American Dinner: Mac n Cheese!!

Makerouns

Ok the title isn’t too American; but I can assure you the end product is as American as warm Apple Pie. Recorded in an English cookbook in the 14^th century; Makerouns is a cheese and noodle casserole. Yes good old American Mac and Cheese!

Although the roots of Mac and Cheese can be traced back to Marco Polo and his trip to China; this down home, stick to your bones American comfort food has a strong American past. In 1787, Thomas Jefferson returned to the United States after a trip to Europe while he was the minister to France. Jefferson was a foodie and he brought with him a pasta machine along with many recipes from Italy. What happened next is up for debate but it has been documented in the Library of Congress; one of his guests reported eating “a pie called macaroni,” an early version of what we now call Baked Macaroni and Cheese. It is also said the first serving was by Thomas Jefferson at a White House dinner in 1802 and the first American recipe was published in 1824 by Mary Randolph (Jefferson’s cousin); titled “The Virginia Housewife.” Another American President, Ronald Regan, who absolutely loved Mac and Cheese, had his White House staff prepare the following recipe:

Ingredients
½ pound macaroni, 1 tablespoon butter, 1 egg beaten, 3 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese, 1 cup of warm milk, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon dry mustard, ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce and pinch of paprika.
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350⁰F, butter a 2-quart casserole dish; add macaroni to 2 quarts of boiling salted water and cook for 10 minutes; drain in a colander, transfer to a mixing bowl; stir in butter and beaten egg, add 2 ½ cups of the grated cheese. In a small bowl combine milk with salt, mustard and Worcestershire sauce; spoon macaroni and cheese into the prepared casserole; pour milk mixture over and sprinkle top with the remaining cheese. Sprinkle with paprika; bake on the middle shelf of a preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until macaroni is firm to the touch, the top is crusty and browned. Serve at once, either as a light entrée accompanied by a hot green vegetable and a crisp salad; or as a side dish with hamburgers or meatloaf, two more American staples.

Obviously times changed since Jefferson introduced us to Mac and Cheese. Women began to look for changes outside of the kitchen, and convenient foods were introduced into the market. Mac and Cheese was already a family favorite in American kitchens at the start of the 20^th century; Kraft Foods decided the time was right to introduce a dinner in a box, called Kraft Dinner. In 1937 Kraft Macaroni and Cheese made it to the grocery shelves in the USA and Canada; it soon became an instant success. At the start of World War II rationing went into effect; meat, milk and dairy were some of the products rationed. This was also the time when women joined the work force; while their men were serving in the military. After working 12 hours these same women needed something easy to prepare; hence the enormous boost of Kraft Mac and Cheese.

There are numerous names throughout the United States and our American timeline; and of course a wide variety of recipes. In Southeastern Connecticut it was called long ago a macaroni pudding; in Italy the dish was classically made with Parmesan cheese. There is also a variation in Switzerland called Alplermagronen; which means Alpine Herder’s Macaroni. Recently our beloved Mac and Cheese has received a bad rap for obesity. The boxed versions of this homemade favorite actually have fewer calories and fat then the higher quality homemade version. At home there are alternatives by using whole wheat noodles, skim milk, olive oil, etc. Overall I still like Mac and Cheese the way it comes; sticky, gooey, cheesy, yummy goodness.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macaroni_and_cheese
http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/MAIN/pastas/gourmet-mac2.asp
http://www.macaronicheeserecipes.com/Macaroni-and-Cheese-History.htm
http://southernfood.about.com/cs/casserolerecipes/a/macncheese.htm
http://www.cliffordawright.com/caw/food/entries/display.php/topic_id/16/id/105/

Modern Cuisine - working with seaweed

So my first day at the Modern Cuisine - Culinary Club was fun and successful.

We worked with a hydrocolloid called Carrageenan; which is derived from Red Seaweed found in the Atlantic Ocean. It's used to thicken different foods and drinks we use everyday. You boil the seaweed to extract the carrageenan; which is ironic because then you boil your liquids with carrageenan to thicken the product.

Referenced: http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/question315.htm

We created some pretty interesting gels, deserts, drinks, etc...

I worked on two different recipes; one was a pineapple gel which didn't turn out so well...I found out later that I should have put the pineapple juice in a blender. After I had the juice spinning in a vortex then I should have added the iota carrageenan. (two different forms of carrageenan; iota and kappa) Then I could have heated the juice and chilled as specified.

My next recipe was a Chocolate chantilly, foam, desert...it was a chocolate mousse/gel desert and then broken in too two other properties. The first was a mixture of water, sugar, heavy cream, melted chocolate, instant coffee and carrageenan. You heat all the ingredients to a minimum of 80 degrees Celsius (or 176 degrees Fahrenheit); then place in molds and chill. This first form is the desert portion...carrageenan causes the finished product to be silky smooth in a gel form. The second form was to but the gel into a blender and make a liquid gel...finally the final form was to place the liquid gel and charge it with nitrogen. You can then create the foam...the finished product is pictured below.

This was a lot of fun and brought me back to my scientific/lab days in middle & high school...

New England Week

This week was New England week...we had New England Clam Chowder, Gingerbread with whipped cream, New England Boiled Dinner (corned beef, cabbage, carrots, turnips, onions, potatoes), Cod Cakes, Clams Casino, Roasted turkey with sweet potato mash, glazed turnips and stuffing...oh and of course blueberry/peach cobbler!

Whew!

In the two days of New England food and learning the idea behind most of the food; I realized I am not a New England fan. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I am a Dolphins fan and can't stand the Patriots; or I just wasn't thrilled with the mostly bland menu. Don't get me wrong however, the food we created tasted great! But, I look for more flavors to pop in a dish.

Our boiled dinner came out great...all the cuts were done great and chef made the corned beef (because of time constraints). The clam chowder was a hit! Everyone loved it and the taste was perfect. I waited until serving time to add the clams and made sure I used enough clams so every bite had one. As for the condiments; I had Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce on the side to add to the soup if you desired. Our cobbler was awesome; although it could of sat in the oven another 10 minutes to cook the very center. Otherwise the taste was perfect...and the crumb was seasoned well.

On the second day we had a lot to do...

I roasted the turkey (1/2 a bird) with a rub of olive oil, salt, pepper, sage and thyme. We also made clams casino; which consisted of bacon, burnoise red pepper, green pepper, fine diced onion, panko bread crumbs and of course the clam. You saute all the goodies and after steaming the clams and removing from the shell; place back in the shell with a scoop of the breading. Bake the clams in the oven until done. Turnips were glazed the same we learned how to glaze carrots, but we used maple syrup instead of sugar. The stuffing was a little wet because we used panko by accident; but it turned out great!!! The sweet potato mash was very easy to make and Maria added brown sugar to the mash to add sweetness. The cranberry sauce was a boiled reduction on orange, cranberries, sugar and water. Finally the Cod Cakes were a hit, made by Vanessa. Vanessa made the patties of potato and poached cod; then pan fried them. Everyone loved the cakes...

Overall good week and I look forward to the Mid-Atlantic this week...please see the pictures below...

Avocado Tuna Salad

Ok so I tried something out last night for Christina's lunch...

I took one 5 oz can of Bumble Bee Solid Albacore (in water) tuna; mixed it with 1/4 of a Haas avocado, 2 minced dill gherkins; 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes; 1/4 tsp onion powder; pinch of salt; pinch of black pepper; pinch of garlic powder; 1/4 tsp olive oil; 1 tbsp of red wine vinegar; 1 tsp of low fat mayonnaise (NOT miracle BLAH!)...
Mix all ingredients well making it very smooth...

You can add back into half of the avocado shell; top with thin sliced 1/4 of plum tomato; rest of other 1/4 part of avocado and alfalfa sprouts...or put mix in a wrap with tomato, alfalfa and avocado. If you like onion taste add a few thin slices of onion...
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

Al Cacace
954-475-2525 ext 18
-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Latin Week 9

Last week in Latin we made a lot of food and finished in the allotted time. Only wish the group would learn how to clean and stop screwing around. We finished at 9:00 and didn't get out until 10:45...I hope some of them who are there to receive their diplomas; get some discipline before getting a job in the real world.

Our menu for this week consisted of the lower Antilles...Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Trinidad, etc...
We made pepper pot soup, yuca mufongo with cilantro aioli sauce (we made mufongo with plantains instead), camarones sofrito (shrimp in red sofrito), salad of hearts of palm with passion fruit vinaigrette, Sorullos de maiz, guava fool, and corn pudding.

Let me start by saying this week's food was awesome! I made the Pepper pot Soup and the Hearts of Palm Salad; with passion fruit vinaigrette. The pepper pot soup is a mixture of greens, simmered meats, shrimp, scotch bonnet pepper, root vegetables, boniato, taro root, okra and coconut milk. Chef said the taste, color and texture were perfect. I should have used a different garnish instead of the chives...obviously this one slipped past me with green on green. Our salad was great; the vinaigrette according to chef tasted great and it was very refreshing. I should have cut the cherry tomatoes in half and cut the hearts on the bias. Other than the fore mentioned; the salad was great...a good mix of red onion, hearts of palm, tomatoes, red bell and green bell pepper.

The mufongo was made by Maria and it contained pork rinds, plantain chips, fresh garlic cloves, plantains...it was AWESOME! We filled the mufongo with Loida's Camarones Sofrito. We made the red sofrito instead of the green and it turned out great. Chef said the shrimp were perfectly cooked, the sofrito tasted great and the mix with the mufongo was great! In fact chef had us bring around our mufongo for everyone to try...

Henry made the sorullos de maiz from Puerto Rico. They are made with fine corn meal, water and salt...then you fill them with queso fresco. WOW! Maria made a dip that was basically mayo, ketchup and lime juice...what a perfect compliment. Mike made the guava fool and corn pudding...chef thought both deserts were great and I thought the same. Guava Fool is basically guava puree (confectioners sugar and softened guava) strained and chilled. Then you fold the puree into whipped heavy cream; garnish with mint leaves and almonds if you wish. The corn pudding is a can of creamed corn, milk, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and coconut milk. You blend the corn, coconut and half the milk; pass through a strainer and add the rest of the milk. Then you add sugar, vanilla bean and boil. Reduce the mixture to a simmer add the cinnamon; dissolve the cornstarch to make a slurry and add to the mix. Once the pudding is thickened, turn off the heat and remove vanilla bean. Pour the pudding into individual cups and dust with ground cinnamon.

Overall it was an awesome week...we finished on time and we made awesome food! This week is our practical final...look for my pictures on this awesome dish!

Baking week 9

This week in baking we made Challah Bread, peanut butter cookies, and cinnamon rolls...

We used the straight dough method for the challah, a series of creaming and straight dough with the cinnamon rolls, and of course the creaming method with the peanut butter cookies. Our peanut butter cookies had great flavor, size, color and texture. Our Challah needed to be a little shorter, but overall the color, taste, texture and braiding were all good. Our cinnamon rolls were a good size and the flavor was great. However I had to add a little flour to the dough when rolling out because it was a little too wet. It was a good night for us and we finished pretty quickly.

I noticed a lot of teams were busy spending a lot of time fermenting their doughs and not starting on the next project. Next week I expect us to be one of the first groups to finish and have all of our products ready to go by 9pm. We made a good team this semester in baking; and I look forward to the second round of baking pastry in a couple of semesters from now. Please take a look at the pictures below and I hope you all like what we made. I am excited to make the cinnamon rolls one of these mornings... :)

Latin week 8

This week was the Greater Antilles...we made food from Cuba and Jamaica. We made black bean soup, avocado and pineapple salad, Jamaican run down, jerk chicken, steamed callaloo pastries with ackee butter sauce.

The black soup turned out awesome...just like how my step family makes it at home. Henry started out with beans that simmered with green pepper. He then added oil, hocks, sliced onion, bell pepper and garlic. Cook everything until tender/soft; then added tomato paste, cumin, oregano, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Wait until the liquid thickens then remove the meat from the bones. Finish off the soup with a small amount of diced onions, olive oil, cilantro and vinegar. Chef said it was the best of the night and the closest to the real thing...

Our avocado and pineapple salad was a little bland but the color was good. The only thing we needed to try and do was refrain from using the black avocados...lol. The dressing consists of mayonnaise, lime juice, dijon mustard, honey, sour cream and salt. The salad includes avocados, red cabbage, green cabbage, carrot and diced pineapple.

The Jamaican Run Down was good, but we could've used a little more seasoning as well. Chef said the color was good, the spice was good but the salt was lacking. I think we are trying to adhere to the new law trying to be based in New York which will fine restaurants that use salt in their food. The rundown is a coconut milk sauce that the fish is cooked in...the sauce consists of coconut milk, onion, garlic, scotch bonnet, ripe tomatoes, cider vinegar, dried thyme, salt and pepper. The fish is marinated in lime juice and then cooked in the sauce until the fish is flaky.

The jerk chicken was GREAT! Chef was more impressed with the color of another student's chicken but mine was the only moist piece of chicken. I know what I was missing now and I will eliminate the turmeric next time. The chicken should have also been marinated for a long period of time and it wasn't. The marinade/adobo consisted of coriander, ginger, red pepper flakes, turmeric, dry mustard, nutmeg, cayenne, black pepper, salt, paprika and sugar. You take this mixture add fresh thyme, olive oil and vinegar; then cover and marinate. Place on grill for marks and then finish in the oven. Serve with the pineapple avocado salad...

Loida made the callaloo pastries; even though they took a long time for her to make, I thought they tasted great. Chef like the pastries and the sauce but we could've finished earlier. The pastries had garlic, onion, scotch bonnet, thyme, callaloo and tomato. It was then mixed in with cheese and filled in phyllo dough sheets. These are then baked in the oven at 350 degrees seam side down. The sauce consisted of ackee, bay leaf, white wine, heavy cream, peppercorns, clarified butter, salt and pepper. Overall the sauce tasted like Hollandaise with Ackee...it was actually really good.

The banana fritters were made by Mike; and they were made into binnets. They consisted of flour, baking powder, salt, ripe bananas, lime juice, egg, sugar and oil to fry. Maria made the Coco Quemado and it's listed as pudding; but I realized after chef said it...that they are really Cuban coconut macaroons! These Cuban cookies, pudding etc...consist of sugar and water melted and then added grated coconut, egg yolks, cinnamon and dry sherry.

Overall the night was a success but we definitely need to work a lot faster!!!!

Dinner Tonight

I am going to make something I am going to call "Pez de Volcan"...

I am going to make the isreali couscous with quinoa; sauteed onions and mushrooms. The other side will be steamed asparagus. The fish I will pan sear and top with a guajillo pepper sauce...almost like molten lava...

Baking Someone Else's Dough...

This week in baking we made some awesome goodies!

We made apple-raisin bread pudding; Pain Au Levain (San Francsico Sourdough); Chocolate Brownies and Brioche (from someone else's dough). Chef thought all of our goodies tasted great and no flaws in the production. However our Brioche was dry, taste was off and no color. We did get a reprieve for using someone else's dough. Since you have to let Brioche dough ferment in the fridge we could not use our dough for class; instead we used someone else's dough. This cut out a lot of time but it was GROSS! I feel bad for the person who made the dough because he/she will never know what their dough will taste like; and perhaps they will think it was perfect. Who knows our dough could end up like a hockey puck as well...lol. Whatever the case may be we learned the process of making brioche and now we can do it on our own.

To make the bread pudding you have to make a custard creaming the yolks and sugar with a paddle. Then you incorporate toasted bread, sauteed raisins, apples, cinnamon/sugar, etc. along with cream. This turned out great and I will make more of these at home. Our chocolate brownies were great and we couldn't eat them because they were for graduation. Our sourdough had the right consistency but it wasn't sour enough. That is dough to the starter we used didn't ferment long enough. Overall we flew through this class and we made great food. The Sourdough used the sponge method and of course we blasted it with moisture to give it a crust...

Can't wait to make bread pudding for St. Patty's day!