Entree – Pasta

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

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Anything, anything to stay away from the Kraft Cheesy Mac!

As Adam, the source, notes, “The idea here is that rather than making a fussy white sauce, something I never seemed to get the hang of, you make a custard for the cheese.  It’s fantastic and easy — not much harder than the box, and so much better.”

Ingredients:

½ lb. Macaroni
4 tbsp Butter

2 lg Eggs
12 oz. Evaporated Milk
¼ tsp Hot Pepper Sauce
1 tsp Mustard

3 cups Grated Cheese

Pepper
Salt

Instructions:

  1. Boil up the Maraconi in salted water, definitely al dente.
  2. Drain Macaroni, transfer to a large fryer, dutch oven, or large pan (if the original isn’t large enough).  Should be something with a thick bottom such that heat is distributed evenly.
  3. Add Butter; leave it to melt in the hot macaroni.
  4. Mix Eggs, 1 cup (8 oz) Evaporated Milk, Pepper Sauce, Mustard, Salt & Pepper (to taste) in a small boul.
  5. Put Macaroni (and Butter) on medium heat.
  6. Pour the Egg mix over the Macaroni along with 2 cups of the Cheese.  Stir constantly until the cheese starts to melt.
  7. Gradually add in the rest of the Cheese and Evaporated Milk, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes more.  The whole mix will look overly liquid to begin with, but as the cheese melts and the egg cooks, it will thicken.

Serves:  4
Prep Time: 20 minutes

Ingredient notes:

  1. The original recipe calls for half  Cheddar, half Monterey Jack.  Since we always have some Mexican Blend shredded in bags in the house, we use that.
  2. You could go for more Macaroni; as is, the recipe has a high sauce-to-mac ratio.
  3. The original recipe calls fo 2 tsp Mustard.  Consensus in our household is that’s too much.

Serving notes:

  1. If you want to be fancy, you can take the individual servings, put them in a small ceramic dish, sprinkle bread crumbs or crumpled croutons, and put them under the broiler for a short bit.
  2. The original writer suggests the recipe is not as good the second day, but it can be reheated on the range, slowly, with a little extra milk.

Source:  Adam Blust at “Words Mean Things,” who originally got it from Pam Anderson’s The Perfect Recipe.

Chicken/Turkey Tetrazzini

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The original dish is named after the Italian opera star Luisa Tetrazzini. It is widely believed to have been invented circa 1908–1910 by Ernest Arbogast, the chef at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, where Tetrazzini made her American debut at the Tivoli as Gilda in Rigoletto on January 11, 1905.

A perennial comfort food. And, by its nature, it begs for tinkering to the ingredients on hand, including seasonings and (even more often than chicken) a post-holiday turkey carcass.

Ingredients:

  • 1½ Chickens (fryers)
  • Water (to cover in the pot)
  • 1 tsp. Onion Salt
  • ½ tsp. Celery Salt
    ——
  • ½ lb. Vermicelli (or similar spaghetti-like pasta)
  • Salt
    ——
  • 6 tbsp. Butter
  • ¾ lb. Mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 tbsp. Lemon Juice
    ——
  • 2 tbsp. Flour
  • ½ tsp. Paprika
  • ½ tsp. Pepper
  • ¼ tsp. Nutmeg
  • 1 c. Milk
    ——
  • 1/3 c. Parmesan Cheese

Instructions:

Chicken:  These steps may already have been done (e.g., having a Thanksgiving turkey already broken down and broth made from the scraps and bones; see Notes below for more on this).

  1. Place chicken, salts, water in large pan. Simmer covered 30 min, until tender.
  2. Remove chicken, save broth.
  3. Cool chicken, remove meat from bones, refrigerate.

Pasta:  Reserve 2½ cups of broth from the previous step if that’s when you made the broth.

  1. Add water to remaining broth to fill the pan (if the both had previously been made, add a cup of the broth to the pot for making the pasta).
  2. Add 2 tbsp. salt.
  3. Bring to boil, add pasta. Don’t fully cook; leave it a bit al dente (the pasta will absorb the sauce in the oven).
  4. Drain, return to pan or a large bowl.

Mushrooms:

  1. In frying pan, heat 3 tbsp. butter.
  2. Add mushrooms, sprinkle with lemon juice, ½ tbsp. salt.
  3. Sauté until soft but not brown.
  4. Put with pasta.

Sauce:

  1. Melt 3 tbsp. butter in pan.
  2. Stir in flour, paprika, 1½ tsp. salt, pepper, nutmeg. Cook 5 minutes.
  3. Slowly stir in reserved broth. Cook until it boils (it will be thin).
  4. Add milk.

Put it all together:

  1. Mix the pasta, meat, and mushrooms into a large bowl (or a pot you already used).
  2. Put the mix into a 9×13 buttered/sprayed baking dish.
  3. Pour the sauce over the the dish, wetting everything. The sauce will fill about half or more of the pan. (The pasta’s going to such that up.)
  4. Mix everything together in a large bowl. Place in a 9×13 baking dish. Sprinkle generously with parmesan cheese.
  5. Bake covered at 400F for 20 minutes.
  6. Uncover, add more cheese, before baking another 10 minutes.

Serves: 8-10 if half are ladies. On the other hand, a family of four can polish it off without much trouble.

Prep time: 1:30

Notes:

  • This will keep two days refrigerated. Oven heat from the fridge 45 minutes to an hour, until bubbly. Freezes well. As with most casseroles, many folks consider “aging” in the fridge or freezer an improvement over “fresh.”
  • If you are dealing with an existing carcass (chicken or turkey), pick the (presumably cooked) carcass from the bones. Use the (meaty) bones in water with with some celery, onions, maybe garlic salt and pepper, to simmer as described to make the broth. The amount of meat you pick off first will determine proportions on the recipe. You can also substitute chicken tenders or boneless breasts.
  • Yes, it’s spelled “Tetrazzini,” not “Tetrazini.”

Source: Ann Kleerup Coombs, as tweaked on more than one occasion by Margie.

Mary’s Mom’s “Spaghetti”

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After extolling Aunt Elda’s Casserole, I have to add a word about Mary’s Mom’s Spaghetti. I remember being served this many years back at Mary’s Dad’s house, and being amazed how much like AEC it was. Well … yeah. Welcome to classic American casserole cooking. This one is a bit fancier (despite including catsup), but just as yummy.

Ingredients:

  • 1½ lbs. Ground Beef
  • 2 cloves Garlic
  • 2 large Onions, chopped
  • 8 oz. Rotini style pasta
  • 16 oz. Tomato Sauce
  • 16 oz. Water (use the tomato sauce can)
  • ½ c. Catsup
  • 1 tsp. Chili Powder
  • ½ tsp. Allspice
  • 1/3 tsp. Majoram
  • 1/3 tsp. Thyme
  • 1 dash Sugar
  • 1 c. Mexicorn
  • 1 can Mushrooms, Canned
  • ½ c. Parmesan Cheese, shredded

Directions:

  1. Brown beef, garlic, onion.
  2. Make pasta.
  3. Combine all in a casserole, top with cheese.
  4. Bake 45 minutes at 350-375°

Serves: The note indicates “a single batch is plenty.”

Note: Not really “spaghetti,” but the rotini give it some scoopable substance, and catch the sauce nicely. Could be done with any pasta (with slightly different results).

Source: MEO

Aunt Elda’s Casserole

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So things have been kind of slow here in the Kitchen for a while, so Dave the Hubby decided maybe he should rummage around for some stuff himself. He used to be a bit of a recipe-bound cook himself, albeit nothing quite as yummy or creative as Margie. Nevertheless, maybe it’s time to record some of those Old Standards / Comfort Foods from days gone by …

This recipe is no doubt from some sort of magazine article, but Dave’s family was introduced to it on a visit to Aunt Elda up in Sacramento. Hence it became known in the family as “Aunt Elda’s Casserole.” From that day, a long-time family standard.

Ingredients:

  • 8 oz. Pasta (rotelle/rotini work well)
  • 1 lb. Ground Round
  • ¾ c. Cheddar Cheese, grated
  • 1 can Tomato Soup
  • 1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
  • 1 mdm Onion, chopped
  • 1 small can Mexicorn
  • 6 oz. Tomato Paste
  • 8 oz. Tomato Sauce

Directions:

  1. Boil the noodles and set aside.
  2. Brown the meat.
  3. Mix together the other ingredients (except meet and cheese) and cook for about 10 minutes.
  4. Put a layer of noodles at the bottom of a 9×13 casserole. Add a layer of meat mixture, then noodles, etc. Sprinkle top with cheese.
  5. Bake 30 minutes at 350°

Note: Can be microwaved, too. Easy to freeze and reheat. Like most pasta casseroles, better the next day.

Serves: However many family members can chow down a 9×13 casserole.

Prep time: Takes about an hour all told.

Source: Aunt Elda, of course!

 

Macaroni Monterey

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Another intensely easy, filling (and cheap) dish. You can serve it as a side or as a main dish.

Ingredients:

  • 8 oz Macaroni
  • ½ lb Monterey Jack Cheese, cubed
  • 1 c Sour Cream
  • ¼ c Butter
  • ¾ tsp Salt
  • ¼ tsp Pepper

Directions:

  1. Cook and drain macaroni.
  2. Put macaroni and other ingredients into a greased 2 qt casserole. Mix well.
  3. Cover and bake at 350° for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

You can also microwave the dish for however long it takes to get to that state.

The dish can easily be multiplied or expanded into other size dishes.

Other types of pasta can be used, of course. Ideally you want something that can hold the melted cheese and sour cream inside of it. Margie’s radical addition is substituting garlic salt for plain salt.

Prep time: 45 min.
Serves: 6
Source: Gloria Hill

Lasagna

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Make sure you use teaspoons, not tablespoons, of fennel, otherwise you’ll end up with “Dave’s Infamous Fennel Lasagna.”

Ingredients:
½ lb Lasagna Noodles, Cooked
1 lb Mozzarella Cheese, grated
¾ c Parmesan Cheese, grated

Meat Sauce
1 lb Italian Sausage
½ lb Ground Beef
2 c Onion, chopped
4 cloves Garlic, minced
1 tsp Sugar
2 tsp Salt
1½ tsp Basil
½ tsp Fennel Seed
¼ tsp Pepper
28 oz Tomatoes, canned
12 oz Tomato Paste
1/4 c red wine

Ricotta Mixture
1 Egg, beaten
15 oz Ricotta Cheese
1 tbsp Parsley Flakes
1 tsp Salt

Directions:

  1. Brown meat.
  2. Saute onions, garlic
  3. Combine Meat Sauce ingredients and simmer to taste.
  4. Mix up Ricotta Mixture.
  5. In a 9×13 baking pan, put a thin coat of meat sauce on the bottom, then layer 3x (i.e., use 1/3 of ingredients in each layer) the following:
    • Lasagna noodles
    • Meat Sauce
    • Ricotta Mixture
    • Mozzarella
    • Parmesan
  6. Cover with foil; bake at 375° for 25 minutes.
  7. Uncover, bake another 25 minutes.
  8. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Prep Time: 2 hrs
Serves: 8
Source: “Mama Creamette” (modified)