6-Cheese Mac-n-Cheese

It's weird enough that I had 6 different cheeses in my possession, let alone having ALL of them work well together in this comfort dish! What a perfect accompaniment to My Meatloaf!

• 1 pound elbow macaroni
• 2 oz salted butter
• 1 cup whole milk
  
• 6 oz fresh ricotta
• 3 oz cream cheese
• 1 oz crumbled goat cheese
  
• 2 big handfuls shredded cheddar
  
• 2 big handfuls of mozzerella
• Parmagiano Reggiano - for topping
  
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling, salted water until just tender. Drain well. Add butter, milk, and all the cheeses to the warm pasta. Season with salt and pepper. Gently mix everything together, leaving some chunks of cheese. Pour the mixture into a medium sized casserole. Top with the parmagiano reggiano. Bake until beautifully golden, 30 to 40 minutes.

My Meatloaf...

... brings all the boys to the yard,
And they're like...
It's better than yours,
Damn right - it's better than yours,
I can teach you,
But I have to charge.


Sike. I won't really charge you, but my meatloaf is better than yours.

This meatloaf is really delicious and never ever dry, due to the cooking method (it's bathed in broth!). Comes out juicy and tender every time.

• 1 lb meatloaf mix
• 1 cup onions, minced
• 1/2 cup green peppers, minced
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic (I used roasted garlic and mashed it up.)
  
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup of half and half
• 1 cup of panko italian breadcrumbs
• Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
  
  
• 2 cups beef broth
  
  
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons COLD water
• 1 tsp gravy master
  

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8x8 glass pan with butter. In a mixing bowl, add the first 8 ingredients. Blend thoroughly. Shape the mixture into a loaf and place on the prepared pan. Pour the broth over the top and place in the oven, uncovered. Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Remove the meat loaf from the pan. Place the roasting pan on the stove, over medium heat. In a small bowl, whisk the flour with 2 tablespoons water. Whisk the slurry into the gravy. Add the Gravy Master. Bring the liquid to a boil and cook for few minutes, stirring constantly. Serve each slice of meatloaf with a spoonful of gravy.

Sometimes I top the meatloaf with some ketchup about 10 mins before it's done baking. Your preference.

Mushroom and Goat Cheese Penne

Borrowed this one from Donal, over at the Good Mood Food Blog! Sooo yummy!

Mmmeatballs.

• Approx 2 lbs ground beef/veal/pork mix
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1T onion minced and mixed in EVOO
• 3T pecorino/romano cheese, grated
• 3 pinches of black pepper
• 4 pinches of kosher salt
• handful chopped parsley
• 1T basil
• 3-5 T ricotta cheese (as a binding agent)

I love the binding agent in this recipe. Ricotta cheese instead of eggs or bread crumbs. Enjoy!!

Mix all until combined. Roll into balls (size is your preference).

TIP: I use a technique where I throw the meatball with force from hand to hand, removing all air pockets, then shape.

Fry in about a 1/2 inch of EVOO until all sides are browned.

Add to your favorite sauce and simmer for at least an hour, and up to 3 hours.

More ricotta gnocchi, this time with basil :)

Always refer back to my original recipe, but I just wanted to take more pics because I just love making these! This time, I added fresh basil to the dough.

Braised Red Cabbage with Bacon

• 1 medium-size red cabbage, thinly sliced
• EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
  
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 3 cooked bacon slices, diced
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 1 apple, peeled and sliced
• 3/4 cup red wine
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic

Toss together first 5 ingredients in a large bowl.

1 turn of EVOO in a pan, and add onion. Sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in cabbage mixture, apples, red wine, sugar, and minced garlic. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and simmer 30 to 35 minutes. Dee-lish!

What a pretty and TASTY side dish! Went well with the Jambalaya, but you can serve it with just about anything!

Jambalaya

Grabbed the recipe from here. I would consider this one of my "fails", but I'm hard on myself. It might be something I'm doing wrong with the rice step. Next time I will make the rice separate, and add it at the end. I never have good luck with rice! Either the rice turns out way overdone, or not enough. I like a saucier texture to the jambalaya, but this is what the turnout was. Still pretty tasty, with the ham hock and chorizo!

Giuseppina's wings and Red smashed potatoes

This is a recipe that I tried to duplicate, based on taste, touch, and smell. That's because the woman who made these, Giuseppina Volpe, didn't speak a lick of English.

But she welcomed us into her home in Acquavella, Italy. And she fed our hungry bellies, and man! Could this woman cook...

One of the simplest, tastiest courses was the chicken wings. It's so easy, that you'll be shocked when you taste how yummy these are. Probably the cheapest cut of the chicken, so it's depression-friendly. The only difference is, Giuseppina's husband (Giuseppe) probably killed and plucked the chicken that morning. But buying the wings from the Amish farmer's market is the next best thing.

Here it is...you'll make these AGAIN and AGAIN.

Giuseppina's Chicken Wings

2 lbs chicken wings (cut buffalo style)
EVOO (a quality extra virgin olive oil)

kosher salt
cracked pepper

That's it, and I'm not kidding.

Oven: 400 degrees F

Place the chix on a rimmed, non-stick cookie sheet. Coat with the EVOO, salt and pepper. Place in the oven for about 40-50 mins, turning until browned.

Smashed Red Taters

6-8 small red potatoes
EVOO
kosher salt, pepper, fresh thyme

Boil the taters til a fork goes in and tender. Transfer to a baking dish, that is coated well with EVOO. Smash GENTLY with a large fork or potato masher if you have one. Drizzle more EVOO atop the potatoes, and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Strip the thyme leaves from the stems and sprinkle those too.

Place in oven at 425 (just as the chicken is finishing!). Bake til skins are crispy, about 20 mins.

Sausage, Pepper and Potato Frittata

• 5 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk (better if you have 1/4 cup heavy cream 1/4 cup milk)
• 3-4 breakfast links
  
• handful of leftover hashbrowns or canned sliced potatoes
• 1/2 green pepper, sauteed in EVOO
  
• 1 clove garlic finely chopped
• 1/4 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano
• handful of mozzerella shredded
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• fresh parsley
• salt & pepper

Oven at 425 F

Heat up a 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and cook sausage and peppers, add garlic. Add a pinch of salt.
Scramble eggs with the milk/cream and the cheese. (save some Parmesan for the topping).

Pour in egg mixture into the skillet, add potatoes. Stir around so that everything is well-distributed.

Top with remaining cheese. Place in oven until bubbly and firm. Garnish with fresh parsley.