The Ultimate in Macaroni and Cheese

One of my absolute favourite dishes of all time has been macaroni and cheese. This is the ultimate in comfort food to me.

I have tried many, many different recipes. I love it done the old fashioned way which is pure and unadulterated, nothing but cooked macaroni, milk, chunks of cheese and lots of butter. Seasoned with salt and pepper and baked until the milk is almost absorbed by the macaroni and there are gooey patches of delicious cheese scattered throughout . . . it is simple, old fashioned, and really, really good.



I love the boxed ones. I know a sacrilege to some, but lets face it, they can be quite comforting as well and make a great lunch in a pinch. I have a distinct preference for Presidents Choice White Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese mix, which I can only get in Canada and I can't wait until next year when I can go over and stock up on the stuff.

I love to add a tin of chopped tomatoes when I am making the boxed stuff, or some Heinz chili sauce. This takes it beyond the ordinary and turns it into something special. I could eat the whole box all by myself, and when I was younger, my husband and I often ate a box of it for an evening snack before we went to bed. (ahh youth . . . )



When I really want to indulge though, this is the version I make. There is no better way to make a good macaroni and cheese, and I have tried quite a few different versions. This is the culimination of years of testing and trying and this is what I have come to think is the ultimate in Macaroni and Cheese. A rich and cheesy sauce, and lots of it in comparison to the macaroni, and topped with buttery crisp bread crumbs.



You need look no further. This IS the absolute best.



*Ultimate Macaroni and Cheese*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

This, to me, is the absolute best macaroni and cheese recipe ever. Rich, yes. Lucious, yes. Cheesy, yes. Fattening, who cares . . . The best, ultimately.

8 ounces dry macaroni
2 ounces butter
2 ounces plain flour
1/2 pint milk
1/2 pint double cream
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 ounces strong cheddar, shredded
2 ounces Red Leicester cheese, shredded
2 ounces Parmesan Reggiano cheese, shredded
4 ounces fresh bread crumbs
1 ounce melted butter



Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F. Butter a casserole dish and set aside.

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring for one minute. Slowly whisk in the milk and the cream, whisking constantly. Add the salt and pepper. Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and thickens. Stir in the cheeses, mixing in until they are melted. Set aside.

Cook the macaroni in lightly salted boiling water to cover until done, according to the package directions. Drain well. Stir the drained macaroni into the cheese sauce. Pour the complete mixture into the prepared casserole dish.

Mix the melted butter with the bread crumbs. Sprinkle evenly over top of the macaroni. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly. Let sit a few minutes before serving.

Country Tomato Pie

I've always found recipes, cooking and food very interesting. I've been collecting recipes since I was 7 or 8 and have always found the chemistry of it fascinating. I can be cooking a cake, for instance, and I will start to think and ask myself questions . . .


Questions like, who was the first person that put flour, eggs, fat and sugar together and came up with cake? And why? What inspired them to do so?



I have always found it amazing that, by combining just a few simple ingredients together, you can create something totally edible and wonderfully tasty. . . and that you can then take the same ingredients and put them together in a different way, using a different method and come up with something equally as delicious, but totally different!




For instance . . . you can put together a starch (bread), some cheese and sliced tomatoes, and then, with a bit of seasoning, you have a scrumptious cheese and tomato sandwich . . .

or . . .



change the starch to a pie crust and layer in the tomatoes and cheese, add a bit of onion and herbs, and some mayo . . .

and you have a deliciously moreish summer pie!



*Country Tomato Pie*
Serves 4-6
Printable Recipe

This is a really tasty supper dish, just perfect for these summer days when the tomatoes are ripening on the vine fastet than we can get them used up! I also make this in the winter, but I use tinned tomatoes then. I use one tin of chopped tomatoes, and I drain them really well, and then, I squeeze as much moisture out of them as I can.

2 to 3 large tomatoes
1 small bunch of spring onions, thinly sliced
1 TBS julliened fresh basil (roll several leaves into a cigar shape and cut crosswise)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 to 1 cup good quality mayonnaise (I like to use French Mayonnaise)
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 partially baked 9 inch wide, deep pie shell



Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. If you are using fresh tomatoes, peel. This can be very easily done by cutting a small x with a sharp knife on the bottom. Dip into boiling water and leave for 30 to 40 seconds. Remove from the boiling water and plunge into ice water. The skin should now easily slip right off.

Slice the tomatoes into thick slices. Place them in layers into the pastry shell, sprinkling each layer with some spring onions, basil, salt and pepper. Mix together the mayonnaise and the cheese. Spread this mixture over top of the tomatoes. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, until the filling is nicely browned.

Remove and allow to sit for 10 minutes before cutting into slices to serve. Delicious!

Cheese Stuffed Courgettes

I'm working on that garden glut of courgettes again. It truly is the monstor of the garden, is it not? One day you look and you see a few that are only finger sized and so you leave them to get a bit larger, and then before you know it, all of a sudden they are the size of marrows!

It's a good thing I like courgettes!

Something else I really like are Mediterranean inspired flavours . . . things like black olives, sun dried tomatoes, olive oil, feta cheese, oregano . . .



Warm flavours . . .

Healthy flavours . . .

Greek flavours . . .



When I was about 10 years old I saw a Disney film called "The Moonspinners," based on the novel of the same name by Mary Stewart. It starred a teen aged Haley Mills and took place on the Island of Crete. That fired an interest in me to visit Greece and indeed, Crete, one day so that I could see this same beautiful place . . .

I have never been to Greece, yet . . . but someday, someday . . .

In the meantime I can taste Greece, and it's really quite delicious.



Yesterday I was inspired to fill some courgettes with some of these flavours, and I have to say . . .

They were really quite tasty! Sitting out at the picnic table under the umbrella, listening to the flies buzz as we dug our forks in . . . one almost felt like they were in Greece . . . the only thing missing was the sand and the sea . . . oh, and the cute Greek Cabana boy . . .

Todd tries . . . bless his heart . . . but, oh well . . . you can't have it all!



*Cheese Stuffed Courgettes*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

These are so easy to make and so tasty! Use a melon baller to scoop out the flesh. Quick and easy.

4 medium courgettes (about 2 pounds)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 TBS tomato puree
1 TBS chopped sun dried tomatoes
1 TBS chopped dry cured black olives
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 tsp dried oregano
sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste
1/4 cup buttered cracker crumbs



Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Cut the courgettes in half lengthwise and place on a baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes to soften. Remove the courgettes and scoop out the pulp, leaving the shells intact. Chop the pulp and place in a bowl. Mix together with the garlic, tomato puree, sun dried tomatoes, chopped olives, feta cheese, oregano and salt and pepper to taste. Stuff the courgette shells with the mixture. Sprinkle the buttered cracker crumbs over top. Return to the oven and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes until browned and bubbly. Serve immediately.