Sunday, November 25, 2012

macaroni and cheese...My Favorite!



Hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving! Mine was pretty great. I spent the day with my best friend, Sam, her sister and mother.

This mac and cheese was the dish I brought and it's my favorite!

The recipe is actually from Dino BBQ, a barbecue restaurant in New York. It isn't your traditional mac and cheese with an egg and milk--instead, it asks for onions, green peppers and garlic as a base and then an additional 4 types of cheeses. Yum!

This recipe is incredibly easy to make and whenever I bring it to an event, it is a hit! Hope you enjoy! :)


Macaroni and Cheese from Dino BBQ (I halve this recipe)
1⁄2 cup vegetable oil
1 1⁄2 cup onion, diced
3⁄4 cup green pepper, diced
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
4 ounces flour
3 cups water
3 cups half-and-half
14 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
5 ounces Colby cheese, grated
10 ounces American cheese, grated
4 ounces Pecorino Romano, grated
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons lemon pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons French’s mustard (i used dijon and that worked fine)
2 teaspoons white vinegar (i used white wine vinegar and that worked fine)
1 & 1⁄2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 pound elbow macaroni (you can make more to make this recipe less rich)

Topping:
8 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons Pecorino Romano cheese

Directions:
1. Heat oil in a large pot. Add onions and peppers; cook until they are translucent. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Stir in flour.

2. Add water and half-and-half. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Using an immersion blender, puree this mixture until it is smooth (I ALWAYS USE A REGULAR BLENDER)

3. Slowly add cheeses to warm pureed mixture, making sure all cheese is melted before adding more. Once cheese is completely melted, add salt, lemon pepper, sugar, mustard, vinegar and Tabasco. Stir to combine.

4. Cook 1 pound of dried elbow macaroni in boiling water. Cook until al dente, not completely soft.

5. Combine hot, cooked pasta and sauce in large mixing bowl; stir well to combine. Pour entire mixture into a greased 10-inch-by-12-inch pan (or a 9-inch-by-13-inch one). Top with 8 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese and 2 tablespoons of Pecorino Romano cheese.

4. Place under broiler until top is golden brown and bubbling.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

rose cake and salted caramel cupcakes...kinda. and stuff


First attempt at a rose cake. Next time I'll make a heavier frosting so the  roses will hold better. 

Hello! Anybody still here?

So I got into a blog reading mood this morning and signed onto my blog for the first time in a while--I hadn't updated in A YEAR according to the last post date I saw.

That's crazy.

This time last year I had a lot going on (traveling, moving, holidays) so I stopped posting with all intentions to resume blogging in the new year.

Well, the new year came and it didn't happen. Up until February 2012 I kept telling  myself that I would do it the next week...and then the next week. But, it didn't happen. I essentially just stopped baking for the year.

Yea.

Wish I could tell you that I was off doing fabulous things with my time, but I wasn't. Things have been normal and uneventful for me. Working, hanging out, taking little trips here and there and just trying to enjoy my life is all I've been up to. Like this trip with some of my girlfriends to Cape May, NJ in April 2012.
                     

Cape May Getaway <3 br="">

The only big thing this year is that I, of course, got a year older. I turned 26 on September 26, 2012 so it was my Golden Birthday!

My BFFs came to visit me in DC for the weekend and it was a blast. I was celebrated pretty well. :)
 


What else?

Umm, I was Miss Cleo for Halloween! LOL. My Sammie was a Smurf. :O)

                                           

That's pretty much all the updates. I have nothing else to add. :/

That rose cake pictured above is the only major thing I baked this year besides these salted caramel cupcakes that I baked for my birthday.

                         
Yummmm! Salted Caramel Cupcakes

The rose cake was for Sammie's birthday party last night. I baked her a chocolate peanut butter cake and it was pretty tasty.
                               
     


Well, this is the end of my quick update and hello. I'm going to commit to updating my beloved Sinful Sundays on a more frequent basis. I've missed chatting and talking to you all as well, so I'm excited to start "hanging out" again!

 'Til next time. Ciao! :))