I collect recipes. I do this with the intent of actually trying them at some point but I think it has gotten out of hand. Most of the recipes, I’ve placed into sheet protectors and they are arranged using the chapter titles of “The All New, All Purpose Joy of Cooking” in two 3″ binders. That’s all well and good. The problem is that I also have a small, wooden trunk full of loose recipes.
I’m not sure what drives me to look at new recipes; it’s not as if I don’t have dozens and dozens of cookbooks. I did recently edit my cookbook collection but somehow it manages to grow anyhow. Just last week I picked up IKEA’s cookbook, mostly to get their Swedish meatball recipe (anyone know where I can buy rusk flour?) but there are several dishes in the book that I’d like to try. When that’ll happen, I don’t honestly know.
My favorite cookbooks for recipes are the ones by Paula H. Deen of the Lady and Sons restaurant in Savannah and the Food Network. My favorite cookbooks to read are by Nigella Lawson. I do make many things from the Cooks’ Illustrated magazine, especially their recipes for macaroni and cheese (yes, you can make it from scratch although I do love Kraft Macaroni & Cheese too) and fried pork chops.
What I think it comes down to is that I have this wildly optimistic hope that I will discover a fabulous dish that will make it into the normal rotation of meals we regularly eat. I read somewhere that American families tend to eat the same sixteen meals over and over again. You know how it goes at mealtime, “What? Meatloaf again??”
This said, if anyone has a fabulous recipe that I should try, let me know. Yes, I realize I’m asking you to support my questionable habit but if the recipe has been pre-tested, maybe it could go directly into our regular menu instead of sitting in my wooden chest of recipe limbo.
As a token of good will, here is the macaroni and cheese recipe that I use (the original has a bread crumb topping but that seemed weird to me). It is creamy and delicious. I make it using Dreamfield pasta so it doesn’t seem to do weird things to my blood sugar where I’m starving two hours after eating but any elbow macaroni will do. Bon apetit!
Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated Macaroni and Cheese 1 pound elbow macaroni 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon salt 5 tablespoons unsalted butter 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons powdered mustard 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 5 cups milk 8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, grated (2 cups) 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated (2 cups)
Bring 4 quarts of water to boil in a pot over high heat. Add macaroni and 1 tablespoon salt; cook until pasta is tender. Drain pasta and set aside in colander.
In now-empty pot, heat butter over medium-high heat until foaming. Add flour, mustard, and cayenne and whisk until mixture becomes fragrant and deepens in color, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk; bring mixture to a boil, whisking constantly (mixture must reach full boil to fully thicken). Reduce heat to medium and simmer, whisking occasionally, until thickened to consistency of heavy cream, about 5 minutes. Off heat, whisk in cheese and 1 teaspoon salt until cheeses are fully melted. Add pasta and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is steaming and heated through, about 6 minutes.
I’m going to try to make the macoroni