Recipe: The Ultimate Macaroni and Cheese

A few years ago, when the Hubs and I first moved in together, I was still in college.  I remember our first Christmas season as a couple. Really, it's one night in particular that sticks out in my mind. It was right after Thanksgiving and I was studying for finals.  We didn't have many left overs left, a ham bone with bits of ham still on it, some pasta, milk, and cheese. That is when the Hubs decided to make the most decadent macaroni and cheese we have ever had. It is the ultimate.

Ingredients:

1 onion thinly sliced

2 cups cubed ham

Olive oil

Kosher salt

4 tbsp butter

4 tbsp flour

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp dried mustard

Dash of tumeric

3 cups ham stock

1 cup half and half

8 oz shredded cheddar cheese

8 oz shredded provolone

Parmesan 

Pank bread crumbs

16 oz elbow macaroni

If you have a left over ham bone, carve as much meat away from the bone as you can. Throw it in a pot of water and make it boil - this is your ham stock. You can buy ham stock if you have no bone to boil.

Cube your  ham that you have carved, or dice it. Whatever size you cut is really a personal preference.

Preheat your pan over medium heat on the stove. Thinly slice your onions.  My mandolin made quick work of this, with few tears. Mandolins come in handy, but knifes work just as well. Mince some garlic too.

Add olive oil to coat the pan, and then add the onions and garlic.

Caramelize, caramelize, caramelize! Keep an eye on the heat and the onions. They can easily burn. You can add sugar to help it come along faster, but this is where I usually sprinkle kosher salt on the onions to help them sweat more.  Once caramelized, remove the onions and garlic from the pan and set aside. Sear diced ham until edges are a little brown (you may need more olive oil for this). 

Add 4 tablespoons of butter, and 4 tablespoons of flour.  Add your spices. Whisk to form the rue.  Let the rue cook a couple of minutes, careful not to burn it. It will darken a bit more (it's hard to tell with the spices but it will). A rue is the base of a bechamel sauce. We are making a cheesy bechamel.

Add 3 cups of warm ham stock and whisk, whisk, whisk. You are looking to beat any flour lumps into submission. Add the half and half (it's okay if it's cold, the temperature is up from the warm ham stock), and keep whisking. Reduce to a low heat setting and shred your cheese.

Shred the cheddar cheese.

Shred the provolone.

Whisk the cheeses into the warm bechamel.

At this point, if your ham stock is at a roaring boil, go ahead and add your pasta and cook it. If you want your ham stock to cook longer, turn the cheese sauce down low. Once the pasta is ready, drain, and add to the cheese sauce, with the onions and seared ham.  Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Mix to combine.

Behold the cheesy, creamy goodness.

Oil a baking dish and spread the macaroni, cheese & ham mixture evenly into it.

Coat with Panko breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes, covered with aluminum foil. Remove foil, and cook an additional 10 minutes until the crust has browned.

Remove from the oven and enjoy!

Mushrooms are a fantastic addition if you have them. The cheeses are also more of a preference.  I love cheddar, and I love how provolone melts. But cream cheese works just as well if you have it. And Gouda is flat out amazing.

Happy Eating!

Wine Wine Wine + Crescendo Fine Dining Review

I have had a few whirl-wind-weeks, all were tremendously fun.

This past week my husbands' parents visited us, my father-in-law helped us insulate our garage and install some new rain gutters, and my mother-in-law helped me in the kitchen, and puppy sat (and drank with me too!).

Somewhere amidst the fun we killed several bottles of oh so delicious wine... Maybe more than several. But all I have already reviewed in some way with you before; whether I discussed the wine or the winery.

Really, I would like to talk about my surprise over a fun sparkling wine - Montcadi's Cava. It's a sparkling Spanish wine. I purchased this wine from Fresh & Easy, in 2011 for our first Thanksgiving as a married couple. We never ended up drinking it because we had far to much champagne left over from our wedding to kill...

2 years later, and ironically the perfect aging recommendation as well, I popped open this bottle as a pre-dining aperitif paired with Manchego, Buffalo Mozzarella, and a Spicy Buffalo Wing Cheddar cheeses with my favorite Fresh & Easy crackers that I sent home to myself from California.

This wine is light, bubbly, and has a night citrus bite. I was floored at how good this wine was. Floored! I feel cheated that I never opened it. I could have enjoyed it and a lot of other bottles sooner, 2 years ago to be exact! Perhaps the aging (and 2k miles of travel) have helped this wine along. At 6-8 bucks a bottle I think it's a steal.  But from what I can figure you can only get this brand from a Fresh & Easy Distribution center. 

Following champagne and artisan cheeses, we headed over to Crescendo. This marked my 3rd visit, I had dined one other time, and attended a wine tasting class. I love this restaurant. Did you hear me? I love this restaurant. The owner is the only chef, and opens his doors 3 days a week. He stocks exceptional wine, and creates a seasonal menu that is absolutely outstanding. 

We started the night with a bottle of Chilean Concho y Toro Casillero del Diablo Privada Reserva and finished our meal with 2003 Las Rocas Garnacha.  It's absolutely flooring and comforting to have amazing wine stand up to amazing and beautifully palatable food.  These were both beautiful red wines and I feel fortunate to have enjoyed them at my father-in-laws recommendation and wine knowledge from his time in South America.

Now. Lets talk about food!

The meals at Crescendo start with bread and aromatically delicious olive oil. It's elegantly simple in preparation but an extremely high end dining experience. From there an appetizer or salad whets the palate - I had sweet potato ravioli, sautéed in brown butter and topped with toasted sage and pine nuts. These are heavenly pillows of sweet starchy perfection.  My entree was a Creamy Wild Mushroom Ravioli, with a mushroom cream sauce (which had wine in it as well).  I am a huge mushroom fan and this dish did mushrooms justice. 

Alas, I have no pictures of what I ate. I have too much respect for this establishment to pull out my camera, but even more so, the food and wines provide such a oral sensory overload you really can't think of pictures at a time of such pure sensation. 

I am excited for a taste of the Winter 2013 menu. And I am excited for more amazing wine. 

Food: The Cheese Cave

I miss tasting bars. I miss the city. I miss being able to buy wine and beer whenever I want.


My friend, Ms. C took me to a little place in Faribault, MN, called The Cheese Cave.  It was soooooooo what I needed. The atmosphere is a charming, medium lighting, and just feels cool.

They have a nice little selection of wines; reds, whites, and blush. And they have a whole lotta cheese to taste. It doesn't stop their though; they have a menu to incorporate their cheeses (and these are fancy pants Artisan cheeses).

We shared a Cheese Platter of Gouda, Widmer Pepper Cheddar  and a Manchego. It came out placed with dried cranberries, sugared pecans, water crackers,  and milk and semi sweet chocolate discs.  The Gouda and Pepper Cheddar were outstanding, [I absolutely love a good Gouda]. The Manchega was okay. It was a true Manchego, but just didn't stand out as much as the other two cheeses did.

We followed that with a Baguette and Balsamic Vinegar Dip.  They emulsify the Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil with salt, pepper, and parmesean cheese so that they don't separate and it forms a beautiful dipping sauce. At my friends request (she is a true Italian girl, who loves good Olive oil and good Balsamic), we sipped little shots of straight balsamic. It was smooth and sweet, still vinegar but syrupy and rounded.

We followed up are almost Tapas like dinner with Pear, Gorgonzola, and sugared pecan salad. It came with a champagne/red wine vinaigrette (I am really not sure which it was, but it was very good). Light. Sweet. Crisp. All the things a good salad should be. With REAL bacon crumbled [no bacon bits].

I followed Ms. C's recommendation for the Cannon River Winery - Minnesota Meritage Semi Sweet Wine. For me, it was an easy drinking, red, no sweetness at all. A table red that pairs well with everything. Mellow. Very subtle tannins. Just smooth sipping and subtle.


It was a fun evening. What vino doesn't love wine, cheese, and great company?

Food: The Grilled Chz

I have been running around town, meeting friends and family for food and drinks in the midst of all this packing. I have eaten LOTS of good food in the process. Today's adventure was The Grilled Chz

The Grilled Chz is a fun spin on a classic grilled cheese. I split a BorderBob and a Double Cream Brie Delight with my sister.

BorderBob: Pepperjack cheese with Spicey Chili, Fritos, Fire Roasted Salsa with Cilantro Lime Butter on a Jalapeno crusted White Bread. [I would pair with a Pinot Noir or Syrah, personally]

Double Cream Brie Delight:  Double Cream Brie Cheese with Fig Paste, Almonds, and smoked Turkey or Bacon on White Bread. [Would be exceptional with wine. A crisp white!]

Lunch was PHENOMENAL.

We also got a cup of Tomato Basil Bisque, and a Half and Half 6 piece order of  deep fried mac and cheese balls (3) JALAPENO & (3) with BACON!

[Pardon my italics, I am only salivating over here].

Everything we sampled was delicious. I really wish they offered a sampler platter of their suggested grilled cheese sandwhiches, although, you can build your own and the options are endless.

From what I understand they are opening a second location in Northwest Fresno. I think that's great and well worth it. They have truly taken comfort food to a fun, artsy fartsy whole new level.