Last Weekend Pt 2: Mac and Cheese-Off

On Sunday, my sister invited me over for a "Mac and Cheese-Off." For this event, there were only four of us to eat the three dishes of mac and cheese that we had prepared. Needless to say, there were leftovers.

The winner: my broccoli cheddar mac and cheese. You gotta get your veggies where you can... (recipe below)


The runners-up: Lisa's mac and cheese with chevre, butternut squash, and caramelized onions; John's mac and cheese with crushed walnuts, gorgonzola, and Swiss MSG sauce (don't ask cuz no I didn't understand what it was either)


Afterward we walked off the cheese with a sunset stroll through Riverside Park.



Broccoli Cheddar Mac 'n Cheese
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups milk
salt
pepper
2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 small or 1 large head of broccoli
1/2 lb curly pasta
3/4 lb cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375.
Grease a casserole dish with butter.
Bring large pot of salted water to boil.
Separate broccoli stems from florets. Dice stems and then dice florets, keeping them separate.
Grate cheese.
Heat butter in saucepan until melted. Slowly whisk in flour, then milk, then spices. Let simmer until milk mixture is hot. Slowly whisk in 1/2 cup grated cheese, creating a melted cheese sauce.
Once water is boiling, add the pasta and broccoli stems. Bring to a boil again and cook ten minutes or so until pasta and stems are both al dente. Then strain thoroughly in a colander.
Combine pasta, stems, florets, and cheese sauce in casserole dish and top with remaining 1/4 cup grated cheese.
Bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes until edges are golden brown.
Makes 4-6 servings.

Reddish Velvet Beet Cupcakes with Bourbon Cream Cheese Icing

My friend Jamie had a big birthday last week, so we celebrated in style. She loves red velvet cupcakes (she is from the South after all), but I don't really like the idea of adding red food dye, and the natural food coloring available at Whole Foods was prohibitively expensive. I love using beets in baked goods, so I went ahead and made this version of red velvet cupcakes, minus the food coloring, and with the addition of 1/3 cup cooked and pureed beets to add natural coloring. I also added extra bourbon to the icing because it's another one of Jamie's faves (recipe below).


Well, as I've heard happens but hoped it wouldn't, the cupcakes came out a light reddish brown. The beets I used were pale pink because that's all I could find on short notice, so I'd like to experiment again using normal deep dark red beets.


So even though my creation turned out more as "Reddish" Velvet Beet Cupcakes, they were still tasty, especially because of the Bourbon Cream Cheese Icing, which was a big hit with my coworkers and Jamie. Luckily I ended up with leftover icing, a perfect excuse to make another batch of cupcakes - cinnamon-spiced flecked with diced apples and pears - this week to use up that sugary creamy goodness.

Later on for the birthday girl's big night out, we went to Mason Dixon in the LES for bourbon and bull-riding! I don't normally like going out in Manhattan, but the bartenders there were supernice. I wonder why? Maybe it's their way of bringing Southern hospitality to New York? Oh yeah and after much insisting from Jamie, I rode a mechanical bull ;-)

Bourbon Cream Cheese Icing

5 tbsp butter
1 package cream cheese (8 oz)
roughly 3/4 of a box of Dominos Confectioners Sugar
1 tsp milk
1 tbsp vanilla bean-infused bourbon (or 1 tsp vanilla and 2 tsp bourbon)

Let butter and cream cheese soften after taking out of the fridge. Cream together with a fork, then combine with remaining ingredients until smooth. Adjust ingredients to taste (ie, add more vanilla bourbon if too dry, add more sugar if too wet). Makes enough icing for approximately 24 cupcakes, depending on how much icing you use to top off each cupcake.

Scenes from July

Here's where I distract myself with happier thoughts, okay?

Cherries at the farmers market. I don't particularly care for eating them, but wow are they pretty.


Bee balm! A staple of my childhood summers spent wandering in the wildflower paths and the woods near our house.


A late night cruise around the New York harbor with a lovely friend.


I'm so glad we finally became friends after a year of working in the same office, so we can share cupcakes and beers and talks.


Sunset picnic on the highline with said friend(s)



One thing I've learned in the last couple months is that I do have great friends - even if some of them live far away, I've realized I can still rely on them via the internet. I don't feel as friendless in this lonely city as I did this winter, and that has improved things immensely.