the one, the only...macaroni

Surprise, surprise...I am very picky when it comes to macaroni and cheeses. Flour and milk-thickened sauces just don't cut it for me. My mom has made this version, which uses egg as a magic ingredient, since I was a little girl. It was always for special occasions; something I don't understand now that I have the easy, easy recipe. I guess all that cheese grating was just too much to come home to on a weekday...but I'm happy to enjoy this any (and every) day of the week.





the ONLY macaroni and cheese

1 cup dry macaroni
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter, melted
1 egg
3 cups cheese (cheddar if you feel traditional...i like a mixture of manchego and gruyere)
1 cup milk

Boil macaroni to al dente, then toss with salt and melted butter. Whisk egg and milk in small bowl, then add to noodles. Stir in 2 1/2 cups of cheese. Place in ovenproof dish, sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes (covered). Bake 10-15 minutes more uncovered.

OPTIONAL TOPPING: toss crushed breton crackers with melted butter, sprinkle on top before baking.

Caramelized Onion Bruschetta

Another happy topping for toasted bread. Don't skip this recipe if you think you don't really like onions. These are nothing like the obnoxiously crunchy white things on fast food burgers, people. There are so many uses for a sweet, crispy-on-the-end caramelized onion...this is merely the tip of the root vegetable.
These are wonderful at room temperature or warm.

4 oz goat cheese (herbed if desired)
3 onions, sliced
2 tbsp butter
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
8-10 baguette slices, toasted

Melt butter over medium heat. Add onions, stir to coat, then turn heat to med. low. Cook for 45 minutes, stirring only a few times, until goldenly beautiful brown. These are caramelized onions!
Meanwhile, spread goat cheese over baguette slices.
Top with onions and serve!

party corn

When I don't have pink-eye peas for summer succotash (see earlier post), this is my new go-to corn dish. This is what would happen if an ear of corn from Greece went on spring break to Cancún and got cooked. This culture clash, however unlikely, makes for a succulent summer dish. It's such a shame to eat boiled corn on the cob when you can eat THIS.

3 ears of corn, de-kerneled
1 oz feta, crumbled
1/2 lime
2 tbsp butter, softened
1 clove garlic, minced

Mix garlic with a pinch of salt and pound to a paste. Stir into butter (this can be done 2 days ahead).
Saute corn kernels on med. high heat in a bit of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Once the kernels are golden brown (for the most part) add 1 or both tbsps of butter to skillet and continue cooking for another minute, tossing to coat.
Plate the corn, squirt lime over the top and sprinkle with feta.
Serves 2.

the essential travel accessory

This summer my travels have taken me from the Gulf of Mexico to the Memphis countryside, and I have found one singular accessory more useful than anything else in my luggage--a jar of black peppercorns topped with a built-in grinder. There is nothing that finishes a dish quite as well as freshly cracked pepper. I really don't even know what those gray-white-black specks that come in those cardboard shakers are, but my guess is if they ever were peppercorns, they were ground several years ago. One thing I do know--they are flavorless and therefore useless.
Bringing along my own pepper feels a little snobbish, but the multitude of dishes that have benefited from it (greek coleslaw, pimento cheese, summer vegetable soup, tomato basil bruschetta, homemade pasta with bacon-cream sauce) make it clear that it's not a matter of elitism but one of taste.
I can't wait to go through airport customs and have to explain this one.

roasted feta

This is an inordinately impressive appetizer, considering the five minutes of work that go into it. And, best of all, it's mostly stuff that's laying around. Served with a baguette (or lime tortilla chips, when desperate), it is the perfect prelude to a cool summer salad or pasta dish. It is a riff off of a recipe I read long ago, I think in Gourmet.

2 1/2" slabs of feta
1-2 tbsp fresh chopped oregano (or 1 tsp dry, crumbled)
a few grinds of pepper
1/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers
2 tbsp olive oil

Preheat broiler.
Place feta on ovenproof plate, sprinkle oregano and pepper over. Mix red peppers with oil, and drizzle over feta.
Place under broiler until golden brown, about five minutes.
Serve, with baguette or any other bready item laying around.

Things You can Do When You Raise Chickens

1) Have hours-old scrambled eggs with goat cheese and herbs
2) Bake hot, steaming loaves of challah
3) Egg wash things to your heart's content
4) Make homemade pasta with just flour, salt, and a fork
5) BLT-fried egg n cheese sandwiches
6) Turn aforementioned challah leftovers into a killer bread pudding
7)Improvise vanilla butter cakes, with little more than flour, eggs, butter, vanilla, and baking powder.


Thanks to Eliot and Lee for the down-home farm vacation!

it's not summer without succotash

This is a dish my family prepares every summer when the farmers' market starts up. Every time I make it, I wonder to myself why I don't make it every day. Every vegetable is in its utmost perfect state in this dish: the peas simmered with simple salt water, the corn sauteed to near-caramelization, the tomatoes marinated at room temp with fresh herbs, and the okra, fried, of course.
If the ingredient list looks daunting, just know that you already have most of it, and the rest is just a stop at the market away. Do not even think about substituting black-eye peas for the pink-eye...we're talking a different species. Purple hull peas are an acceptable substitute. A lot of this can be made ahead. All that really needs to happen last minute is frying the okra.
Please make this. It is honestly the best thing you will put in your mouth this summer. Heck-this IS summer.


Summer Succotash

1 lb pink eye peas
1 tbsp salt
6 spoonfuls of mayo
juice of one lemon (or two small)
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
5 ears corn
3 tomatoes, cut into 16ths
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
tbsp fresh oregano
about 30 okra
3 cups flour
3 eggs
1/3 cup milk
tbsp cajun seasoning
tbsp seasoning salt
vegetable oil for frying
8 slices of prosciutto

Simmer peas with in water with tbsp salt for two hours.

Whisk together mayo, chives, lemon juice and season to taste.
Set aside

Whisk together olive oil and balsamic vinegar (3 parts oil to one part vinegar) as well as the oregano. Marinate tomatoes in dressing, turning occasionally.

Shuck corn, cut the kernels off the cob, and saute until dangerously golden with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Keep warm

Combine flour, seasoning salt, cajun seasoning, and heavy shakes of salt and pepper in a double lined plastic bag. Shake to combine. Cut off the tops of the okra. Whisk together eggs and milk. Soak okra in the egg/milk mixture, shake off extra, toss into the bag to cover with flour mixture, then fry over high heat until golden. Keep warm.

Fry up the prosciutto until crisp.

TO ASSEMBLE:
Plate the peas, then the corn, then tomatoes on top of that. Place the okra around the sides. Top with prosciutto, drizzle with mayo dressing and enjoy.