Today is National Cheese Lovers Day. Again, a WTF “holiday” made up by the promote cheese eating association, but while were all here, I might as well share my recipe for easy stove-top Mac + Cheese (only with a sillier name). Believe it or not, it uses American cheese for part of it (mostly because of the emulsification factor). If you can’t get get American, a mild Fontina will do. If you happen to be in Germany, “Butterkäse” is a good substitute. The cheddar makes it kick-ass though (if you aren’t a cheddar person, a young Emmentaler or Grueyer will do the trick). Best part of this recipe: takes all of 22 minutes to make, which is pretty much long it would take you to make the “out of the box” (blech) kind, so you might as well go with a good one. Peas are optional, but not in my world.
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Cold weather food returns with another pending dumping of snow headed for Greater Boston (though really, not that much and it *is* winter, after all). This Thai-style Red Curry with Vegetables and Shrimp is one of my favorite winter meals. Why? Because it’s spicy so it warms you up and it is *brilliantly colorful* which warms the soul too. Substitute chicken or beef for the shrimp if you aren’t a seafood person, or just do veggies. Serve with rice. On the table in under 30 minutes. Go!
Cauliflower is really underrated, in my opinion. A lot of people think it is bland or flavorless. The white color doesn’t exactly do it any favors either. But you can really use it as anything from a base to a soup to “rice” to in this case, a “steak”. It’s really hearty, flavorful with the nutty brown butter and can truly be used as a substitute for a real steak. I’d serve this to a vegetarian friend, wouldn’t you?
Today’s Soup of the Day: Creamy Sweet Potato Curry Bisque. I feel like I’m in a restaurant whenever someone says “Soup of the Day”. 🙂
It’s actually gotten cooler here in greater Boston, which is nice for mid-October. It’s been too warm for soup until now, but it’s supposed to be the start of Soup Season, right? At any rate, cool enough to make this sweet potato bisque. It’s a variation on my Roasted Butternut Curry Soup, which is one of my favorites. Worked just as well with sweet potatoes. The best part: it freezes really well, so double the recipe and you’ll have a freezer full to last you a while!
And now for something that isn’t baking — cooking for once, instead. I love this recipe — the flavors of the briny olives, the freshness of the lemons, the perfect texture of the fish. All very delicious. Because halibut can be a bit of a splurge with the cost, this can also be made with cod or any thicker cut white fish. Definitely give it a go.