Florentine Mac and Cheese and Meatballs

The air is getting colder... makes you wanna put on a sweater... and eat comfort foods. And so as I was home after work in the early evening, actually awake enough (and not napping) to catch Rachael Ray on Food Network... I catch the episode, "Mac and Cheese Goes Green"! heehee... if you don't know me very well, I got to say those are two of my favorite things... Mac and Cheese and Green;o)

Even though I caught it in the middle of the episode--and maybe I was flipping back and forth between a rerun of Friends... I caught enough of the episode to know that it was easy to make and the meatballs were huge (my other favorite--besides hot sausage) looked yumm-o!;o) ...and it's got spinach in it! I never cook with spinach!!

Florentine Mac and Cheese with Meatballs

Salt
1 lb. cavatappi corkscrew shaped hallow pasta
1 1/2 lbs. ground chicken (I used ground turkey.)
Black pepper
2 to 3 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves stripped and finely chopped
2 tsp. fennel seeds
3 cloves garlic, grated
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups grated Parmigiano Reggiano, divided
1 egg
3/4 cup bread crumbs, plus more if needed*
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2-10 oz. boxes of chopped frozen spinach
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup whole milk
1/8 tsp grated nutmeg, eyeball it

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Place a large pot of water on to boil for pasta. When it comes to a boil, salt it and add the pasta to cook to al dente. Strain pasta reserving 1 cup cooking liquid.

While the water is coming to a boil, in a large mixing bowl combine the chicken, salt and pepper, rosemary, fennel seeds, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup grated Parm (not packed), egg and bread crumbs. (*If the mixture seems too wet, add a handful of bread crumbs and mix together.)

Form 8 large round balls, about 3 to 4 inches. Coat balls in a couple of tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil and lightly grease a baking sheet with 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil. Arrange balls on the baking sheet and roast 17 to 18 minutes until juices run clear.

Defrost spinach in microwave 8 to 10 minutes on "defrost" setting depending on the microwave. Place the boxes in a shallow dish to catch any run off.

While the meatballs roast, in a medium sauce pot over medium heat, melt butter, whisk in flour, cook 1 minute then whisk in stock and milk, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and thicken 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1 cup grated Parm and reduce heat on lowest setting.

Wring spinach completely dry in clean kitchen towel then separate as you add it to the sauce. Also add the reserved 1 cup pasta cooking liquid. Toss pasta with the spinach-white sauce and adjust seasonings. Serve Florentine Mac-n-Cheese with 2 meatballs per person.

It's called an ULTIMATE Lasagna...

Alright. I was left quite unsatisfied with this recipe. I was even contemplating whether or not to post it. But I decided that I must post it... and in the meantime, I will brainstorm (mmm... 6th grade english vocab word!) on how to make this d*mn recipe work...

"Inspired" by Tyler Florence's The Ultimate Lasagna (I'm not attaching the link, because the recipe is a little messed up as is--I will put in my edits myself!!)

1.5 lb. dried lasagna noodles
extra-virgin olive oil
2 lbs. ground beef
2 lbs. italian sausage
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup finely chopped italian flat-leaf parsley
1 tbsp chopped oregano leaves
2 tbsp all purpose flour
2 cups red wine
2- 28 oz. cans diced tomatoes (and possibly substitute one can of diced tomatoes with a smaller size can of tomato paste, that way it is not as watery)
3 tbsp heavy cream
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 quarts ricotta cheese (2 containers)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup grated Parmesean, and extra for topping
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 lb. mozzarella cheese, shredded, and extra for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook the lasagna noodles in plenty of boiling salted water until pliable and barely tender, about 10 minutes. Stir with a wooden spoon to prevent sticking. Drain the noodles thoroughly and coat with olive oil to keep them moist and easy to work with. Coat the large skillet with olive oil, add beef and sausage and brown until no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

In a food processor, combine the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, basil, parsley, and oregano. Process until pureed, add to the pan with ground meat and stir to combine. Stir in the flour. Add the wine and cook until it has reduced by half. Stir in the tomatoes and add the heavy cream and the cinnamon. (Please note: Cooking the sauce took the most prep and cooking time.)

In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta and the parmesean. Stir in the eggs and season with salt and pepper.

To assemble the lasagna: Coat the bottom of a DEEP pan--I used a disposable lasagna pan that was like 3 inches deep maybe and 13 x 9 probably. Arrange the noodles lengthwise in a slightly overlapping layer. Also, line each end of the pan with a lasagna noodle. This forms a collar that holds in the corners. Each layer should have ricotta, sauce, and cheese. The picture has four layers to the ULTIMATE lasagna. For each layer: Dollop a 1/4 of the ricotta mixture over the pasta, spread to the edges with a spatula. Spread 1/4 of the meat mixture over the ricotta. Sprinkle 1/4 of the mozzarella on top of the ricotta. Then top with noodles, and repeat. Top last layer with noodles, sauce, shredded mozzarella and Parmasean. Tap the pan to force out air bubbles.

Bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven. Let lasagna rest for 30 minutes so the noodles will settle and cut easily. Cut into 2-inch squares and serve.

Southern Fried Chicken

This Tuesday's dinner was a team effort... some Southern Fried Chicken with Macaroni and Cheese. I was responsible for the fried chicken, and I didn't want anything too complicated... (see my next post--it will be about the disaster that was my Ultimate Lasagna... hahaha). Turns out fried chicken really isn't that hard. I can't say I know the total cooking time... but the total time may be something round 1-2 hours with breaks for sneaking a peek at the baseball game on tv;o)

Paula Deen's Southern Fried Chicken recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/southern-fried-chicken-recipe2/index.html

Cooking Notes:
1) I think I'm gonna work on my own "House seasoning" used on the chicken. According to the recipe, Paula Deen's house seasoning consists of salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I was consciously using garlic salt, and I tried to be careful about the amount of salt I was using. Unfortunately, the chicken still came out a bit over-salted.

2) Secondly: instead of buying yet another ingredient for this one-time recipe, I found a recipe for "self-rising flour".

For 1 cup of self-rising flour: Combine 1 cup of all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

3) Lastly: I halved boneless and skinless chicken breasts and drumsticks instead of a whole chicken cut into pieces for this recipe. I was very satisfied with the outcome. I figured the boneless-ness would make them fry faster, and it did. The drumsticks came out the best--especially when I made sure that they were completely breaded AND I kept them frying a bit longer than the breast pieces--just to make sure that it gets a good brown and cooks all the way through.

Jenny found a yummy recipe for Mac N Cheese--it has ham AND tomatoes in it. Here it is:

Macaroni and Cheese adapted from Amanda Hesser’s “Cooking for Mr. Latte”

2 tablespoons butter , plus more for buttering dish

2 tablespoons flour

2 cups whole milk

1 1/2 cups grated monterey jack cheese, plus more for topping
(Yikes!) My note for this one is either don't be afraid to add more cheese (if you want it to be cheesy)... or consider blending the jack with another cheese; because it came out kinda mild.

3 1/2 cups cooked elbow macaroni

1 cup country ham, cubed

1 cup canned whole plum tomatoes with juice , drained (reserve the juice)
Note: We decided even though there was no specific instruction to slice them... those whole plum tomatoes come pretty huge and instead of mashing them we roughly sliced them. (meaning, they don't have to be "pretty" slices.)

3/4 cup coarse breadcrumbs

ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and butter an 8 x 8 baking dish.

In a saucepan, heat the two tablespoons butter until foamy. Sprinkle in the flour and whisk until it turns golden, then slowly pour in the milk, continuing to whisk.

Bring to a simmer over medium heat and let it thicken.

Stir in the cheese and remove from the heat (it should be a loose sauce). Fold in the macaroni and ham, then add tomatoes by squeezing them between your fingers. The mixture should be loose like a thin batter; if it’s gluey or thick, add a little milk or drained tomato juice.

Pour into the casserole dish and spread breadcrumbs over the surface. Top with 1/4 cup cheese and ground pepper. Bake until browned on the top and bubbling, about 25 minutes.

I think this may be a lil better than KFC... jus think about it;o)

Tomato Beef Chow Mein

Don't sound so surprised... I can cook like the Chinese-American person I am;o) hahaha. (Yeah... I knew I couldn't say that with a straight face...) But well, since I was a kid... on the days that my dad was in charge of cooking and we would end up going to the chinese restaurant down the street and ordering some TBCM (Tomato Beef Chow Mein), I've come to think that this is a typical chinese dish--it isn't though... I've learned that it's more like a creation of the Chinese-American restaurants. My mom gave it a shot maybe once or twice... and I know when you make it at home, it never tastes the same as in the restaurant. But here's my second shot at it... and I thought it was pretty good.

Tomato Beef Chow Mein

1 package pan fried noodles (I used about 3/4 lb.)
1/2 lb. beef, sliced thin against the grain
2 tsp's soy sauce
2 tsp's cornstarch
1 tsp sugar
1 onion, wedged
1 green bell pepper, wedged
1 large tomato, wedged
2 tbsp's olive oil
for more veggies:
consider adding sliced (thinly) celery, carrots, and/or mushrooms

Sauce ingredients:
1 cup water
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4-1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp's sugar

Boil noodles in water for 2 minutes, rinse and set aside.

Slice beef thinly across the grain. Combine beef with soy sauce, cornstarch, and sugar.
In a separate bowl, combine sauce ingredients.

Heat the oil over medium heat. Spread the noodles over the bottom of the pan to fry until lightly brown, only turning once, remove noodles and set aside. Add more oil, fry the beef until done, remove and set aside. Add onions and peppers (and all other vegetables), stir fry a few seconds to break onion apart.

Add sauce mixture, stir until thickened. Add tomato and beef, stir gently to combine. Add the noodles and fluff gently with a fork to combine.

So like I said... this isn't AUTHENTIC Chinese--don't get it confused. But the recipe works--I think I've made it twice now and I was satisfied with the way that it turned out this time. The sauce didn't seem as tomato-y or salty like in the restaurant (for that, you may need to use a lil "magic dust", a.k.a MSG). Otherwise, this is a fun dish. Enjoy!