Mac and kielbasa grilled cheese, because why not?

I like things covered in cheese. I would venture to say that cheese is almost equally important as protein (aka meat) in the average American diet. According to the NY Times, Americans eat about 33 pounds of cheese a year, about 3 times as much as consumption in 1970. It's everywhere, whether you want it or not. What made Domino's new pizza formula better last year? More Cheese (and garlic butter mysteriousness). I've ordered plenty of things that have the option to include meat (think: salads, sandwiches, pasta) and held back the temptation to add it on. But the same cannot be said for cheese. I can't really remember ever saying, 'o ya that salad I ordered? Can I not get cheese on it?' It would be like saying can you play that song with the guitar solo bridge, but just skip right back to the chorus? No can do.

So naturally, this post is about a meal that combines these 2 colossal worlds in a way that some might say they shouldn't be. But we know better. This started as a way to just make some old fashioned (kind of) traditional home-made mac and cheese. Then morphed into a sandwich that's probably one of the more disgustingly awesome things you can eat, with possibilities for all sorts of variations. I have my roommates to thank for being guinea pigs for these types of experiments. Always hungry guinea pigs. So get yourself some dried elbows and get down on some heady mac-and-grilled-cheese sandwiches.

What you need:
- 1 lb elbow pasta
- 1 package keilbasa (any kind works, get turkey if you want to be healthier. Then again, you're eating mac and cheese with kielbasa, so health is probably not your #1 concern here)
- Approx 1 package shredded cheddar, plus or minus depending on your love of cheese
- (insert additional cheese here) I wouldn't use a lot more, but if you have some gruyere or pepper jack you can sprinkle some in here
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup flour
- 3 or 4 cups of milk
- 1 tablespoon dry mustard powder, or some regular mustard if you don't have
- 2 tablespoons paprika, mixed in and on top
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- Hot sauce
- Garlic powder
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
- American cheese
- Bread of your choice

1. First things first you want to cook your pasta. Quite the process. Should take about 8 or so minutes, check the box. Once it's done, drain and rinse under cold water. This stops the cooking process so you don't have mushy pasta, unless of course you LIKE mushy pasta then by all means skip this step.

 2. While the pasta is cooking, brown up the kielbasa. The smell of kielbasa sizzling in a frying pan is something I've come to love over the years, so if you're unfamiliar with this, it's likely you will too. Once it's done cooking chop it up into bite size pieces.
















3. Next you want to get your cheese sauce going. This is the fun, droolworthy part of the show. Melt the butter on low and gradually add your flour. Keep whisking this around as you don't want the flour to burn. Add most of your cheese, keep stirring. It should melt quickly. Add in your milk. Add in your mustard, garlic powder, black pepper worcestershire, and about half the paprika. Taste test for cheesy-ness. You can always add more.
























4. In a deep pyrex glass type roasting pan, mix together your pasta and cheese sauce. Try to keep yourself from just eating it all right there. Add in your kielbasa throughout. Sprinkle on top some breadcrumbs, paprika, and a little more cheese for good measure. Pop this in the oven at 375 and cook for about 20 minutes, until things start looking crispy on top and cheese is thickening and bubbling. It's a sight to behold.

5. So you could stop here and call it a day. Enjoy you mac and cheese on a plate or a bowl, and be perfectly content. First time making this that is what I did. But putting it in an already cheesy sandwich just puts this whole thing over the top. So give it a shot.

6. For the grilled cheese, just butter 2 pieces of bread, throw on 2 slices of 'Merican cheese because let's have some processed cheese in our lives, and let this brown up. Top one side with your warm mac and cheese. Add a little hot sauce and garlic powder. If you have some pickles, they would be awesome here. Close that sandwich up and watch cheese heaven unfold before your eyes. An American classic sandwich meeting it's cheesy counterpart. Carbs meeting more carbs. Sausage meeting it's happy nesting place in between 2 pieces of bread. Ok ok, it's just mac and cheese between 2 beautifully buttered pieces of bread, but it's something you secretly want but don't get to eat/think about every day.

It's Gravy, Not Sauce

If you were asked what type of food you would have if you could only choose one type to eat every day, I'm willing to bet the majority would choose something of the Italian variety. This question is tough because of its limiting nature, but Italian dishes are one thing that just never seem to get boring to a majority of Americans. One dish can be unbelievably simple in components, just a mix of tomato, garlic and olive oil, yet often more satisfying than something with a laundry list of ingredients. Another can be complex with each ingredient adding a different intense flavor beyond the usual tomato, but somehow all coming together perfectly. Leftovers that often taste better a couple days later, despite the wave of laziness that hits you as you hit 'start' on the microwave. It's the comfiest of comfort food, even if you didn't grow up in an Italian family that you saw on (insert movie/show that depicts an Italian family here).

After coming back to NY I was quickly reminded of the Italian influence on this city. As someone who's constantly searching for/comparing slices of pizza, this is good news. And the best part of living somewhere with a big Italian community is benefitting from the abundance of fresh (sort of local, or imported over the atlantic) ingredients at your fingertips.

If you want to cook something that offers
a) comfort satisfaction that can only come in the form of something covered in tomato sauce
b) relatively ease of effort
c) leftovers for dayzzzz

then make yourself some bomb diggity baked pasta. There are a million ways to do this, but this one has always treated me well. Ready? Go!

What you need:
- 1.5 lbs italian sausage. I went with a mix of hot and sweet, you can do whatever you want.
- 1 ball of mozzarella. I bought the fresh stuff but you can use shredded.
- Parmesan or Romano or BOTH? Romano has a sharper almost spicy taste, so try both
- 1 lb penne pasta
- 1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes. Go with any brand but tuttoroso or anything that says San Marzano are great
- 1 green pepper
- 1 zucchini (don't leave this out, it's weirdly awesome here)
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 shallot
- A few cloves of garlic

Seasonings you need
- Garlic powder
- Crushed red pepper
- Oregano
- Salt and Pepper

1. Start off by making your sauce. Unless you buy a jar of premade sauce, then you can skip this. And I'd fully understand if you did, we're all busy. But I suggest you slow it down a little to let this sauce simmer then do this. Saute your garlic, onions, and shallots for a few minutes, then throw in the tomatoes. Mix in some garlic powder, oregano, salt & pepper, and crushed red pepper. You can let this simmer on low as long as you want. This is a good thing to make when you're just hanging around the house.

Crush those Tomatoes

 2. While the sauce is cooking get your sausage ready. Brown it up nice in some hot olive oil

Sausage Fest

3. Cook those carbs. You want to cook your penne for about half the time it would be needed to actually cook through, so about 6 or 7 minutes. It's going to cook more in the oven so you don't want to overdo it.

 4. While the pasta is cooking (yes, this is the last thing you have to do while something else is happening), you want to roast your veggies. I used zucchini, peppers, and onions, but you could add in lots of things here. Mushrooms? Eggplant? Whatever you want. Just turn on the broiler and roast away.

 

5. Now mix everything you've been toiling away on in one nice, pyrex glass type of dish. Mix it up nice and now cover that carb concoction in some parmesan and mozzarella. Say it with me now 'Moootzarella". Cover it up with some tin foil and bake in the oven at 350 for about 20-30 mins max, or whenever the cheese is melting and looking NICE. Your eyes will tell you when it's done, or just grab a fork and start digging.

 

 

  Not the prettiest, but oh' so good

Nothing says Merry Christmas like a bowl of green chili

Ok, maybe a new 50'' TV or a 60's Fender re-issue would do the trick. But more practically, the gift of food will have to do. Feliz Navidad!

While different sources will tell you different things about the influence of food color on taste (note: I made this up, but let's assume it's been scientifically debated) something about the color of this chili made it perfect for the occasion. By something about the color I mean it is green and red. So. Innovative. I've never been to New Mexico, but the smell of these chilis while roasting in the oven is what I would imagine every day in Santa Fe would be like. That and hot air balloon festivals. And Jesse Pinkmans. It must be an incredible place to reside.

Make this chili any time of year, but definitely make this for a little Mexican/West Coast infused holiday. This is some G-13 medical grade chili. I'd call it Chronic Chili, but my friends at Lagunitas Brewing Co. already did that with their red chili.

So here we go:

For the chili:

- 3(ish) lb. boneless pork shoulder.
- 1.5 lb. tomatillos
- 2 poblano peppers
- 1 red pepper
- 1 or 2 jalapeno depending on how much spice you want
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 2 yellow onions
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 1 Tbsp cumin
- 1 Tbsp smoked serrano powder if you can get it, or roast 1 seranno pepper
- 1 or 2 Tbsp mexican oregano 
- Optional: Some kind of white bean, like lima

Garnish on top yo' bowl:
- Limes
- Flour tortillas
- More cilantro



1. CHILI ROAST. Take your tomatillos, chili's, garlic, and other peppers and put them on a baking sheet. Cut the tomatillos in half cross wise. Throw them in the oven and set your oven to broil. It was a complete mystery to me for a while what the hell the broiler was for, but it's great when you just want to heat something from above (Think: Melt Nacho Cheese. Munch Now Children).

2. After they are getting nice and blackened, take them out and throw in a blender or food processor with half your cilantro bunch. Pulse this warm chili-cilantro mixture into a nice smooth mixture. It will look almost like salsa.

 3. Get your meat ready to bronze. Be good to your pork shoulder. Trim some of it's fat off before it meets its death by hot oil. Slice into pretty large 1 inch chunks, and go heavy on the salt and pepper. Pork likes liberal use of salt. While the pork is browning, throw in your cumin and any other chili powder you want to add in.

 4. After several minutes with your pork having some nice browned sides, take it out of the pot. Next you want to start the onions for your chili. I used some of the fat from the pork as the base for cooking the onions. Do this unless you just hate fat. But if that's the case, you're probably not ready any of this to begin with. Once the onions are done, throw in your pork and the green chili sauce you made. Next, add in enough chicken broth just to cover the meat. You shouldn't need a lot because the chili sauce is plenty of liquid. Admire how green your chili sauce is.

 5. At this point, you're pretty much done. You could also add in beans here if you wanted. Or chorizo. Or doritos. But no, beans really are good in this. Get the chili up to a boil, then turn the heat to low. Sit back, have a holiday cocktail, and let this cook for at least 2-3 hours. You want the pork to be fall apart tender, and this will take a little time. But well worth it my friend.


          Before....                                                                           .....3 hours later

There aint no time to stash the gumbo

Or rattle around in a cage. Huh? Yes, these are lyrics to a song, and I have no idea what what they mean. But in honor of this particular band celebrating 30 years of touring this week, it was about damn time to make some gumbo. While the song Gumbo has absolutely nothing to do with the food, nor do I think it has much to do with anything, I feel like I needed to honor this band that has given me plenty of good memories over the years.

Why do I go see them year after year? For the chance to see them create something new on stage, and most of the time they do. Not always a new song, but just taking an old song in a different direction, with no path or end in sight. Sometimes, the new sound they explore within a song they've played hundreds of times lands flat. But more often than not, you're left wondering how they didn't plan this before stepping on stage, it's so good it had to have been practiced.

Much in the same way, cooking provides this type of exploration and chance to create something new. You can take a dish you've made many times and throw in a new ingredient, see how it tastes. It might not turn out great, or the different ingredient won't add much. But it's the only way to learn what's good together. Or, you can just try making something new, a first time played so to speak.

Ok, enough of this soapbox talk. My first time played is gumbo, something I've wanted to try making for a while but laziness often got the best of me. Gumbo is not something to make if you don't have a little time and don't mind standing over a stove for a little bit. But the payoff is worth it. Just put on some of your favorite mindless television or a good album, and you will be just fine. This recipe is adapted from a few different sources, Saveur and Simply Recipes


What you need:
- Boneless Chicken Thighs: 1 lb
- Andouille Sausage or Kielbasa: 1 lb
- Bacon: a few slices
- Okra: about 1/2 lb
- 1 Green pepper
- 1 Red pepper
- 1 Serrano pepper
- 4 Celery stalks
- 1 Onion
- 4 cloves Garlic
- Tomato Paste
- 1 32oz box Chicken stock
- 1 14oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup oil


 Seasoning:
- A few Tbsp. Cajun seasoning. This is good to have if you don't have it. You can use it on chicken, black beans, whatever.
- 1 Tbsp. Thyme
- Hot sauce: as much as you want
- Salt & pepper



1. First thing to do is kind of an optional step, but after cooking a stew with okra before and finding out the hard way, you might find it necessary. Okra give off this weird slimy texture, which helps thicken the gumbo. But one way to get rid of this is to cook them in a pan for a few minutes, just so they cook down a bit. You could also roast them in the oven, but let's not get too crazy here.

Okra are more than OK

 2. Next you want to brown the bacon, sausage, and chicken. Throw plenty of salt and pepper on the chicken while it's cooking. Take the meat and okra, set it aside.

 











3. The next part is the what separates gumbo from the rest. What gives it its brownish color is the Roux that you will make. That's ROO for the nonfrancophone among us. You make this by heating up the leftover oil from browning your meat, along with some additional oil (about 1/2 cup in total). You want to slowly add flour to this warming oil, and keep stirring. You will see it starts to thicken, and scrape the bottom of the pan to get the good stuff. Do this for a little while, maybe 20-30 minutes, until your roux is a nice brownish color. Mine wasn't the best, I could have kept cooking it but I got hungry and anxious.

Need

More

Cowbell

4. Once you're done with this somewhat exhausting step, it's time to add your veggies to the pot. Here you use what they call the Holy Trinity of vegetables. Onions, bell pepper, celery. Aka awesomeness. I added garlic and serrano pepper, so we'll call it the Fab 5.

Trinity

Tangled up in Roux

 5. After a few minutes with this mixture getting nice, add in your tomatoes. While this is cooking, you want to heat the chicken broth separately. This will help when you add it in because it will absorb the roux and get all the brown bits off the bottom of your pan. So heat the chicken stock, then add it to this mixture.

Now you can add in your seasonings/hot sauce and that trifecta meat/okra mixture you cooked earlier. Let this all heat up and start simmering. Once it is simmering you can lower the heat, and let it cook pretty much as long as you want, but at least about 45 minutes. The vegetables will all cook and the gumbo will start to thicken. Make some white rice on the side, top with hot sauce, and you're gettin down on some gumbo!