cheese

KNR, p. 202 “The Kerrians’ Famous Mac & Cheese”

 

The temperatures are cooling off and comfort food takes center stage at our house. We fend off the chill with body warming soup and hearty sandwiches, but every once in a while, we like mac & cheese for lunch or dinner.

I like to taste test the new versions with different goodies added to the mix, but there is a basic recipe that Sheila uses (and even I can make) that is fail-safe. We sometimes prepare it ahead and serve it as a side dish if we’re expecting a crowd.

A couple of thoughts: It looks like a lot of instructions, but you’re boiling noodles, grating cheese, making a sauce, and putting it together in layers – like lasagna. No bodies were found while making the latest batch. Promise.  🙂

Here’s our famous Mac & Cheese recipe:

 

The Kerrians' Famous Mac & Cheese

Sheila Kerrian
tasty comfort food
Print Recipe
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 20 minutes
Course Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 4

Equipment

  • 2 quart baking dish
  • 3 quart pot

Ingredients
  

Noodles

  • 1 8 oz box small elbow noodles
  • 2 teaspoons sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon butter or margarine for boiling water, to keep noodles from clumping
  • 1 teaspoon butter for tossing noodles

White Sauce

  • 4 Tablespoons butter
  • 5 Tablespoons flour
  • 4 cups milk
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 pinch ground black pepper

Additional Ingredients

  • 12 oz sharp cheddar, grated
  • 2 cups croutons, seasoned  (we use the garlic & herb variety)
  • 1 cup bacon, crisp, crumbled   *optional
  • 1 whole tomato *optional

Instructions
 

Noodles

  • Bring 1 and 1/2 quarts water to boil in a 3 quart pot, add 2 teaspoons sea salt and stir.
  • Add dry noodles and 1 teaspoon margarine to boiling salted water and stir.
  • Boil noodles until fork tender, stirring frequently (about 20 mins).
  • (While noodles are boiling, prepare the White Sauce.)
  • Thoroughly drain the noodles, toss with 1 teaspoon butter, and set aside.
  • Preheat oven to 375.

White Sauce

  • In one quart pot, melt 4 Tablespoons butter on medium heat, being careful not to burn it.
  • Add 1 Tablespoon flour, 1 teaspoon sea salt, and stir until well blended.
  • Add 4 more Tablespoons flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time, stirring each until well-blended and the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pot.
  • Remove from heat. Add 1 cup milk (1/4  cup at a time) stirring until smooth, without clumps.
  • Return to heat and gradually add 3 more cups milk, while stirring. As the sauce thickens, stir to keep it from sticking to the pot and/or clumping. It is ready when it is the consistency of creamy gravy.
  • Add pinch of black pepper. Remove from heat and set aside. It will thicken a bit more while sitting.

Cheese and Assembly

  • Grate all of the cheese and set aside.
  • Use a 2-quart baking dish. You will be assembling the mac & cheese in layers (like lasagna).
  • Spread 1/4 cup of sauce on bottom of baking dish.
  • Spread 1/3 of the noodles in the bottom.
  • Spread 1/3 of the remaining white sauce on the noodles.
  • Sprinkle 1/3 of the cheese on top of the sauce.
  • Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the croutons on top of the cheese.
  • Repeat the layers twice more, but with the top layer, crumble the remaining croutons and spread evenly on top.
  • Bake at 375 until heated through and cheese is bubbly, about 20 minutes, no lid.
  • Serve with salad.

Notes

Options: Create a well in the center of a whole tomato and serve mac & cheese in it.
Sprinkle crumbled bacon on top of mac & cheese as a garnish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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KNR, p. 166 “Cobbles for Vegetable Stew”

 

CobblesIMG_5113

Sheila and I eat in a lot of pubs whenever we visit Ireland. The food is tasty and in most places, is real comfort food. In order to get through those damp, cold Irish winters, food needs to be the hearty stick-to-your-ribs kind. We saw Vegetable Cobbler on the menu in a Killarney pub and thought it was a misprint. After all, we eat cobbler at home, but it’s always made with fruit – loads of different kinds of fruit, but always fruit.

 

We found out that Irish pubs rarely serve fruit cobbler and instead, go for a savory version and serve it as an entree. Until that day we had been served mashed potato topped stew and pie crust topped stew, but the gal told us that those were meat toppings. The cobbles (biscuits) are used primarily with an all vegetable stew. We learned something new every day!

 

Here’s the recipe that Sheila came up with to use with our year round hearty vegetable dishes. She modified her regular biscuit recipe and now it reminds me of those cheesy biscuits we get at restaurants here in the States.

 

Print
"Cobbles for Stew"
Author: 
Recipe type: Side Dish
Cuisine: Irish
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 2 1/2 cups self-rising flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 4 Tablespoons butter or margarine
  • 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano (or rosemary, depending on the vegetable stew seasonings)
  • 1 jumbo egg, slightly beaten
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • Parchment paper
  • Aluminum cookie tray
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees (F)
  2. Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl
  3. Add the butter/margarine and mix together with a fork or pastry blender
  4. Mix in 2/3 cup cheese and all the oregano (or rosemary). Set aside.
  5. Place the milk in a small bowl.
  6. Add the beaten egg to the milk and stir together.
  7. Add 1 cup of milk-egg mixture to the dry ingredients and mix together to form a soft ball of dough.
  8. Add more of the mixture if needed to include all the dry ingredients in the ball.
  9. Roll out dough (on a lightly floured surface) to about a 1/2 inch thickness.
  10. Use a lightly floured glass or lightly floured cookie cutter to cut two-inch circles.
  11. Add the cobbles to the top of your stew.
  12. Brush with leftover milk-egg and sprinkle the leftover cheese on top.
  13. Bake at 425 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

 

We love that the ‘cobbles’ can also be baked on their own and eaten as an alternate bread at any meal. I taste-tested quite a few of these to make sure that the recipe was just right. 😉

 

If you are making the biscuit/cobbles without the stew, or have extra dough that doesn’t fit on top of the stew (as we did in the photo above) line the aluminum cookie tray with parchment paper, and increase the baking time to 13-14 minutes. Eat warm right out of the oven and serve with butter/margarine.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

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