Mexican Fondue

28th April, 2010 - Posted by Emily - Comments

I’ve been MIA lately. John started a new job and he travels a lot now, so I don’t have anyone to cook for. I did cook my dear friend Kelly dinner for her birthday, and I’m hosting my parents for dinner on Friday, so hopefully I’ll get some new posts up soon!

I made this fondue a while back when our friends Nate and Laura hosted a fondue party and I needed to bring something other than the traditional cheese or chocolate fondue. You can serve this in tortillas or with tortilla chips. Here’s a link to the recipe from Martha Stewart (her recipes never let you down!), and I’ll include the steps below.

Take a big block of monterey jack cheese. I love Fancy brand cheese.

Whenever I get the cheese grater out, here comes my buddy Olive to clean up anything that happens to fall on the floor!

Grate all the cheese and reserve for later. It’s a good arm workout to grate a pound of cheese.

Next, preheat your oven to broil. Place two poblano peppers on a sheet pan on the top rack. Broil them, turning approximately every 5 minutes until each side is blackened. Remove them from the oven and place them in a ziploc bag and seal. When cool, remove them from the plastic bag and peel off the blackened skin. Remove the ribs, seeds, and stem and dice.

Dice a red bell pepper.

Remove the chorizo from it’s casing and saute over medium heat. When it’s almost cooked through, and the red pepper.

Add the cheese and diced poblano peppers, stir to mix all together. Serve warm in tortillas.

Macaroni & Cheese

5th October, 2009 - Posted by Emily - Comments

When the weather turns cold, I crave comfort foods. How about you? Here’s the perfect thing to satisfy your cravings. Watch out – I cut this recipe in half and it still made way too much! I’ll link to the original recipe in case you want to feed a crowd, but if you’re cooking for fewer than 6 people, I’ve halved the recipe for you. The key to a smooth cheese sauce is warming the milk before making the sauce (thanks, Martha, for the tip!).

Mac & Cheese

Macaroni & Cheese
Adapted from Martha Stewart, Feeds about 6

4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
2 3/4 cups milk
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
1/2 pound elbow macaroni

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 1.5 qt casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside. Melt one tablespoon of butter in a small dish and add the bread crumbs and stir to coat. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, heat the milk over medium heat (stir occasionally). Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour, stir and cook for one minute. Slowly pour in the warm milk, and whisk constantly. Continue to cook and the mixture should bubble and become thick. Remove from heat and add the cheese, reserving 1/4 cup. Stir until the cheese is melted. Set aside.

Cook the pasta to al dente, then drain and mix with the cheese sauce. Pour into the prepared casserole dish. Top with the remaining cheese and the breadcrumbs. Bake at 375 degrees until warm throughout and bubbly, about 20-30 minutes. The top should be nice and golden brown. Serve with a salad or broccoli.