welsh rarebit mac and cheese

What to make when celebrating the end of a two-day migraine? Macaroni and cheese, of course! Here's the recipe for a mac-and-cheese dish I put together on the fly this evening in celebration of actually feeling hungry again.

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. In a medium pot, set about a quart of water to boil (for cooking pasta). When the water boils, add about 2 cups of dry pasta and cook until just tender.

3. In a medium saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and saute one large onion, minced as finely as you can make it.

4. When the onions are going translucent, add 2 tablespoons of your favorite mustard (we used Stonewall Kitchen's cheddar ale mustard; a strong Dijon would also be nice) and about 1/4 tsp of smoked paprika.

5. In a 2-cup pyrex measure, warm 1/2 cup milk in the microwave and stir in 2 teaspoons of cornstarch. Add to onion mixture and stir until mixture begins to thicken.

6. Add remaining cup of milk and about a cup of shredded cheese (we used sharp cheddar). Add salt and pepper to taste.

7. Turn off heat until milk mixture once everything has incorporated, and set aside until pasta is done.

8. Mix pasta and cheese sauce in one of the saucepans and pour into a loaf pan or equivalent oven-safe dish.

9. Sprinkle top with about 1/4 of paprika and bake in oven for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

stuff we've been making

As 2011 draws to a close, I thought I'd share a few of the recipes that kept us busy over the holidays. Both Hanna and I had this past week off from work (hooray for slightly anachronistic academic schedules!) so we were able to while away even more time than usual in coffee shops and in the kitchen. Over the past week we've made the following, all of which come highly recommended:

Joy the Baker | Russian Grandmothers' Apple Pie Cake. I didn't actually chill the dough, as recommended, and it came out just fine.

The Way the Cookie Crumbles | Mushroom Farro Soup. Made with barley instead of farro 'cause that's what we had around. And a bit more tomato paste than the recipe calls for. Particularly good as left-overs.

smitten kitchen | cinnamon brown butter breakfast puffs. We just sprinkled cinnamon sugar on the tops of these muffins, rather than rolling them in butter, and thought they came out very tasty all the same.

smitten kitchen | nutmeg maple butter cookies. As it says on the tin. We found these worked best as tiny cookies, since they're basically maple shortbread ... a couple of bites go a long way!

via

And from Hanna's father, a recipe for lentil cakes that we modified into lentil casserole:

Lentil-Curry Casserole


Makes: 8 x 8 baking dish (four to six servings, depending on whether main- or side dish)


1 3/4 cups cooked lentils, any kind
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
olive oil, for frying
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1/3 cup feta, crumbled
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees; lightly oil 8 x 8 glass baking dish and set aside.
2. Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onions are translucent, add curry powder, salt and pepper.
3. In a medium bowl, combine crumbled feta, lentils, eggs, milk, and 1 cup of breadcrumbs.
4. Add sauteed onion mixture to bowl, stir until well combined.
5. Spoon mixture into baking dish and spread evenly, sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs on top.
6. Bake for 35 minutes until edges are browning and casserole is firm to the touch.

The casserole is excellent hot or cold, and stores well for left-overs (we've made it twice now and it packed well for lunch at work.