, I found a link to some interesting cocktails too. Check out the article on Liquor.com. 

Cathy Sander's Fried Sauerkraut

When my friend, Cathy, mentioned that she like to share her recipe for Fried Sauerkraut, I pictured little sauerkraut croquettes. I couldn't have been more mistaken. It turns out that fried sauerkraut is pan fried with bacon and onion and it's DELICIOUS!

I highly recommend giving this a try. I think the recipe would appeal to kraut lovers but even more so to people who can take it or leave it. This recipe helps to round out and enrich the flavor. Instead of that puckery, salty sour flavor you get a layered subtle dish - a little salty, a little smokey. 

Cathy suggests serving the Fried Sauerkraut with roast turkey and cranberry sauce. It's her husband Carl's favorite way to eat it. Vince and I also used some for a Reuben and it rocked!

The recipe is easy peasy. Check out the video and then try the recipe yourself.

Fried Sauerkraut

Serves 4 to 8

1 32-ounce jar Sauerkraut, drained
4 slices thick-cut bacon, sliced into 1" strips
1/2 cup diced onion

Drain the sauerkraut and squeeze as much of the moisture out as you can.  Set aside.

Heat a 12" pan on medium high. (Cathy prefers to use cast iron but any pan will do. Non-stick pans do not work well for this recipe because the sauerkraut won't brown/caramelize.) 

Once the pan is hot at the bacon strips and cook to render out the fat for about 5 minutes. You don't want to make the bacon too crisp but you do want a good amount of bacon fat in the pan. Add diced onions and cook till onions are slightly translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Next add the drained sauerkraut and and stir to combine all the ingredients well.

Then let the sauerkraut sit in the pan for a few minutes to start the caramelizing. Stir occasionally till sauerkraut is a golden color, about 10 minutes. Once it reaches the desired color, turn off the heat and let sit in the pan for 1-2 minutes.

Potatoes Colcannon for Your St. Paddy's Day

St Patrick’s Day is just around the corner. Americans of all ethnicities embrace their inner leprechauns by wearing green and raising a pint to celebrate. Many partake in the ubiquitous Irish-American tradition of eating corned beef and cabbage, as well. But do we really like it? Good corned beef? Yes! But tasteless, cottony potatoes and wilted cabbage? Probably not. (Although, the starch might keep the ghoulies at bay after too much green beer.)

Admittedly, potatoes and cabbage have been sustenance foods in Ireland for ages. I’m not knocking that, but they don’t have to be bland and boring! I suggest you shake up your menu and try a flavorful, classic Irish side dish – Potatoes Colcannon.

Colcannon, Irish for “white-headed cabbage,” consists mainly of mashed potatoes with kale or cabbage though there are many variations. It’s commonly served on St. Patrick’s Day and Halloween but once you’ve tried it, you’ll want to serve it year-round. It’s terrific with grilled sausages, roasted pork and ham.

Potatoes Colcannon

Serves 4 to 8

2 lbs (about 6) russet potatoes, peeled and quartered

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, cut into small cubes

1/2 cup milk or cream

1 1/2 cups diced onion

3 cups coarsely chopped green cabbage or kale*

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Put the potatoes in a large pot, add water to cover the potatoes by 2 inches and generously salt the water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife, about 15 minutes.

While potatoes are cooking melt 2 tbsp of the butter in a heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the cabbage and toss until tender-crisp, about 8 minutes. (If you are substituting kale for the cabbage, cook it a little longer to ensure that it’s tender – about 15 minutes.) Sprinkle with nutmeg and season with salt and pepper.

Drain the tender-cooked potatoes, return them to the pot and mash well. Add the remaining 6 tbsp of butter, allow to melt, and stir to combine. Slowly stir in milk. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the potatoes into the cabbage mixture and serve warm.

*You can substitute 1 bunch kale (about 1 lb), stemmed and coarsely chopped

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

What do you serve on St. Patrick’s Day? Are there any traditional dishes you’d like to share?

Quick and Easy Couscous

Although authentic couscous is very labor intensive, it needn't be for most of us. This version is so easy and practically fool-proof but it does require a little self restraint.

As a cooking instructor, I find that many people don't feel comfortable in the kitchen unless they are actively doing something. Doing something often manifests are stirring. Although beneficial for some dishes like risottos or sauces, I can't stress enough that you should refrain from stirring from time to time. Some food needs time to heat, or brown, or soak up a little moisture. Not stirring can be integral to the desired outcome.

With that in mind, this couscous recipe requires that you basically do nothing. As a matter of fact if you do stir, even just a little, you will probably end up with a lumpy mess. So, relax and trust that everything will be fine in 10 minutes time.  That kind of rhymes so it must to true...a new rule to live by.

Quick and Easy Couscous
Serves 4

1 1/2 dry couscous
pinch of saffron steeped in hot water
     for 5 minutes, optional
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

Pour the couscous into a lasagna pan or casserole dish.  Bring 2 and 1/4 cup of water to a boil.  Season with saffron, sea salt, and olive oil. Stir until the sea salt has dissolved. Pour over the couscous as evenly as possible. DO NOT STIR! Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let rest until all the water has been absorbed, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.

When the water is absorbed, remove the plastic wrap and rake through the couscous with a fork to fluff and separate the grains. Serve immediately.

Try pairing Quick and Easy Couscous with Adam Grossman's Moroccan Chicken

Adam Grossman's Moroccan Chicken

This month's Glorified Home Chef is Adam Grossman.  Adam showed me how to make his grandmother's recipe for Moroccan Chicken.  As a young woman Adam's grandmother traveled through Morocco. She brought back this recipe which has been handed down from generation to generation.

It's a healthy and quick weeknight supper that you will just love.  Check out the video! 

Moroccan Chicken

Recipe adapted from Adam Grossman

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large onion, diced
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized cubes
1 red bell pepper, cut into batons (1/2" wide strips)
1 green bell pepper, cut into batons (1/2" wide strips)
1 cup golden raisins
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon ground thyme

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 pinch of saffron threads

1 cube chicken bouillon
1 cup of blanched white, whole almonds or slivered almonds

2 small zucchini squash (grated in long strands or julienne cut)
granulated garlic, salt, and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and sweat, stirring occasionally, until transparent.

Add the cubed chicken pieces and sauté until just cooked and opaque - add a little more oil if need be to keep from sticking. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.

Add the bell peppers and saute for 3 to 4 minutes until tender.  Next stir in the golden raisins, spices, the bouillon cube and blanched almonds. Cover and cook mixture over low heat until the vegetables are soft, about 3 to 5 minutes longer. 

Return the onions and chicken to the pan. If the vegetable are dry, add a little water to moisten the dish, about 1/4 to 1/2 cup should be enough. Cover and cook until chicken is fully cooked and hot.

Finally, add the zucchinis and stir to combine. Cover and cook until the zucchinis are tender - about 2 minutes for grated or 5 for julienne cut.

Serve over couscous.