Whiskey and Smoke Mac and Cheese

Full of caramelized onions flavored with whiskey & smokey mozzarella, Matt calls this variation of our homemade mac & cheese the manly version.

The St. Patrick's Day Burgers from Burb! Where Food Happens were on our menu for the week & they are topped with the whiskey caramelized onions. Then it hit me, "oh, those whiskey onions would be good in mac & cheese too!" Matt had picked up some smoked mozzarella to go on our pizza & we both realized that smokey flavor would be great with the whiskey. Thus, this dish was born.

The whiskey & smoke flavors were actually both pretty subtle. The whiskey aroma was definitely there in the onions & every now & then you got a nice little bite of its flavor in the pasta. Next time I would look for a smokier cheese as the one we bought was a little wimpy. Maybe we should try smoking our own?! Still this was a great batch of mac & cheese, actually Matt especially thought it was fabulous

Whiskey & Smoke Mac & Cheese
The alcohol gets cooked out of the whiskey & the flavors are subtle so this is still a mac & cheese you could serve to your kids.

Batch of Whiskey Onions from Burb! Where Food Happens
1 lb pasta, we use rotini but elbow or small penne would work too
1 T unsalted butter
2 T all-purpose flour
1 c milk
1/2 c heavy cream
5 oz smoked mozzarella, chopped
4 oz white cheddar, chopped
1 t spicy brown mustard
salt & pepper

Caramelize the onions according to the recipe. They'll take you about 45 - 60 minutes. You should end up with about 1/2 c onions.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Cook the pasta according to directions. Drain & set aside.

In a large saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour. Stir while cooking for 1 minute, do not let brown. Slowly whisk in the milk & cream. Continue whisking until the sauce is hot, smooth & slightly thicken. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the cheese & mustard. Stir until the cheese is melted.

Mix the cheese sauce, pasta & onions together. Make sure to mix well so the onions are not in one big clump.

Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown on top.

6 servings. (If you are being healthy with your serving size though Matt & I ate half a batch for dinner last night.)

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Pizza Night or the Search for the Perfect Crust

If you follow this blog at all you know we like to make pizza at home. It's a fun way to play with different flavor combinations or use up small amounts of things in the fridge. That has lead us to a search for the perfect crust for homemade pizza. I'm embarrassed to say when we first started making pizza at home we used the crust that came in a tube from the grocery store. It was quick & easy but nothing like real pizza crust, more like pizza toppings on bread. So, we started trying lots of different recipes we found around the web.

Our go-to crust for a long time as been this recipe from Wisebread. It was pretty easy to make though, you have to remember to get it rising 2 hours before dinner. We've found the recipe calls for way too much liquid & cut it down by a third. It's not very easy to work with when it came to making the pizza, very hard to spread out. It is an easy recipe to play with flavor-wise though, we've done a honey wheat version & a wheat bran version as well as adding different flavorings like roasted garlic. A good crust but almost too crispy (or some might say hard).

Then we tried the Easy-At-Home Pizza Dough from Serious Eats. Talk about a basic dough, it doesn't even have olive oil in it. It needs to be made 3 - 24 hours before you plan on using it. We had to press it out very thin to get the size pizzas the recipe said it made. It got quite crispy & even stayed crisp with a good drizzle of balsamic on it. The texture was good, especially at the edge (my favorite part) but, it was boring on the flavor front.

This week we tried the New York Style Pizza also from Serious Eats. This recipe called for you to make the dough in a food processor 24 hours up to 5 days before using. Apparently, using a food processor keeps the dough from over-oxidizing which affects flavor. I did 2/3 of the recipe & I want to know how big a food processor the author had! I thought even this reduced amount was going to blow out the motor on mine. I ended up having to knead it a lot more than the 1 or 2 times the recipe called for (probably adding more of that evil oxygen). The end result though, was a dough that was a delight to work with once its time to make your pizza, so easy to get that thin crust we like. It cooked up a little more bread-like than cracker crisp still, it stood up fine to the toppings. It had a nice flavor which I think would only get better if we'd left it in the fridge for more than one day. Matt liked the way the crust had air pockets like a lot of the crust you get out. This my be the winning crust so far though I'll need a bigger food processor to make it again.

Maybe it's time to take what I've learned from all the crusts we've tried & create my own "perfect" crust recipe. Do you have a favorite pizza crust recipe? Share it with us in the comments & tell us why it's your favorite.

Pizza's pictured above Apricot, Red Pepper & Prosciutto on Wisebread Crust, Sausage & Grape on Easy-At-Home Crust and this week's Salami, Mushroom, Red Pepper & Smoked Mozzarella on New York Style Crust.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Crockpot Beef and Beans over Spanish Rice

We made another big batch of our 24-Hour Crock Pot Beef last week which meant I was looking for ways to use all that shredded beef. My original plan was to use it in a Mexican inspired hotdish but, as I was formulating that plan I decided to just serve the meat over some Mexican rice. The result wasn't too far from eating a burrito without the tortilla.

When we moved here from San Francisco a few years ago, we thought there would be a lot of food we would miss. We were happily wrong & found Minneapolis to be full of wonderful restaurants & markets. There was one thing that we sorely missed though, the Mission-style burrito. Sure we can get a burrito here & we've gotten used to them but, they are just not the same. As I see it there are two big differences. First, in San Francisco they melt the cheese on the tortilla when they steam it (this might be my favorite thing). Second, they use Spanish rice which adds a big boost of flavor. So, I guess you could call this my tortilla-less version of a Mission-style burrito.

Whatever you call it this was a dish that was full of flavor & super easy to make especially if you've got the leftover beef. We reheated the beef with some pinto beans & a little of their cooking liquid. Then added some shredded cheddar & sour cream (ok, it's actually plain yogurt). Matt also added some hot sauce & salsa.

Spanish Rice

1 T olive oil
1 c long grain white rice
1/2 c chopped yellow onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 poblano pepper, seeded & chopped
1/2 t Mexican oregano
1/4 t epazote
1/4 t ground chipotle
1 heaping T tomato paste
2 c chicken stock (or combination of chicken stock & water)

In a large stock pot heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the rice & toast for a minute, stirring to coat. Add the onion, garlic & pepper. Sauté until the onion is translucent. Stir in the oregano, epazote, chipotle & tomato paste. Add the chicken stock & stir to blend everything. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat & let simmer for 20 - 25 minutes. Remove from the heat & let sit 5 minutes. The stock should all be absorbed & the rice tender.

Makes 4 servings.

Top the rice with any or all of the following; beef, chicken, beans, grated cheddar, hot sauce, salsa, lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole, and sour cream.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Sun Street Bread and Weekly Menu 3/21 - 3/25/11

Today was the day we'd been waiting for since the Kingfield Farmers Market closed for the season in October. Today was the opening of the Sun Street Breads bakery!

Last summer we became quickly addicted to Solveig Tofte's bread, pastries & especially biscuits from her booth at the farmer's market. Soon the rest of Minneapolis caught on & she had lines before the market even opened on Sunday mornings. Lucky for us, she & her husband Martin Ouimet decided to open a new bakery & cafe in the neighborhood so we could get our fix all the time (this might actually be dangerous).



Created with flickr slideshow from softsea.
The new bakery is a bright, cheery place with lots of big windows to light up the fun mural & tiled walls. The kitchen is open, allowing you to see the bakers at work & Solveig to chat with all the customers as they come in for their morning treats. Of course, what we're here for is the food. The breads we love are back, Lunchbox, Figgy Rye & the classic baguette, as well as the famous biscuits & turnovers. But even better, Sun Street is serving breakfast & lunch. All summer we talked about what a great breakfast sandwich the biscuits would make & now that dream has come true. I had the basic biscuit sandwich with bacon, scrambled eggs & cheddar all on that buttery, flaky biscuit. Matt had a Juicy Piggy, a breakfast take on the Juicy Lucy with a pepper jack stuffed sausage patty, lettuce & tomato. He had them add some scrambled eggs to it for a really hearty breakfast. The bakery also offers full egg & potato, pancake & biscuit & gravy breakfasts until 2:00pm. I'm looking forward to having the biscuit with fried chicken & bacon soon.

With all that good bread Sun Street is also offering a lot of lunch sandwich options too. We need to go back to try the Porketta with fennel slaw & the really interesting sounding Susan, apple butter & fried shallot cream cheese. Since they have Wi-Fi it'll be easy for us to go & have a leisurely lunch plus get a little work done. We understand dinner plus beer & wine will be added to the menu later in the year. We couldn't have asked for a better addition to the neighborhood!

Sun Street is at the corner of 46th & Nicollet in South Minneapolis. It's open daily from 6:30 am to 2:30 pm.

On to Menu Planning Monday....

Crock Pot Beef & Beans over Mexican Rice

Pork & Hominy Stew

Mushroom & Salami Pizza

Whiskey & Smoke Mac & Cheese

Burgers with Whiskey Onions & Swiss

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Salmon Cakes

We are working our way through all the wild Alaskan salmon in our freezer & I think these salmon cakes might be my new favorite way to serve them so far. (Do I say that about every new salmon dish I try?)

They were moist & flavorful without too much breading (so often the problem with fish cakes). We poached the salmon which I think really helped keep the fish moist & easy to form into cakes. I almost baked it but am glad I didn't since, I think the texture would have been very different. Plus poaching takes almost no time which meant these cakes were done in about 30 minutes including prep time. The seasoning of dill & tangy capers complimented the salmon perfectly. We pan fired the cakes with just a small amount of olive oil. They got brown & crispy on the outside with a soft, tender middle. Very tasty on their own but these salmon cakes were even better with an easy spicy mayo, just some mayo mixed with crystal hot sauce. That little bit of heat mixed with the creamy mayo was the extra embellishment that really bumped up the flavor.

Salmon Cakes

3/4 - 1 lb salmon filet
1/2 t dried dill
cayenne
1 1/2 T capers, drained & roughly chopped
4 scallions, chopped
salt & pepper
2 eggs, beaten
3 T bread crumbs plus another 1/2 c or so for dredging
olive oil

Cook your salmon filet. We poached ours but bringing 1 cup of water to a simmer in a large skillet. We added the salmon filet skin down, covered & let it simmer until cooked through, 5 - 10 minutes. Keep an eye on it so it doesn't over cook. Remove from the skillet & let cool.

Flake salmon with a fork making sure to remove any pin bones & skin. Put in a bowl (you should have about 2 cups). Mix in the dill, a pinch or two of cayenne, capers and scallions. Season with a little salt & pepper. Mix in the beaten eggs & 3 tablespoons of bread crumbs. Form the salmon mixture into 2 inch patties & dredge in the remaining bread crumbs.

Coat the bottom of a large non-stick skillet or griddle with a thin layer of olive oil. Heat over medium-high. Place the patties on the skillet & press down with the back of a spatula to flatten a little. Let cook until golden brown, about 3 - 4 minutes. Flip & cook the other side until brown, another 2 - 3 minutes.

Serve with a little hot sauce mixed into mayonnaise.

Makes 12 patties

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski