Truffled Mac and Cheese

I have a confession.  The husband and I eat a lot of mac and cheese.  Kraft... mac and cheese.  As much as I enjoy home cooked meals, I haven't ever found a mac and cheese recipe that I like.  Until now.

To be fair, this recipe has been around the internet for quite awhile - it's a Martha Stewart recipe, after all.  But, I've put my own little spin on it by adding the truffle oil.  Truffle oil just makes everything a little bit better.  I recently had a truffled mac and cheese at a local restaurant and it was fantastic.  (And now I can save the $13 and just make my own!)  The truffle oil is optional, of course, if that's not quite your thing.

Also optional are all the veggies on the side.  Two different kinds of veggies make it healthy, right?  At least that's what I was telling myself when I was eating this meal.

The focus of this recipe is the cheese, obviously, so I would encourage you to splurge and get good stuff.  Not the yellow, rubbery block of preservatives that some companies call cheese.  But if all you have is some of that stuff, go for it, and get the good cheese the next time.

The original recipe calls for what is essentially croutons on top.  Which I think is weird.  I used panko bread crumbs instead, and I'm so glad I did.  It created a wonderful golden, crunchy crust that is the perfect foil for the gooey, creamy cheese inside.

Now, the original recipe also uses a 9 x 13 inch pan.  As much as we love mac and cheese, that was even a little extreme for us (but mostly our waistlines and wallets).  I halved the recipe which was perfect for us.  But if you need to feed a crowd, go ahead and make the full recipe.  Or if you want a lot of leftovers.  Bonus - this recipe reheats well!  As the husband says, "it's just awesome."

Truffled Mac and Cheese
(Adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
Makes 5-6 servings

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for casserole
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 3/4 cups milk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon coarse salt, plus more for water
Pinch ground nutmeg
Pinch teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 1/4 cups (about 9 ounces) grated sharp white cheddar cheese
1/2 cup (about 2 ounces) grated Gruyère
1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp (about 1.2 ounces) grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1 Tbsp white truffle oil
1/2 pound elbow macaroni

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter a 2-quart casserole dish; set aside. Place the panko breadcrumbs in a medium bowl. In the microwave, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Pour the melted butter into the bowl with the breadcrumbs, and toss. Set the breadcrumbs aside.

2. Warm the milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. When the butter bubbles, add the flour. Cook, stirring, 1 minute.

3. While whisking, slowly pour in the hot milk a little at a time to keep mixture smooth. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick, 8 to 12 minutes.

4. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, truffle oil, and about 3/4 of the cheese; set the cheese sauce aside.

5. Cover a large pot of salted water, and bring to a boil. Cook the macaroni until the outside of pasta is cooked and the inside is underdone, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well. Stir the macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce.  It will seem like there is too much cheese sauce, but I promise that there isn't!  All that extra sauce not only tastes great, but helps it reheat well.

6. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheese, and the breadcrumbs over the top. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes (though we needed a bit more time to get it brown, but your oven may vary). Transfer the dish to a wire rack for 5 minutes; serve.

Enjoy!

Seared Salmon with Balsamic Glaze, Creamy Broccoli Pesto Pasta, and Roasted Asparagus with Shallots

Epic.  Not unlike this ridiculously long blog post title.  But 'epic' was my first thought after taking a few bites of this incredible meal.  I'm thrilled there are some leftovers for tonight!  None of these recipes are difficult, or even that time-consuming.  And all of it is worth it. 

It all started with the desire to make homemade pasta again, because it was so fun and tasty.  I wanted to try a new sauce and remembered a broccoli pesto I had seen on Smitten Kitchen that had piqued my interest.  Done.  It turned out great and kind of tasted like a fantastic cream of broccoli soup, but better.

I am a carb-fiend, but the meal needed a bit more, maybe some protein?  I remembered a glazed salmon recipe from Cook's Country that I really wanted to try (and what's more Pacific Northwestern than salmon?)  It was amazing, and the glaze is divine.  I almost licked out the pan it was so good.

Lastly, I thought a vegetable was needed, and it is spring, so bring on the asparagus!  I didn't have any particular expectations about the asparagus, but they turned out really well.  And the tips were the best part (super caramelized).  The husband isn't ever really excited about veggies, let's be honest, but even he seemed pleasantly surprised.

I won't waste any more words on the description.  Just trust me, they're all amazing recipes.  And you should make them.  Really.  That is all!

Homemade Pasta
See this post for directions OR use store-bought noodles!

Creamy Broccoli Pesto Sauce
(from Smitten Kitchen)
Serves 4

1/2 pound broccoli
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 shallots, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced (or, more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon table salt
Freshly ground black pepper or pinches of red pepper flakes
4 tablespoons half and half
1/4 cup grated parmesan
Reserved pasta water to thin sauce

Remove broccoli florets from stems and chop into medium florets. Peel stems with a vegetable peeler (for faster cooking) and slice them into 1/2-inch segments.

Use your pot of future pasta water to steam (by suspending a mesh strainer over your pasta pot and covering it with a lid for 5 to 6 minutes)) or par-boil (for 3 to 5 minutes) your broccoli florets and stems until just tender, then drain if needed and set them aside.

In the bottom of a medium pot, melt butter and olive oil together over medium heat. Add shallots and reduce to medium-low, sauteing it until tender, about 7 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another two minutes. Add steamed broccoli, salt and red or black pepper and turn the heat back up to medium-high, cooking it with the shallots and garlic for a few additional minutes. Pour half and half over mixture and let cook for 30 seconds.
Transfer broccoli mixture and all of its creamy bits at the bottom of the pan to a blender or food processor and blend in short bursts until it’s finely chopped and a little sauce. Don’t worry if it looks dry; that reserved pasta water will give it the sauciness it needs in a minute.

Add the broccoli sauce back to the pot with drained pasta and a splash or two of the reserved pasta water. Cook over medium-high for 1 to 2 minutes, tossing the mixture so that it evenly coats the noodles. Add more pasta water as needed to loosen the sauce. Adjust seasonings to taste, adding more salt or pepper, and scoop into a serving bowl. Shower noodles with grated parmesan and dig in.

Do ahead: The sauce will keep it in the fridge for several days.

Seared Salmon with Balsamic Glaze
(from Cook's Country)
Serves 4

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons honey
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 sprig rosemary (about 5-inches long)
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
4 skin-on salmon fillets, 6 ounces each, 1 to 1 1/4 inches thick
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Whisk vinegar, juice, honey, and pepper flakes together in small bowl, then add rosemary. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until smoking. Season salmon with salt and pepper and cook, skin side up, without moving, until well browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Flip fish skin side down and cook until all but very center of fish is opaque, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to platter and tent with foil.

Wipe out pan with paper towels and lower heat to medium. Carefully pour balsamic mixture into pan (it will splatter). Simmer until thick and syrupy, about 5 minutes. Remove rosemary sprig. Whisk in butter, season sauce with salt and pepper, and pour over salmon. Serve.

Roasted Asparagus with Shallots
(from Cook's Country)
Serves 4

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
1 pound medium asparagus, tough ends trimmed
2 shallots, sliced thin
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Adjust oven rack to upper position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Stir oil, honey, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper together in large bowl. Spread asparagus across rimmed baking sheet or broiler pan; drizzle with half of garlic mixture and toss to coat. Rearrange asparagus in single layer. Combine shallots with remaining garlic mixture in bowl and toss to coat. Scatter shallots evenly over asparagus.

Roast until asparagus begins to soften and turns bright green with some dark brown edges, about 10 minutes. Drizzle with vinegar and continue roasting until asparagus is softened and shallots just begins to turn golden brown around edges, about 5 minutes. Toss vegetables, season with salt and pepper, and transfer to platter. Serve.

Enjoy!

Homemade Pasta

I made homemade pasta once and it... was a bit of a disaster.  I tried to do it without an exact recipe, without a pasta roller, and without any instruction.  I ended up with a very tough, thick pasta that made for some... uh... rock-like heavy ravioli.  But this time was the complete opposite in every respect!

We got a pasta roller as a wedding gift months ago and I had not gotten around to giving it a try until my friend took a pasta making class.  She has no roller, so bingo, the perfect opportunity presented itself!  And it was the most fun Friday night I've had in a long while!  Us girls made the pasta while the boys made the sauces, and everything came together in perfect harmony.

Step one is opening up your favorite bottle of wine, because that's a crucial ingredient in pasta making.  Obviously.  Otherwise, you just need some counter space, and prepare to get flour everywhere.

Pasta starts so simply - just an egg and 108 grams of regular, all-purpose flour.  Incorporate the egg into the flour, knead it (but only knead in as much flour as it wants to, otherwise it'll get tough).  Knead the pasta dough until it springs back when poked.  Then you're ready to start rolling it.

After rolling the pasta through setting #1 (or zero) multiple times, it continues to knead it, move on to #3, #5, and finally #7.  #7 is the final thickness unless you're doing ravioli, and then you would go up to #9.  What you're supposed to do with the even numbers, I have no idea.  ;-)  Dust both sides heavily with flour and lay out on wax paper to let dry out a bit (making it easier to cut).

We made a ton of them, so after they dried out a bit, we gently rolled them up, just to give ourselves some more workspace.  Then, let the cutting begin!  After it comes out, fluff it to keep the noodles from sticking to each other.  Then cook them for a few minutes in boiling water, mix with your favorite sauce, and you've got an amazing dinner!

We made a few sauces, and I've included the recipes for two of them below: Pesto and Cream Sauce with Pancetta, Peas, and Mushrooms.

Homemade Pasta
From pasta making class taught by Angie O
Makes about 1 portion?

108 grams all-purpose flour
1 egg

Create a volcano shape with the flour and put egg in the middle.  Use fork to fold in the flour until it becomes doughy enough that you can knead it with your hands.  Don't overknead it so it becomes sticky/tough.  It's ready when it springs back from the poke of a finger.  Run it through the machine's number 1 setting (or 0 on mine).  Once it becomes smooth, run it through again at 3, 5, and finally 7 (or 9 for ravioli), adding a sprinkle of flour each time if it's too sticky.  After it's finally rolled out, lay it out on a floured piece of wax paper.  Sprinkle it with flour and let dry a bit (it helps with cutting).  Cut it in desired shape, fluffing the glorious pile of noodles when it's done.  Plop into boiling water and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Pesto Sauce
From pasta making class taught by Angie O 
Makes about 1 1/3 cups

3 garlic cloves
1/2 cup pine nuts
2 oz. Parmesan cheese,  coarsely grated (2/3 cup)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 cups loosely packed fresh basil
2/3 cup olive oil

With food processor running, drop in garlic and finely chop.  Stop motor and add nuts, cheese, salt, pepper, and basil, then process until finely chopped.  With motor running, add oil, blending until incorporated.

Pesto will keep for 1 week, chilled, the surface covered with plastic wrap.  Also, put it in a skinny jar for storage so there is less surface area, and cover with a thin layer of olive oil - this keeps it from browning.  You can also freeze it in a Ziploc bag or in ice cube trays.

Cream Sauce with Pancetta, Peas, and Mushrooms
From pasta making class taught by Angie O 
Makes 2-4 servings

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 slice of thick pancetta (1/4 inch thick each), diced
1/2 cup frozen peas
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
1/4 onion, diced
1/2 cup cream (or more, to taste)
Handful of grated Parmesan cheese
Salt & pepper to taste

On medium heat, saute onion for a few minutes.  Add pancetta and cook until just before slightly browned.  Add mushrooms and cook until they are tender (covering them helps retain some of their water).  Add peas.  Cook on medium heat for a few more minutes.  Add cream and let it reduce and thicken.  Add cheese.  Continue to stir until desired creaminess.  The overall time is about 20 minutes. 

Enjoy!