Chipotle Mac & Cheese with Blue Cheese & Cauliflower

Chipotle Mac & Cheese with Blue Cheese & Cauliflower


Warning: This recipe is not figure friendly and is perfect for a cold winter night! This pasta is rich and it is likely to put yourself in a cheese-induced coma!

I love the addition of chipotles in adobo to this dish, it adds a subtle smoky flavor and a spicy kick.

For Breadcrumbs:

2 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves minced garlic
2 cups fresh breadcrumbs

1 head cauliflower, chopped
5 sliced bacon, cooked and chopped (optional)
2 tbsp. chopped chipotles in adobo
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
½ cup all-purpose flour
3 cups 2% milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 tbsp. dry mustard
1 lb. cavatappi pasta
1 lb. extra sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
1 lb. Danish blue cheese, crumbled
½ cup green chopped green onions
Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Toss cauliflower in olive oil, S&P and roast for 25 minutes or until golden and tender While cauliflower is roasting, cook bacon on a wire rack for 20 minutes or until crispy. Remove bacon from oven and pat off grease with paper towel.

Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees

Melt butter and olive oil in skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and breadcrumbs and toss to coat. Cook until breadcrumbs are golden brown and crunchy. Remove from heat and let cool.

Cook pasta in salted water until al dente, drain and set aside.

Melt butter in a large saucepan and whisk in flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk, heavy cream and mustard until simmering, about 3 minutes.

Whisk in chipotles, blue cheese and ½ of cheddar cheese until cheese is melted and sauce is thick. Stir in pasta and remaining cheese. Toss in cauliflower, green onions, and bacon.

Pour pasta into a deep baking dish and top with breadcrumbs. Bake for 30 minutes, or until bubbly.

This pasta can be made ahead of time (leave off breadcrumbs) and refrigerated two days prior to baking. It can also be frozen. Allow more time to bake.

I would also suggest baking them in individual servings!

Since this pasta is so rich, I would suggest serving it with a Sauvignon Blanc and a salad with arugula and a nice acidic vinaigrette. This will balance out the creaminess of the pasta

Enjoy!

Sandra Lee Party *Sneak Peek*

I know, I know, I have been a very bad blogger and I'm not going to try to begin listing the excuses as to why I haven't blogged in 3 months!

To redeem myself, I am giving you a sneak peek to our Sandra Lee party which will commence tomorrow night! I am a member of a fabulous cooking club comprised of 5 other opinionated foodies. We share the same feelings towards a certain Food Network star and while we would never choose to prepare her recipes for our family, we decided to come together and host a party inspired by Sandra Lee.

Some people get stressed out at work, but I get stressed out over my lunch break when I watch Ms. Lee make a fool of herself on national television. I wonder what Ina Garten thought of Sandra's Chocolate Truffle Disaster...

I respect the fact that there are food personalities out there that create recipes for busy families who either don't have time to cook, or do not care to cook, blah,blah,blah but Sandra Lee is the exception. Here are my issues with Aunt Sandy:

1. She gets inspirations for recipes from clothing found at discount big box stores.

2. While I love a good cocktail to accompany any meal, if you are offering advice for a "money saving meal", don't you think alcohol should be the first ingredient eliminated?!

3. Tablescapes, need I say more?

Since I am not alone on this opinion, I will not waste any more time on her.

So here is a sneak peak to what you might find at the Sandra Lee party tomorrow.

Austin and I went shopping at Sandra's favorite craft and party store (walmart ) with a $10 budget and here is what we found!

First rule to building a great tablescape:

Pick a theme! Without a proper theme, how can you decorate your home, create 4 outlandish cocktails and cook a meal for you and your family?

We have decided to create Sandra's semi-homemade recipes and cocktails for this party along with our own semi-homemade disaster of a recipe to share with guests. Aunt Sandy would be proud!

Happy New Year and be sure to check out our post on the SL party tomorrow!

Pumpkin Gnocchi with Sage Brown Butter Sauce

Pumpkin Gnocchi with Sage and Brown Butter Sauce

1- 15 oz can pumpkin

Salt & Pepper

1/8 tsp nutmeg

2 3/4 cups All-Purpose Flour

1/4 cup unsalted butter

9 chopped sage leaves

2 cloves garlic, minced

Freshly grated parmesan cheese

Mix flour, pumpkin, nutmeg, salt and pepper together until it is a soft dough. Add additional flour if it is sticky or does not hold together.

Divide dough into 6 parts and on a lightly floured surface, roll each piece into a rope about 1 inch in diameter.

Cut into 1 inch pieces and roll each piece over the back of a fork to create indentations in each gnocchi.

Gnocchi can be kept in refrigerator until you are ready to cook them.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil (I actually used half chicken stock and half water for added flavor) and salt lightly.

Place gnocchi in boiling water and cook until they float to the surface. Remove gnocchi and set aside.

While gnocchi is cooking, cook butter and garlic over medium high heat for 2 minutes or until brown, be sure to stir the butter during the entire process, otherwise butter solids will separate. Once butter is browned add sage and gnocchi and toss to coat.

When serving, sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Basil-Infused Gin

With the weather getting cooler I thought it would be good to use up the basil that I have been growing all summer.

1.75 ml gin (I used New Amsterdam, but any gin would be great)

1 cup fresh basil with stems

Glass jug if gin came in a plastic bottle

Remove 1/4 cup of gin to make room for basil. Insert basil leaves and stems to bottle and screw cap on tightly.

Set gin in a cooly dry place for up to 7 days.

Remove basil and store with other liquors.

Basil-Infused Gin recipes to follow soon!

Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Sautéed Vegetables

So I am kicking myself for not taking pictures of this dish, but to be honest, I wasn't expecting it to be blog worthy. This side dish is great with roasted chicken (what I served it with) or any other roasted meat.

1 large spaghetti squash

2 large carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks

1 medium yellow onion, quartered

2 cups sliced button mushrooms

2 cloves minced garlic

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1/4 cup low sodium chicken stock

Salt & Pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Cut squash in half lengthwise and scrap out seeds. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and place cut side down on a baking sheet. Place onions and carrots on same cookie sheet and toss with oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 45 minutes or until squash is tender and flesh scrapes away from skin easily.

While veggies are roasting saute mushrooms and garlic in 1/8 cup f chicken stock until mushrooms are cooked through.

To remove squash from skin, take a fork and scrape flesh out. The flesh will be stringy and resemble spaghetti. Add squash, onion and carrots to mushroom mixture and saute with remaining chicken stock until excess liquid is cooked off. drizzle with red wine vinegar and add salt and pepper to taste.

These veggies are good on their own but I discovered that they are great the next day reheated and topped with crumbled gorgonzola!