Why I love mac&cheese

Here's the thing. I'm sick. It doesn't happen too often (regardless of how I whine), but when it does, I get this urge for comfort food and/or Ben and Jerry's. Despite being sick, this urge generally calls for me to cook and it can be a measure of how sick I am what I cook. To give you an idea, I'm sick enough that I seriously considered making my mom's homeade chicken and dumplings, even though it wasn't a weekend and just getting the chicken ready would take about an hour and a half. (Not hard, just boiling it that long, then letting it cool and then tearing it all apart.)

I wasn't that sick. But I was sick enough to go carb-crazy and give PsychoHubby and I some seriously delicious food. And even though this much-neglected blog is about knitting I wanted to share these recipes -- one a real find -- with my sis. So, here's the menu:

Entree: Foxy Sloppy Joes (remember, Rai Rai?)
Sidedish: Kafkat's Mac&Cheese -- Created by Emeril, Kicked up by moi
Sidedish: I thought about broccoli, but then wasted time by blowing my schnoz.
Dessert: Best Ever Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Fudge Frosting

Order of cooking: Make the mac and cheese, during the last 10 minutes of cooking start the Joes, take pasta out of oven while it "sets" toss in Joes for broiling. Do cake as you can fit it in (i.e. prepare the dry stuff, prepare the wet stuff-- stirring is pretty quick)

Kafkat's Mac&Cheese
1/2lb (8 oz) macaroni
5 T butter
6 T flour
2 cans of evaporated milk
2-1/2 c grated cheddard (6 oz)
2 slices provolone (optional)
1/2 c bread crumbs
1 t Emeril's Essence or cajun type seasoning
***SEASONINGS -- ADJUST AS NEEDED***
6-12 dashes Tabasco or other hot sauce
1 t salt
1-2 t pepper
1/5 t garlic powder
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1 t Dijon mustard
(Start with half the tabasaco add other seasonings and then more tabasco as needed)

Preheat over to 350F. Grease 2-quart baking dish.

Bring big pot of water to boil, add macaroni and cook until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain in colander and rinse under cold water. DRAIN WELL

Melt butter in heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour stirring constantly with wooden spoon. Cook over medium heat 3-4 minutes. (follow the time directions. important). Don't let the flour brown. While whisking, add milk in a steady stream. Keep whisking until thick and smooth, 4 minutes (Mine took 5.5 minutes). Remove from heat. Add seasonings and 2 cups of cheddar+provolone tasting as you go. Add the noodles, mix well. Pour into dish.

In small dish mix remaining 1/2 cup cheddar, bread crumbs and essence. Sprinkle evenly or pasta. Bake 25 minutes. Let set at least 5 minutes before serving.


Foxy Sloppy Joes
1 lb ground beef
1 package hamburger rolls (potato is best)
1 package provolone slices
4-6 T pasta sauce
softented butter

Brown ground beef. While browning, butter both sides of buns and put them under broiler until golden brown. Remove buns from oven, put tops aside for now. On bottom buns, spread enough sauce on each to satisfy, carefully top with ground beef followed by slice of provolone. Broil in the oven until melty. Remove, add top buns, enjoy.

Best Ever Chocolate cake
Yes, I know the Aunt Martha Cake. This is something different. In my opinion, the two fall into distinctly different classes. Aunt Martha cake is a stand-alone chocolate encounter. This is a great basic chocolate cake, adaptable for many uses. So stuff it, Mom and Rai Rai.

2 c flour
2 c sugar
3/4 c cocoa
2 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
2 eggs
1 c cold coffee
1 c milk
1/2 c oil
2 t vinegar.

Mix all dry ingredients well in large bowl. In another receptacle of your choice, mix all wet ingredients well. Speaking of wells, create a well in middle of dry ingredients. Pour in wet ingredients. Mix very well. Batter will be thin. Pour in to well-greased pan of your choice. Bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes. (I used a 9x13 pan and it took 45 minutes)

Peanut Butter Fudge Frosting
Find your own. The one I used was mediocre, but serviceable. If you've got one you really like, let me know.

Enjoy with ice-cold milk.