Homemade 3 Cheese Macaroni and Cheese

I love macaroni and cheese. It may be my favorite food. There’s just something about it that is so comforting. Usually I just whip up a box of Kraft (heresy, I know), but tonight I decided to make homemade mac and cheese. I used Sheila Lukins’ recipe from her book Ten. The recipe is pictured below. It came out really well, and there is enough left over to last me a week. I will definitely be making this one again, although next time I think I will try different types of cheese – maybe goat or manchego.

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Saturday Afternoon Sweets

I did quite a bit of baking today.

First I made black and white cookies. They are one of my favorite desserts, but difficult to find if you do not live in the NYC metropolitan area. They are like little cookie cakes with chocolate and vanilla icing. Delicious! I used this recipe.

Next I made muffins:

They are called Linzer muffins. The batter is made with ground almonds and lemon zest, and when you bite into them there is a dollop of raspberry jam. Such a treat. I used this recipe.

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More from the Kitchen

Tonight for dinner I made Pasta with Pesto from the Silver Palate Cookbook:

But the real highlight of the meal was the 1-2-3-4 cake paired with Earl Grey Truffles:

These truffles are from the Bon Appetit November Issue. The recipe can be found here.

I rolled half of the truffles in cocoa powder (what the recipe calls for) and half of them in sifted confectioners sugar, just to make some of them a little sweeter. They’re a little tricky to make, because trying to roll them into perfect balls ends up getting your hands (and if you’re like me, the rest of your kitchen) covered in chocolate. However, they are worth the mess, because the result is absolutely decadent and delicious.

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Thanksgiving Baking Adventures

I have been bad about posting since last week. I was in Boston for Thanksgiving and was concentrating on relaxing. However, I have been doing quite a bit of baking.

My contributions to Thanksgiving dinner were both from the Bon Appetit November issue.

For an hors d’oeuvres, I made Herb and Cheese Poppers

These are basically just little biscuits filled with herbs and cheddar cheese. They made a great appetizer, and the leftovers make great snacks. The recipe is pretty complicated, so I’m not going to type it out, but you can find it here.

 

For dessert, I made Brown Sugar-Pecan Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting

These are the perfect fall dessert, although be careful not to over-bake them or they dry out very quickly. You can find the recipe here.

I guess I’m still in the baking mood, because even though we got back to California last night, I’ve been baking all day. I made Alice Water’s 1-2-3-4 Cake, which we’ll have for dessert tonight.

This cake is incredibly easy to make, and although I haven’t tasted it yet, it smells delicious.

1-2-3-4 Cake from The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters (the recipe below makes two nine-inch round cakes, however, I took Alice Waters’ suggestion and halved the recipe to just make one 9-inch round):

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Butter the cake pans and line the bottom of each with parchment paper. Butter the paper and dust the pans with flour, tapping the excess. Separate
  • 4 eggs
• Measure
  • 1 cup milk
• Sift and then measure:
  • 3 cups cake flour
• Stir in:
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt (use 1/4 teaspoon if using salted butter)
• In another bowl, beat until light and fluffy:
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• Add:
  • 2 cups sugar
• Cream until light and fluffy. Beat in the 4 egg yolks, one at a time, and:
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• When well mixed, add the flour mixture and milk alternately, starting and ending with one third of the flour. Stir just until the flour is incorporated. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks. Stir one third of the egg whites into the batter, then gently fold in the rest. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes.

To make the cake a little more interesting, I took Alice Waters’ suggestion and added 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest and 2 teaspoons lemon juice to the batter. I’m not going to serve it frosted, but she suggests frosting it with equal parts lemon curd and whipped cream folded together.

 

For dinner tonight I’m making pasta with pesto, and we’ll also have some Earl-Grey Truffles. Pictures and recipes to come later!

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Sunday Night Baking

I made these delicious chocolate chocolate mint-chocolate chip cookies tonight.

 

I used this recipe from Food.com and I added Tollhouse Mint + Dark Chocolate Chips instead of just regular chocolate chips. They’re perfect for the holiday season!

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Adventures in Baking

I have discovered a love for cooking and baking (something I had previously detested). I’ve been feeling quite domestic lately, coming home from work and cooking up a storm, so I decided I would share some of my creations here. For dinner I made Chicken with Lemon and Herbs from the Silver Palate Cookbook for dinner (quick, easy, and delicious). For dessert, I made mini Spice Cupcakes from Julie Hasson’s “125 Best Cupcake Recipes,” and I topped them with cream cheese frosting. They are absolutely delicious. Hasson’s cookbook is my absolute favorite place to go for cupcake recipes, because they are easy to follow, and everything always turns out perfectly.

SPICE CUPCAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING RECIPE (from “125 Best Cupcake Recipes” by Julie Hasson)

For the Cupcakes

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 tbsp fancy molasses
• 1 egg
• 2/3 cup buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

1. In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, allspice, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt. Stir in raisins.

2. In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together sugar and butter until well combined. Add molasses and egg, beating well. Alternately beat in flour mixture and buttermilk, making three additions of flour mixture and two of buttermilk, beating until smooth.

3. Scoop batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack. Top cooled cupcakes with frosting.

(If you are making mini cupcakes, like I did, they only need to cook for about 17 minutes.)

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

• 4 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• Pinch salt
• 2 1/4 cups confectioner’s sugar

1. In a bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat together cream cheese, butter and salt until creamy. With mixer on low speed, beat in confectioner’s sugar, 1/2 cup at a time so that the sugar doesn’t fly everywhere. Increase speed to medium high and beat until light and fluffy.

2. Spread frosting over cooled cupcakes and refrigerate until ready to serve or for up to 1 day.

(I usually don’t use as much confectioner’s sugar – maybe about 1 3/4 cups, because I find I like the taste of the frosting better when it is not quite as sweet.)

These cupcakes also taste amazing without the frosting.

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