Mac-n-Cheese With Steez

This past Sunday I found myself strolling through the Byward Market, simply captivated by all the fresh and local goodness the vendors had to offer. Mallory can attest to the fact that I seemed like a total space cadet as I was overwhelmed by the colours and quantity of the amazing produce that surrounded me. We picked up a bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables, and dipped into the market's cheesemonger to cop some quality dairy products. We ended up walking away with a nice hunk of canadian cheddar and some top quality cottage cheese with aspirations to make some bad ass, homestyle mac and cheese to warm us up after a day walking about in the cold Ottawa drizzle. 'Twas an excellent idea and this is how it went down.

Hustle up:

- 1 lb box of suitable pasta (choose a tubular pasta that will hold the creamy sauce well, like a penne, macaroni, or cavatappi. I used cavatappi, which is also called scoobi doo)

- 1/2 - Full stick of Butter

- 2 Garlic cloves, chopped

- 1 small onion, chopped super small

- 2/3 cup of all-purpose flour

- Can of delicious beer (or a case of further drinking)

- 4 cups (1 Litre) of milk

- One can (354mL) of unsweetened evaporated milk

- 1 lb of good quality medium aged cheddar cheese, shredded

- A couple tablespoonfuls of your favourite dijon mustard

- Tablespoon of paprika (if you can get or got some smoked paprika, give it a try)

- A few generous pinches of chili powder

- Tub of cottage cheese (find some that is pretty thick)

- Sea Salt and Black Pepper

- 1/2 loaf of some sort of delicious italian bread torn into small pieces, preferably from your local bakery

- Splash of Olive oil

Get the oven heating up to 350 degrees. While the cooking box does its thang, boil some salted water and get your pasta cooked to 'al dente', which means its tender, yet still has a bit of bite or density to it. You really don't wanna over cook the pasta as you're cooking it in the sauce later. Should be about 7-8 minutes in the boiling water.

Time to get saucy. In a large sauce pan, or the pot you boiled the pasta in, melt about 1/2 the stick of butter over medium/medium-low heat. Add the chopped onion, cooking until it starts to soften, smells delicious, and become translucent. Throw in the garlic, and continue to cook until everything starts to get a little bit golden. You may need to add a few hunks of butter as the onion will absorb some and you need the butter to make the 'roux'. Add the flour and stir the mix with a wooden spoon until a thick and smooth paste is formed. If it's too doughy add a few more hunks of butter and incorporate. This paste is the 'roux' and it is frequently used for making sauces, so it is good to become familiar with it. The roux is used for thickening sauces as it has flour in it and by combining the flour with butter, it can be evenly distributed throughout the sauce, and ultimately prevents nasty lumps. Continue to cook the roux for a few minutes so it gets all toasty like, thus developing more flavour. Slowly stir in a few big splashes of the beer until the mixture becomes smooth again.

Gradually stir in both milks, then switch your cooking weapon to a whisk, and start whisking that sauce until it is nice and smooth. Continue to whisk (if you have pansy wrists, switch with a friend) and whisk for several minutes until that sauce is pretty thick.

Now its really time to party. Stir in the cheese, dijon, paprika, chili powder, and a good dash of salt and cracked pepper. 

Add the cooked pasta into the cheesy sauce of goodness, and stir to get everything nice and sloppy. Pour the sauce/pasta party into a big ass casserole dish, something like 9"x13, or a couple smaller dishes, ooor if you're fancy enough to have a individual oven proof ramikans (fancy for bowls), you can use those, too.

Spoon nice dollops of cottage cheese all over the top of the noodle party and crack a little more black pepper over top. Proceed to toss the bread chunks with a splash or two of olive oil, and then spread it out over the pasta. 

Throw it in the cooking box and bake until it is heated through and the top is sexy and golden brown, approximately 30 minutes, but it really depends on the size of the dish used. 

When I cooked this up, I used a mix of a medium aged cheddar, and some extra old cheddar (both Canadian, yay local food!) for nice sharp cheese flavour. You can definitely mix it up with whatever type of cheese you want, and you can even throw in some meat like cooked sausage, ham, BACON!, ground beef, or mix in some small chunks of cauliflower, broccoli, or whatever veges you have on hand. Serve with a nice green salad, and get dedicated.

Straight From The Pig's Mouth

A little ways back Dave had a post that was inspired by many of the rib feasts I cook up during our university daze in the Brick'Tangle. Well the local grocery store had baby back ribs on sale and I couldn't resist the meaty goodness. Amazing ribs are extremely easy and actually require minimal effort, a little bit of technique, and a huge amount of passion for deliciousness. This is a very adaptable guideline and you can get super creative with it, but my special rib formula is pretty spectacular if I do say so myself and definitely worth a try.

First order of business in making the best damn ribs you've ever eaten is to remove the membrane. The membrane is a thin, tough skin on the underside of the ribs. The membrane makes for shitty ribs in my opinion so it is best to remove it. To get this son-ofa-bitch off the meat, find a little unattached flap of the membrane near the wide end of the ribs, or make an little slice into the meat near a bone. Try to work the tip of your knife under it by running your knife back and forth in and pulling at the membrane. Once the skin starts to separate, gently yet firmly pull it away from the meat. The pictures below do a pretty good job of illustrating this. Using a paper towel for grip helps if your hands get slippery.

Once the membrane has been removed, it is time to season the meat. I use a dry rub with a variety of spices to build a sweet, savoury, and spicy flavour. These are approximate measurements and should make enough rub to cover both sides of two racks of ribs:

2 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp finely ground coffee
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp dry mustard
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp sea salt
1 tbsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander seed
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp chili flakes

Preheat your oven to 275 degrees. Yes, that low. Rub that spice mix all over both sides of the racks of ribs and place them in a pan that will accommodate the size of the meat. My racks were especially large and I had to cut them in half to fit into my pans, do the same if need be. I found that cutting them in half made the ribs much easier to handle and move about when they were cooked and super tender. You can be pretty resourceful when choosing a liquid to use for braising. Water would suffice, but thats pretty flavourless. I usually opt for some sort of beer, as it creates a fantastic flavour, especially when accompanied by said beer after the fact. I have also used cola, rootbeer, or Dr. Pepper in the past. This time around I used a mix of beer and cola, and it turned out phenomenally. Don't limit yourself to just beer and soda though, as you can literally use any liquid. For a more savoury flavour, use some wine, for a sweeter flavour, use some sort of fruit juice. Add enough liquid that it covers about a third of the meat. Cover the pan tightly with tin foil, and pop it in the oven for 4 hours. Don't even bother peaking, just let it do its thing and enjoy the aroma that will soon overwhelm you. Once the 4 hours is up, your ribs will be tender as fuck and will be in a very delicate state. Peel back the foil, and let them chill out for a bit. Drain the liquid or carefully transfer the ribs to a cutting board. Essentially your ribs are done now, but there is still another step to making these the best damn ribs ever. 

At this point, I like to let the ribs cool for a little while as it helps keep them from completely falling apart into a heavenly pile of meat. For best results, fire up the grill, but if you don't have a grill, just crank the broiler in the oven to high. These ribs will easily be delicious without any sauce, but frankly I like a sweet, spicy, and sticky crust on my finished ribs. I packed my ribs up and took them over to my friend Craig's place where we hit the grill, and he happened to have an amazing selection of BBQ sauces he picked up at the local ribfest, thus saving me time in making up my own. It is best to sauce up the bottom of the ribs and grill them facing upwards first, then carefully flip, sauce up the top side, and let the sauce begin to caramelize. Be attentive to the ribs and the heat as you don't want to char the sauce. By finishing the grilling process with the meaty top facing up, you have room to fit you tongs or flipper under the ribs when they are hot and reach a delicate, fall-off-the-bone state once again. You can do the same thing under the broiler as you can on the grill, just the grill adds that extra smokey, grilled flavour. 

Remove from grill, let them rest again for a few minutes, and then enjoy with beer and good friends. Goes well with coleslaw, potatoes of some sort (mashed, roasted, salad, etc), and maybe some baked beans if you got the time. 

Sorry pup, there won't be any meat left of these bones.

Get Sauced

As promised, I made a little magic in the kitchen last night with those fresh local tomatoes I previously posted about. The end of August and the beginning of September boasts the amazingness of tomato season. The tomato is a very versatile commodity and can be utilized in the kitchen in thousands of ways, but in an effort to keep things brief and concise, I will cut the shit and get straight to the point. This whole blog is based around the premise that delicious does not have to be complicated. In fact, it can be simple as fuck. This here recipe/guideline IS simple as fuck, and everyone should try it/remember this. It can be whipped up really quick, or can be simmered for hours. It is extremely versatile, and although very simple, it can also be very impressive. With the addition of whatever you might need to use up in your fridge, it can become a completely different beast. I speak of tomato sauce, marinara sauce, red sauce, gravy. Call it what you will, its fucking delicious and easy.

I started with a basket for fresh tomatoes, but you can easily substitute them with whole or diced canned tomatoes if you're in a rush/too lazy/it's no longer tomato season.

You will need:

- about a dozen fresh tomatoes (roma/plum or something that isn't too big and seedy)

- 1 onion chopped

- 3-4 garlic cloves chopped

- 1 shallot chopped (optional)

- red chili pepper flakes (optional)

- fresh basil leaves

- parmigiano-reggiano cheese (or something similar)

- olive oil

First, get some water boiling in a pot, and slice an X in the bottom of your tomatoes. Fill a bowl with cold water and ice and situate in close proximity to the pot of boiling water. Once that water is a boil, dunk about three tomatoes at a time in the hot water for 60 seconds, and transfer to the cold water for another 60 seconds using a slotted spoon. 

Once you have dunked all your tomatoes, you can pretty easily peel off all the skins. Using a sharp knife, cut out the stems of the tomatoes, those will make for bad texture in your sauce. Over a bowl, maybe the one you used for the cold water, give the tomatoes a good squeeze and try to get as much of the seeds to squirt out as possible. Don't stress about this too much, but it's a good thing to do. Roughly chop the tomatoes into chunks.

In a large enough sauce pan, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add your onions and cook, stirring frequently until they start to turn translucent. Now add the shallots and garlic, and chili peppers if you please, and continue to cook until everything in your world begins to smell fucking amazing and the onions and garlic start to turn a golden hue. Go ahead, add your tomatoes now. Stir around, throw a lid on that bitch, and reduce heat and allow that shit to simmer for a while. 

You should stir this every few minutes and taste as you go. As your sauce simmers away, season with some sea salt and ground pepper, and you'll probably want to throw in a dash or two of sugar (just a bit, you're not making jam) to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes. I let my sauce simmer for about 30 minutes with the lid on, then about 10 minutes with the lid off. By cooking with the lid on, it keeps the natural liquids in the sauce and helps breakdown the big chunks of tomato. Then with the lid off, the sauce thickens up a little bit as the water evaporates. You could easily skip the lid and break down the tomatoes with an immersion blender if you're in a rush or a lazy fuck, but the sauce tastes better if you let that shit sim-sim-simmer.

As you rock the sauce with the lid off and it starts to thicken up, throw a pot of salted water on the stove, bring it to a boil and get some noodles cooking if this is how you intend to use your sauce. I cooked up some spaghetti, as I find the long, thin noodles the perfect vessel for this velvety, red sauce. As the noodles cook, grab some of that fresh basil, roll it up into a little basil blunt, and slice it. Also, grate the parmigiano cheese with a fine grater. Throw a bunch of the basil and cheese into the sauce and stir it around, but make sure to reserve a bit of each for garnishing.

Once your noodles are all cooked up, add a few tablespoons of noodle water to the sauce. Drain the noodles and divide amongst bowls or plates, sauce it up, garnish and serve.

Enjoy the deliciousness of simplicity. Sorry for cursing.

Some Really Really Good Pasta*

This post is solely dedicated to Ben Temple. Happy birthday Ben! I could have just named this post "Happy Birthday Ben!", but I didn't... Not because Ben isn't deserving of it, but just because I happened to name it something else first. For real though, it's Ben Temple's birthday today, and part of the reason I put an effort into this blog is because of Ben Temple. I used to live with Ben in university and I know first hand he enjoyed deliciousness. In fact, I had seen him try his hand at impressing his lovely lady friend with some of his home cooking skills, and later had heard her wishes for, "[him] to just be able to make some really really good pasta".

I agree. A very ambiguous request if I do say so myself. What is "some really really good pasta?" How does one go about defining this? Well, to each is his own, but after a hard day of consuming at a bar that is on a pirate ship, one might define it as the following, and I for Goddamn-sure know Anna just might agree with me on this one. So, Happy Birthday Benjamin Temple and I hope upon the William Thorton bar that you use this recipe in your favour at least twice, as it is that good. Aaaand it is so simple that you can do it after a hard afternoon of drinking, just as I successfully have. Not too sure if the pictures do any justice, but hopefully you get the jist of all this. Party on my friend and I hope you get what you deserve on this 23rd birthday of yours.

You will need:
- 3-4 Italian Sausage Links
- 2 Large Handfuls of your favourite mushrooms (button, mini bellos, shitaki, oyster, magic, portobello, whatever you like...)
- 2-3 cloves of Garlic (chopped up like)
- 3-4 Green Onions chopped into 1 inch sections
- Grainy Mustard
- Cream (half and half, whole, heavy, or whatever your heart can handle)
- Whole wheat Penne pasta (enough for 2-3 servings)
- Fresh basil leaves
- Delicious delicious

In my opinion, pasta should never be a very complicated thing to make. So, to start this off get your sausage in a frying pan or skillet, over medium high heat. I recommend removing the meaty sausage goodness from the casing by simply making a slit down the side of the sausage, with a sharp knife, and squeezing it right into the pan. Break it up with your spoon or spatula and get it moving around until it is just cooked. Remove the sausage and set aside.

While you play with your sausage, you should take your shrooms, and cut them in half for slicing ease. After cutting them in half, simply continue to slice them into thin pieces. Take your green onions and chop into one inch sections, discard the white bits though. At this point, you should chop your garlic cloves if you haven't done so already. Meanwhile, get a pot of salted water boiling for your pasta. Now, throw your mushrooms in the frying pan after you have removed the sausage and get them moving around. Once the shrooms start to soften, add your garlic and continue to toss around the pan: do not let the garlic burn! Now that the garlic is getting all fragrant and soft, toss the green onions in the pan. Continue to move these around until they are softening, as well. As the shrooms, garlic and onions get all sexy smelling, you should reintroduce the sausage back into the pan, as well as a good dollop or two of the grainy mustard. Turn the heat down to medium low as you stir everything around and start to add cream to the equation. You want to add cream to cover about half to three-quarters of the sausage/garlic/onion/shroom mixture. I won't give an exact measurement as you can eyeball this and make as much sauce as you like. Crack some black pepper over top, stir to combine with the mustard and cream and simmer until sauce begins to thicken.

Hopefully at this point your pasta water has already begun to boil. Add your desired measurement of pasta to the water and continue to boil until it is "al dente" (tender but has a bit of bite to it still), or until it is cooked to your liking. Drain the water from the pasta, but reserve a few small spoonfuls of the pasta water. Add the pasta, and the reserved pasta water into the cream sauce and mix around until everything is coated with sauce. Divide all the goodness amongst your serving vessel of choice (bowl or plate) and garnish with some chopped fresh basil leaves. I find this part to be crucial as it really livens up the whole dish with the greenness and fresh taste of the basil. There isn't a flavour in the world that gets me as excited as fresh basil. After the basil, grate some of that Parmesan cheese on top and give it a good sprinkle of some olive oil. Now you may serve and enjoy what has been coming to you since you put that garlic in the pan and didn't burn it! 

Atta boy. Happy Birthday.  

*This dish is so easy, it can even be made after a long day of partying on a pirate-ship bar. True story.