Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

RECIPE BY JULIA MOSKIN (NY Times Cooking)

TIME TO PREPARE (10 minutes)

COOK TIME (60 minutes + 15 minutes wait time before serving)

SERVES 6-8

Link to the Original Recipe --> Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

There are two schools of thought about macaroni and cheese: Some like it crusty

and extra-cheesy, while others prefer it smooth and creamy. But most people are

delighted by any homemade macaroni and cheese. It is light years ahead of the

boxed versions. This creamy version has one powerful advantage for the cook:

There’s no need to pre-boil the pasta. It cooks in the oven, absorbing the liquid from

the dairy products.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1 cup cottage cheese (not low-fat)

• 2 cups milk (not skim)

• 1 teaspoon dry mustard

• Pinch of ground cayenne

• Pinch of ground nutmeg

• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

• 1 pound sharp or extra-

• sharp Cheddar cheese - shredded

• ½ pound elbow pasta (uncooked)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees and position an oven rack in upper third of oven. Use 1 tablespoon butter to grease a 9-inch round or square baking pan.

2. In a blender, purée cottage cheese, milk, mustard, cayenne, nutmeg and salt and pepper. Reserve 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar for topping. In a large bowl, combine remaining grated Cheddar, milk mixture and uncooked pasta. Pour into prepared pan, cover tightly with foil and bake 30 minutes. Uncover pan, stir gently, sprinkle with reserved cheese and dot with remaining tablespoon butter.

3. Bake, uncovered, 30 minutes more, until browned. Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

As Always Best Regards and BonAppetIT!!!

The I.T. Gourmet

Latkes (Potato Pancakes)

During Chanukah, as a tradition we are encouraged (some might say commanded) to eat fried foods - it makes us remember what this holiday signifies (potato pancakes, doughnuts, or anything fried or with oil). When this time of year comes around - my conjured memories take me back to the latke party that my mother’s Haddassah chapter used to throw at one of the local synagogues.

It would start out with my father and his boss (Uncle Miltie) taking what appeared to be 500lbs of potatoes over to a local restaurant (Perkins in this case) and getting the potatoes peeled and grated. They would load up the peeled potatoes in the trunk of the car (SUV’s didn’t exist at the time) and take them to the event’s location. There, some of the ladies of the organization would toil away at mixing the pancake batter and my father and Uncle Miltie would fry up piles of the potato pancakes and serve them up to the droves of people coming to the party - what can I say? Jews are sometimes drawn to functions because of the food. When you’d walk into the social hall, you’d be immediately greeted by the smell emanating from the little golden fried discs. It was truly a labor of love and they were enjoyed by all.

Before we get to the recipe, let’s get some things out of the way:

I know, some of you are going to ask, “Can I use either a very light amount of oil or bake them in the oven?”. I’m not going to say no, but I find the technique used in this recipe produces a better quality latke. But hey, if you have some other types of health concerns, give it a try and let me know how they turn out.

The other thing people are going to ask, “Can I use shredded potatoes?”. The answer is yes, but I actually prefer the potatoes grated into small pieces so the mixture is more of a coarse batter (it’s how I was taught to make them and how I enjoy them better). I find the cooking latkes tend to stay together better when they cook.

Lastly, what is your favorite topping - Sour Cream or Applesauce? Well, for me personally (and don’t cringe when you read this), but I like a small pinch of salt and both Sour Cream and Applesauce - yes - that’s right BOTH!!!

Yields (10 - 12 Pancakes)

Ingredients

• 4 Large Potatoes Grated (I prefer either russets or yukon gold potatoes)

• 1 Medium Yellow Onion Grated

• 2 Eggs

• 1 Tablespoon Canola Oil

• ½ Cup of Sifted Flour (for Passover - we either use Matzoh Flour or Matzoh Meal that I put into the blender)

• 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

• 1 Tablespoon Potato Starch

• 1 Teaspoon Salt

• Canola Oil for Frying (some like Grape seed or Peanut oil - the key is that it be an oil with a higher smoke point since you are doing frying) - enough for ¼” or ⅜” of oil in a frying pan.

Directions

1. Cube the raw potatoes and put them in the food processor until they are the consistency of finely grated potatoes. Alternatively, you can also hand grate the potatoes.

2. Drain the potatoes (I put them in a fine sieve and I give them a quick rinse with cold water (not too much) and I press out a fair amount of the moisture. The more water you can eliminate now, the less the potatoes will tend to turn red in color. It also helps to hold the latkes together as they fry.

3. Cube the raw onion and put it into the food processor until it is the consistency of finely grated potatoes.

4. Combine the potatoes and onion together into one bowl.

5. Beat eggs and canola oil together. Stir egg / oil mixture in with the potatoes.

6. Sift flour, and add flour, baking powder, potato starch, and salt together with the wet ingredients. Stir until smooth.

7. Place a frying pan over low to medium heat and add the oil. You will want the oil to be hot (about 350 degrees F). To test the heat of your pan - take a bamboo skewer and when you touch the bottom of the pan you will see bubbles emanating from it. Alternatively, drop a couple of popcorn kernels in the pan and when the kernels pop, the pan / oil are hot enough.

8. Drop by Tablespoon sized spoonfuls into the hot oil and slightly flatten the pancakes. The oil in the pan should be approximately ½ way up the thickness of the pancakes. DON’T crowd the pan.

9. When the pancakes are light golden brown color, flip and cook the other side. Your goal should be to only flip your pancake once. When the second side is cooked, remove from the pan and drain on a paper towel or brown paper bag.

10. Season to taste with a sprinkling of sea salt.

TIPS:

• Make your latkes ahead of time - When the fried latkes have slightly cooled, place them on a sheet pan and immediately place them in the freezer. When they have frozen, place them in a plastic bag and keep them in the freezer. To re-heat, place the frozen latkes on a baking sheet and place into a pre-heated 350 degree F oven. Bake for approximately 15 - 20 minutes or until the latkes are hot.

• Frozen shredded potatoes (yes - they are shredded - I know, I know) can be used to save time in the kitchen.

• For a Gluten Free version of this recipe, switch out the flour and substitute rice flour. You might also need to add a little more starch

• If you find the latkes are falling a part on you, add a little more potato starch to the batter.

As Always Best Regards and BonAppetIT!!!

The I.T. Gourmet

Stuffed Cabbages (a Cabelly Family Appetizer)

People who visit our family members’ homes for Passover really know we’re crazy - The first time Aileen came for the holiday, as someone who was ingratiating herself to her future in laws, she help serve and clear plates from the dinner table. When it came to the second night’s Seder, she helped serve the Stuffed Cabbage - no big deal, right? Well, to her surprise, the Stuffed Cabbage was NOT the main course - It was merely the appetizer! It was just one more crazy thing she had to get used to with my family over the years.

Have no fear though - this dish can easily be made as a main course! However, if you want to be like my family - serve it as an appetizer course - just don’t be surprised if people ask for seconds and ruin their appetites for the main course!

Ingredients

Tomato Sauce

• 1 Medium Onion - finely chopped

• 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• 1 Can Chopped Tomatoes (28 Ounce)

• 1 Can Tomato Paste

• 1 Large (or 2 Small) Cloves of Garlic - finely chopped

• 1 Tablespoon Herbes de Provence (my “go to” spice mixture for a lot of dishes)

• Salt and Pepper to taste

• 2 - 3 Tablespoons White Sugar

• 1/4 Cup Red Wine Vinegar (2 fluid ounces)

• 1/2 Cup of Water (4 fluid ounces)

Stuffed Cabbage

• 2 Pounds Ground Beef (80%/20% or 90%/10% Ground Chuck works well)

• 1 Medium Onion - Grated (I used a small food processor prep machine to very finely chop into a grated consistency)

• 2 Eggs - Beaten

• 1 Cup (8 fluid oz) Cold Mashed Potatoes (these are used to act as a binder)

• Salt and Pepper

• 1 Large, Solid Head of Cabbage (Cut down the middle and cored)

• 2 - 3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar (this will depend upon how many layers you make)

• 1/2 Cup Water (4 fluid ounces)

Directions for Sauce (Your basically making a simple marinara sauce here)

1. Over a Medium flame, heat the olive oil in a small saucepan until oil shimmers.

2. Sweat the onions (adding a small amount of salt to get the moisture to come out). Add the garlic and continue to saute until the onions and garlic are softened (but don’t brown or burn the garlic).

3. Add the Canned Tomatoes and tomato paste. Continue to cook down the tomatoes and stir to make sure the tomato paste is thoroughly mixed into the sauce and combines with the tomatoes.

4. Add in the Herbes de Provence and continue to cook the sauce over a low simmer for another 10 - 15 minutes.

5. Remove the sauce from heat and add in the sugar, vinegar, and water.

6. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Directions for the Cabbage

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Place the cabbage in a steamer basket (with enough water in the pan to reach the bottom of the cabbage). Place a lid on the pot and turn up the heat to medium high - steam the cabbage until the leaves on the head are cooked through and can be easily separated.

3. Mixed the ground meat, onions, eggs, potatoes, in a bowl and mixed until thoroughly mixed through and through - Roll up those sleeves and really get in there with your bare hands - it’s time to get to know your ground beef mixture. Add your desired amount of salt and pepper (not much is actually necessary).

4. Start with a large oven safe pot to cook the cabbage rolls in - I use a large cast iron dutch oven for mine. In your room temperature baking vessel, spoon several spoonfuls of your fresh tomato sauce to coat the bottom of the dutch oven.

5. Now it’s time to roll the cabbages - there’s no perfect method for this and don’t worry if your cabbage rolls are all neatly tucked together (you will find there are plenty of stuffed cabbage soup recipes out there - so even if they fall apart, it’s still gonna be delicious). Now - let’s roll - take a leaf of cabbage (large leaves can be cut in half) - starting at the base, take a healthy spoonful of chopped beef mixture (the size of the spoonful will depend on the size of the cabbage leaf). Deposit the chopped beef onto the base of the cabbage leaf and start to roll the sides in an roll the beef up the base to the end of the cabbage leaf. Envision a stuffed grape leaf looking roll. Again don’t worry about them being perfect!

6. Take each stuffed cabbage leaf and start arranging them into the covered baking vessel. Continue to do this, until the layer is complete. When you have completed a layer - spoon tomato sauce over the layer of stuffed cabbage rolls. Sprinkle 1 - 1 1/2 Tablespoons of Brown Sugar over the layer of stuffed cabbage rolls. Repeat this until all your cabbage and ground beef mixture are used up. Don’t throw away any cabbage scraps you might have - toss them into the pot. Carefully pour the water in between a couple of the cabbage rolls to add a little extra moisture to help steam the rolls while they cook.

7. Pop the lid on the vessel and place it into the oven. Cook them for 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Remove them from the oven and resist the temptation to dig in!

These can be made and refrigerated and frozen in advance. Just put a little bit of water into the pan when you heat them up.

As Always Best Regards and Bon AppetIT!

The I.T. Gourmet