Category: Cooking

November! Really? November? Somehow I cannot believe that we are nearly through 2011! It I recall, we just started the year the other day. Now here we are, in November, the month of my birth and the month of the Turkey Bird! But as I wrap up the last quarter of the year, I thought I’d look back and share with you a recipe I like to make when I am in dire need of comfort food. Now this is not WW food. But it is comfort food.

1. Choose a medium-sized pasta with grooves, twists and/or curves that will hold a maximum of the cheese sauce. Varieties such as macaroni, gemelli, radiatore, rotini, shells or fusilli are ideal. You can skip the onion/bay leaf/peppercorn infusion for the béchamel sauce to save time; it adds a subtle layer of savory flavor to the dish.
2. * 2 ½ c (9 ounces) dry pasta
3. * 2 ½ c whole milk
4. * 1 slice onion
5. * 1 bay leaf
6. * 4 T unsalted butter
7. * ¼ c all-purpose flour
8. * Salt and freshly ground black pepper
9. * 8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated (about 2 ½ cups)
10. * 3 oz fontina cheese, grated (about 1 cup)
11. * 3 oz Emmenthal, Gruyère or similar Swiss-type cheese, grated (about 1 cup)
12. * ½ c fresh bread crumbs
13. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter a 2-quart baking dish.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Stir in the pasta and boil until it is about half-cooked, tender on the surface with a distinct bite still in the center, about 5 minutes. Drain well, rinse with cold water and set aside, tossing from time to time as it cools to avoid sticking.

Put the milk in a small saucepan with the onion slice, bay leaf . Bring just to a low boil over medium heat, then take the pan from the heat and let sit to infuse for 10 to 15 minutes. (If skipping the aromatics, simply warm the milk.)

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking constantly, until it foams up and has a very slight toasty smell (it should not brown), 1 to 2 minutes. Strain the warm milk into the pan and whisk to blend. Continue to cook the sauce, whisking often, until it thickens, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and gradually whisk in the cheeses until fully melted. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper, then add the pasta and stir to fully coat all the pasta with the cheese sauce.

Pour the mixture into the prepared dish and sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly over. Set the dish on the oven rack and lay a piece of foil on the rack below to catch any drips. Bake until the macaroni and cheese is bubbling hot and the top is nicely browned, about 40 minutes. Let sit for about 15 minutes before serving.

Ingredients:

* 3 pounds bone-in country-style pork ribs (the thick ones with the bone on)
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
* 1 onion, chopped
* 1 carrot, chopped
* 1 stalk celery, chopped
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 tablespoons tomato paste
* 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
* 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
* 2 bay leaves
* 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Pat the ribs dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and brown the ribs on all sides, working in batches if needed. Remove the ribs and set aside. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the Dutch oven and reduce the heat to medium. Add the onions, carrots, celery, salt, and pepper and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, to remove the raw flavor, about 3 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the vinegar, and then add the red pepper flakes and bay leaves.

Add the ribs back to the pan and add enough stock to reach halfway up the sides of the ribs. Bring the pan to a simmer, cover, and place in the oven. Braise until the meat is tender, about 1 1/2 hours. During the last half hour, uncover to allow the liquid to reduce and the pork to brown.

Serve the ribs with parsley on top to garnish.

Slice thinly, one or two eggplants.

Place eggplant slices into strainer and salt well. Let this rest for 45 minutes.

Rinse off all the salt and allow the eggplant to sit in sink and drain. Take a ziploc bag and add a half a cup of Italian bread crumbs and then toss each eggplant slice until lightly coated.

Warm griddle to medium heat, rubbing just enough canola oil onto it to cook eggplant.

Cook eggplant until golden brown on both sides.

Spread Tomato Sauce on bottom of casserole. (Just a little)

Slice two tomatoes and arrange in casserole, eggplant, tomato, eggplant….

Top with  tomato sauce and basil leaves.

Then sprinkle Parmesan Cheese over the top of the eggplant and tomatoes.

Cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Enjoy!!!

The day after a Hurricane is filled with a gigantic let down, if you are in an area that sustained no damage. In a way it’s like postpartum depression, without the baby.

Our winds topped out at 25 miles per hour and our rain was only 5.1 inches. Thus, I felt like this was just one more rain storm.

However, as I made our breakfast, I realized that my gas stove front burner was now in the “not self lighting” mode, and although I can light it by hand with a match, it no longer ignites on it’s own.

Hubby and I looked at it together, trying to figure out how to fix this, when we finally gave up, and decided to call in our repair man, Barry. As it turned out, he was in the area, and came right over.

The diagnosis is that I need a whole new ignition system on that burner and perhaps the one behind it. And the clock and thermostat which has not been lit for some time, also needs replacement.

Now here’s the part that floored me! It will actually be cheaper to buy a new stove than to fix the one we have! No, I am not kidding!

Our stove is almost twelve years old. People tell me that this is old. I have gotten good use out of it. I say, 12 years isn’t all that old! Certainly not for a failure of this magnitude!This was a top of the line model back then, so it is hard to believe that it is failing!

I was telling Hubby that the stove doesn’t get much use, and he looked at me like I was crazy. He said I cook more than most women. Perhaps that is true. I know, I certainly do enjoy cooking, and so my stove does get used every day, at least for 2 or 3 meals.

Tonight over another sumptuous dinner, Hubby and I agreed to watch the sales, and plan for a new stove. I simply cannot believe all the changes since I purchased my last one, and I want to get one that will fit the sort of cooking I like to do.

So, I’ll continue with the stove for a wee bit longer, and then perhaps by the end of the year I’ll have my new stove!

It’s a snap to make with a jar of mango or peach chutney, onions, and seasonings.
Ingredients:

* 1 boneless pork loin roast, about 3 to 4 pounds
* 1-2 large sweet onion, sliced
* Salt and pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or 1 small clove garlic, finely minced
* 1 jar (12 ounces) mango or peach chutney
* 2 tablespoons brown sugar
* 1 tablespoon grainy mustard (I just used regular Guldens Mustard)
* 1 teaspoon ground ginger

Preparation:
Wash roast and pat dry; trim excess fat.

Put sliced onion in the bottom of a 5 to 7-quart slow cooker. Lightly salt and pepper the roast then rub with the garlic powder or fresh minced garlic. Place the roast in the slow cooker. Combine remaining ingredients and spoon over the roast. Cover and cook on HIGH for 1 hour, then reduce to LOW and cook for 6 to 8 hours longer, or continue cooking on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours longer. The roast should register at least 160° on an instant read thermometer or meat thermometer inserted in the center of the roast. Best if you cook it slowly.

Remove the roast from the slow cooker and keep warm; pour juices into a medium saucepan. Simmer the juices for about 5 to 8 minutes to reduce by about one-third. Combine 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 1 tablespoon cold water, stirring until smooth. Stir the cornstarch mixture into the juices and continue cooking for about 1 minute, until thickened. (I did not do this and it was fine just the way it was.
Serves 6 to 8.

As you all may recall, I had a total roast beef melt down on Monday when I burned the roast. An act of cooking, which is totally unlike me! I shocked myself with the badness of that meal! Hubby suggested that I just chop up the meat and slowly feed it to the dogs over the course of the week, but I just couldn’t do that. I thought and I thought and here is what I did:

1. First I chopped up a large onion, and three cloves of garlic.
2. Then I chopped up some celery, and mushrooms.
3. I grabbed a bag of baby carrots.
4. Peeled and diced 2 medium potatoes.
5. After I sauteed all this for a bit, I added 3 cans of low sodium beef broth.
6. 1/2 cup of burgundy wine.
7. 1/4 cup ketchup.
8. 1 tsp Sea Salt & 1/4 tsp pepper
9. 1 tsp Basil
10. I carefully cut up the meat into bite sized cubes.
11. When the broth was just simmering on the stove, I tossed in the beef, and covered my dutch oven pot.
12. I placed it into a preheated 250 degree (f) oven.
13. Then I walked away and let it slowly cook for 5 hours. I thickened the gravy with a little Wondra Flour. Done!

I can only tell you that I was not at all sure how this would come out. Thankfully, it came out very, very well!