Nearly three years ago, I went on a culinary pilgrimage to see Grace Young demo one of her recipes in Brooklyn. We met up at Aux Epices, an amazing Malaysian-French bistro run by Chef Mei Chau. Among the highlights was this delectable salmon perched on a plinth of rice surrounded by a rich deep yellow sauce. Now, Mei Chau has graciously shared the recipe for this signature dish in a fantastic Zoom cooking lession, co-hosted by Grace Young and the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA).
Eating Malaysian is like having all of your favorite Asian cuisines rolled up into one. Whether it is Indian curries, Chinese vegetables or noodles, or hot Indonesian sambals that you desire, you can have all that and more with additional influences from the Middle East and several European countries including Portugal (source of the egg custard tarts enjoyed in Hong Kong).
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| Malaysian-Style Turmeric Salmon at Aux Epices restaurant in the NY Chinatown |
A few years ago, I discovered Malaysian food at a tiny slip of a restaurant, full of happy sounds as diners enjoyed each other’s company in the presence of rich, complex and tantalizing flavors. Aux Epices, the name of the restaurant, literally means "of the spices." Chef Mei Chau is Chinese-Malaysian in heritage, and she originally moved to America to pursue art training. Together with her photographer husband Marc Kaczmarek, she created a warm and inviting Malaysian-French bistro, where she works a rich palette of color, smells and taste inspired by the fresh ingredients from Chinatown markets outside her door.
My husband, a friend and I were on a pilgrimage to learn more about Chinese cooking. As part of the Facebook group Wok Wednesdays, we were learning how to cook using the most versatile, yet humbly inexpensive, cookware invented over the past 2000 years. Guided by the stir-fry guru and wok evangelist, Grace Young, we were learning how to make countless, delicious, better-than-restaurant-quality dishes at home. To justify the long drive to New York City, we would attend a special exhibit at the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) entitled Sour, Sweet, Bitter, Spicy: Stories of Chinese Food and Identity in America in addition to the Museum of Food and Drink (MOFAD) exhibits in Brooklyn on Chinese restaurants and the Wok in America. MOFAD was sponsoring a stir-fry demo for Chinese Trinidadian Shrimp with Rum, and we could not pass up the chance to meet Grace in person!
Chef Mei had contributed several Malaysian seafood dishes to Grace's most recent book, Stir-frying to the Sky's Edge. So we decided to meet up with Wok Wednesday friends for lunch at Aux Epices. Where else can you get delicious Asian food plus French tarts for dessert?
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| Other dishes we enjoyed at Aux Epices. Chinese Broccoli stir-fried with fresh garlic and soy sauce drizzle; Rendang Lamb with roasted coconut, blue ginger, curry spices; Kuala Lumpur-style Seafood Laksa with shrimp, mussels, salmon, calamari, tofu, eggplant, bean sprouts and Udon noodles in a yellow coconut curry broth; French Pear Tart. Not shown: Green Mango Jicama salad, Malacca Laksa in red curry sauce, French apple tart. ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... |
Eating Malaysian is like having all of your favorite Asian cuisines rolled up into one. Whether it is Indian curries, Chinese vegetables or noodles, or hot Indonesian sambals that you desire, you can have all that and more with additional influences from the Middle East and several European countries including Portugal (source of the egg custard tarts enjoyed in Hong Kong).
Like all businesses in Manhattan's Chinatown, Aux Epices has been struggling since January 2020 due to coronavirus fears. MOCA, which has itself not yet recovered from a devastating fire affecting archived materials that collectively tell the story of more than 150 years of Chinese immigration in the US, is hosting a variety of digital exhibits and Zoom based activities. As part of the new MOCA Cooks series, Chef Mei graciously shared her signature Turmeric Salmon recipe. This engaging session touched upon Malaysian methods for preserving foods, a cook-along with lots of practical tips, Mei's work feeding elderly residents and essential workers, and Grace's mini-documentary interviews that comprise the Coronavirus Chinatown Stories project.
The flavors, colors and textures in this dish are truly amazing. After a rocky audiovisual start, Chef Mei shared her tips for making this dish so clearly that my husband (who bakes, but does not normally cook), was able to create a truly wonderful birthday dinner for me!
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| Malaysian-Style Turmeric Salmon with Crispy Skin. |
It has been stated that America is not so much as a melting pot of cultures, but rather a stew pot, where ingredients meld together to create a greater whole, but individual characteristics remain. From the very earliest days of our nation, our culinary traditions have been enriched by the melding of African and Caribbean influences with European and Native American cooking. Southern cuisine was not the only beneficiary of this rich African-American heritage, but also the pepper pot stew popular in Philadelphia, rumored to have sustained the Revolutionary Army at Valley Forge. This wonderful cultural exchange continues to this day, and some of my favorite stir-fries from the Chinese diaspora feature African-Caribbean spices and flavors. Yet the invaluable contribution made by African-American cooks to our culture and enjoyment of life has remained in the background, often invisible, instead of receiving the widespread recognition and honor that it deserves. 
African-American Cookbooks to Explore
A recent Eat Your Books post features six gorgeous contemporary cookbooks written by African-American authors. Among these are Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking by Toni Tipton-Martin, which won the 2020 James Beard award for Best American Cookbook.
In her previous book, The Jemima Code, Toni Tipton-Martin highlighted numerous historical books by African-American authors, as reviewed in this post. Among them is a self-published cookbook by Malinda Russell, which is the earliest known African-American cookbook to be published. This historical book is available digitally for free, as part of the Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive at the University of Michigan.
Malinda Russell's book starts off with an introduction to her history (her grandmother was a freed slave), and why she is writing a cookbook in Paw Paw, Michigan -- far from her home in Tennessee. These few pages along are well worth reading, even if you have no desire to recreate old recipes. As a testament to her strength, you can see how many careers she has pursued, raising her handicapped son on her own after her husband died young. She has had all her savings robbed at least twice, picking herself up each time with indomitable strength.
In 1864, Russell left her boarding house and pastry shop businesses in Cold Springs TN to seek safety during the Civil War. "Hearing that Michigan was the Garden of the West, I resolved to make that my home...until peace is restored," writing the cookbook in hopes of raising enough money to get back to Tennessee. "I have made Cooking my employment for the last twenty years, in the first families of Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina and Kentucky. I know my Receipts to be good, as they have always given satisfaction... and as I am now advanced in years, with no other means of support than my own labor; I have put out this book with the intention of benefiting the public as well as myself."
As might be expected from a pastry chef, her cookbook starts off with all manner of cakes. There are also fascinating glimpses into pickled peaches, and multiple preparations of meat and milk that allow them to be stored well, presumably at room temperature. The book ends with recipes for personal care items that might have been used in place of toothpaste, shampoo and hair dye.
While many people know about the fabulous Shanghai-style soup dumplings 小籠包 (xiǎo lóng bāo) at the worldwide Taipei chain Din Tai Fung, their fish dumplings 魚餃 (yú jiǎo) stand out even more from the crowd. Craving these, I turned to Andrea Nguyen's recipe for Fish & Chives Dumplings just before my daughter returned to college, so she could get in both her New Year's fish and a dumpling wrapping session to usher in the Year of the Rat!
My parents grew up in a war-torn China, fleeing their homes, country and hemisphere in search of stability, liberty and democracy. As one of the only Chinese families in a neighborhood dominated by Mexican-American and Filipino families, we did not grow up with a deep sense of tradition for celebrating either Chinese or American holidays. Thanksgiving became our favorite holiday, celebrated initially with roasted duck, and then at the kids' request, turkey roasted with the same Chinese seasonings. Ever so often, we would go watch the colorful lion and dragon dances in the Los Angeles Chinatown. And my mom always served whole fish sometime during the New Year season. The Chinese phrase for "having fish" 有魚 -- yǒu yú -- sounds the same as the words for "having surplus" 有余, signifying prosperity, abundance and the ability to share with others.
When relatives came to visit, the grown ups would sit around wrapping Chinese pork dumplings. While we liked eating them, we kids gave one or two desultory tries at wrapping leaky, deformed (criticizable) dumplings before running off to play. It was not until I got to college that I made my first dumplings at a huge New Year's event. Other Chinese-American students assumed I knew how to do it, and asked me to teach non-Asian participants. I was able to surreptitiously watch the guy next to me, and picked it up quickly enough to fake my way through the lesson. See one, do one, teach one...
That summer, I came home and asked my mom to show me how to make dumplings from scratch. She makes a pretty stiff dough, as she enjoys the toothy springiness of Northern style boiled dumplings, as opposed to the thin, unsubstantial gyoza-style wrapper that fades from the senses after conveying what are essentially meatballs to the mouth. To my surprise, it was a lot easier and less messy to wrap dumplings using the freshly made two-ingredient (flour, cold water) dough than using store bought circles that required dipping an increasingly messy, starchy finger into cups of water. And the dumplings made with fresh dough stay sealed easily throughout the boiling, pan-frying or vinegar-dipping process to deliver all the tasty juices into the mouth.
The first time I had fish dumplings was at the Din Tai Fung restaurant in Arcadia, CA, which we had visited for their Xiao Long Bao soup dumplings, so named because each dumpling contains a bit of delicious, steaming soup. I still think they have the best soup dumplings I have ever tried. The skins are always thin, translucent and bulging with rich, savory broth. But, comparably tasty (if more expensive) soup dumplings can be had in many cities around the US, in a smaller city like Pittsburgh. The best soup dumplings in Pittsburgh are served at a Taiwanese bistro, Cafe 33.
While the soup dumplings are delicious, the Din Tai Fung fish dumplings were really special. Elegant, elongated dumplings zipped closed with an abundance of fine pleats, they were filled with tender, white flaky fish with a delicate, yet distinct, savory richness. What they lacked in color, they more than made up for in pleasurable flavors and texture.
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| Steamed Fish & Scallion Dumplings with Scallion pancakes in the background |
Dumpling wrapping as a family, eating fish, and the red packet of money 紅包 (hóng bāo) are the Chinese New Year traditions that I have tried to impart to my children. The first two stemmed from my childhood, whereas my husband and I added the red packet when our children were small.
My parents grew up in a war-torn China, fleeing their homes, country and hemisphere in search of stability, liberty and democracy. As one of the only Chinese families in a neighborhood dominated by Mexican-American and Filipino families, we did not grow up with a deep sense of tradition for celebrating either Chinese or American holidays. Thanksgiving became our favorite holiday, celebrated initially with roasted duck, and then at the kids' request, turkey roasted with the same Chinese seasonings. Ever so often, we would go watch the colorful lion and dragon dances in the Los Angeles Chinatown. And my mom always served whole fish sometime during the New Year season. The Chinese phrase for "having fish" 有魚 -- yǒu yú -- sounds the same as the words for "having surplus" 有余, signifying prosperity, abundance and the ability to share with others.
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| https://www.theyucatantimes.com/2020/01/chinese-new-year-2020-year-of-the-rat/ |
When relatives came to visit, the grown ups would sit around wrapping Chinese pork dumplings. While we liked eating them, we kids gave one or two desultory tries at wrapping leaky, deformed (criticizable) dumplings before running off to play. It was not until I got to college that I made my first dumplings at a huge New Year's event. Other Chinese-American students assumed I knew how to do it, and asked me to teach non-Asian participants. I was able to surreptitiously watch the guy next to me, and picked it up quickly enough to fake my way through the lesson. See one, do one, teach one...
That summer, I came home and asked my mom to show me how to make dumplings from scratch. She makes a pretty stiff dough, as she enjoys the toothy springiness of Northern style boiled dumplings, as opposed to the thin, unsubstantial gyoza-style wrapper that fades from the senses after conveying what are essentially meatballs to the mouth. To my surprise, it was a lot easier and less messy to wrap dumplings using the freshly made two-ingredient (flour, cold water) dough than using store bought circles that required dipping an increasingly messy, starchy finger into cups of water. And the dumplings made with fresh dough stay sealed easily throughout the boiling, pan-frying or vinegar-dipping process to deliver all the tasty juices into the mouth.
Fish Dumplings 魚餃 (yú jiǎo)
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| Juicy Pork Soup Dumplings or Xiao Long Bao at Din Tai Fung |
While the soup dumplings are delicious, the Din Tai Fung fish dumplings were really special. Elegant, elongated dumplings zipped closed with an abundance of fine pleats, they were filled with tender, white flaky fish with a delicate, yet distinct, savory richness. What they lacked in color, they more than made up for in pleasurable flavors and texture.
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| Din Tai Fung Fish Dumplings with side of Seaweed & Beancurd in a Vinegar Dressing |
Harvest, est. 1975
Cambridge, MA USA.
Harvest is the perfect place to meet for a great meal, classy and quiet enough for conversation. This 44-year old restaurant prides itself on serving contemporary, seasonal dishes. We thoroughly enjoyed the beautifully plated and creative flavors melding fresh fruits and vegetables to enhance perfectly cooked, locally sourced meats.
After a delayed flight to Boston on a rainy, blustery New England halloween evening, we headed straight to Harvest to meet up with our daughter. What a treat! From the very first section of the menu to the end, it was difficult to decide what to order. Everything was delicious.
We were able to try three of the four Autumn Salads. The preserved plum, apple and lime added bright sweet-tart flavors to the rich spices of the roasted, caramelized cauliflower on its own bed of smooth tangy hummus. Indeed, I was so enthralled with my selection, that I forgot to request a taste of the other distinctive dishes on the table.
After a delayed flight to Boston on a rainy, blustery New England halloween evening, we headed straight to Harvest to meet up with our daughter. What a treat! From the very first section of the menu to the end, it was difficult to decide what to order. Everything was delicious.
We were able to try three of the four Autumn Salads. The preserved plum, apple and lime added bright sweet-tart flavors to the rich spices of the roasted, caramelized cauliflower on its own bed of smooth tangy hummus. Indeed, I was so enthralled with my selection, that I forgot to request a taste of the other distinctive dishes on the table.
Since my husband had been bonding with my daughter's suitemate over summer jobs spent detasseling corn, it was not surprising that he enjoyed his chilled sweet corn panna cotta. Topped with red quinoa and cornbread crumbs, this savory custard was warmed by smoky-sweet hints of bacon, smoked gouda, cherry tomatoes, and sweet peppers.
Our daughter seemed to thoroughly enjoy her baby beets salad, served with gorgeous, huge peach slices over fresh stracciatella cheese. Stracciatella is a rich, slightly sweet, buffalo milk cheese that is best known as the creamy filling inside burrata. Smoked pecans, a bourbon gastrique (bourbon infused reduction of vinegar and sugar) and mint leaves rounded out this beautiful dish.
Our entrées were equally varied, both visually and flavorwise, disappearing rapidly to cleaned plates with every flavorful garnish and every drop of artistically arranged, colorful sauce consumed.
My dish of Arcadian redfish fillets and scallops (they were out of seafood sausage) was artfully plated with a delightful melange of sauces. The bold red-orange stripe of sweet pepper rouille and dots of raisin caper purée, perfectly complemented the seafood and eggplant caponata.
Beyond Edinburgh by Car: Palace on a Loch, Rosslyn Chapel, St. Martin's Kirk, Angels with Bagpipes
October 19, 2019
On our second day of driving, we traced a smiling arc from fountain and soaring towers of Linlithgow Palace, birth place of Mary Queen of Scots, through the ornately pillared nave of Rosslyn Chapel, to the rough stone ruins of a 12th century kirk believed to be John Knox's childhood church. It was a day of contrasts as we pondered how the Reformation shaped both Mary's and John's lives, and whether dueling column designs was worth the murder of apprentice by master. How did the many Rosslyn Green Man carvings fit in with the angels, one of which is playing a bagpipe? After returning to Edinburgh, we did some shopping and discovered more J.K. Rowling connections before dining, quite appropriately, at Angels with Bagpipes.
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| Linlithgow Loch from a Linlithgow Palace turret |
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| Angels with Bagpipes desserts: Highland rhubarb duck egg custard/tonka bean/rose hip; Heather honey milk/hazelnut/lemon balm; Dark chocolate sea buckthorn/orange/wild walnut |
Day 4. Swinging West, South and East of Edinburgh
We took the bus back out to the Hermiston Park & Ride, where we had left our Arnold Clark rental car. (Scroll to the bottom of this link for tips on rentals). For my husband, the hardest part was not driving on the opposite side of the road, but dealing with the many traffic circles large and small. My role in the front left seat was to help count exits off the traffic circles (harder than it seems). Also, many of the roads were narrow and often had no shoulder. He had a tendency to hug the left side of the road, and I had a few scares watching signs and stone walls coming a little too close...
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| Today, we visited the sites marked in pink before returning to Edinburgh. Dark grey markers show Arnold Clark and Park & Ride locations. |
Linlithgow Palace & Loch
Linlithgow Palace consisted of a beautiful turreted and graceful building surrounding a central courtyard. An ornately carved fountain graced the courtyard of this maison de plaisance built for the Stewart kings and queens as a private retreat from state duties and the pressures of the court.
Edinburgh on Foot in 1.5 days: Edinburgh Castle, Grassmarket, Golden Mile, Chocolate Cafe
October 07, 2019
It's amazing how much you can see exploring the compact World Heritage area of Edinburgh! We were charmed by Dean Village, ventured up and down eerie closes, hunted for the best shortbread from Edinburgh Castle down the Golden Mile, shopped cashmere and wool, followed the footsteps (and hand prints) of JK Rowling, climbed to the highest point and swooned over the concept of a chocolate cafe.
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Inside the Edinburgh Castle Complex
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| Sculpture in the Princes Street Gardens |
Day 2. Edinburgh Castle; Oink; Grassmarket; Golden Mile; Arthur's Seat; Coro the Chocolate Cafe
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| Street performer on High Street |
In Search of Breakfast.
We wandered the pedestrian paths of Rose Street and Rose Street Lanes, part of the original phase of New Town designed in 1766, seeking an early morning shop where we could buy sandwiches. We had an ambitious driving itinerary planned for the next day and needed a quick lunch plan.We stumbled upon a gem called Social Bite at 131 Rose Street, one block east of Castle St. Painted wall text proudly proclaims their mission to end homelessness, through a combination of job opportunities and donations, including 100% of their profits. The French-Scottish meals are designed by Martin Wishart, a Michelin-starred chef, who personally cooks in the restaurant once a quarter. I had a breakfast potato roll enveloping two divine Scottish sausages (which kept trying to escape), a fried egg and some brown sauce. They also had baked goods, but scones were not their strongest suit. Most importantly for us, they had a fabulous selection of pre-made sandwiches and boxed salads available early in the morning.
Edinburgh Castle - the Crown Jewels
Like many other people, we resolved to arrive at Edinburgh Castle before the doors opened. Once inside the Edinburgh Castle complex, we decided to head straight to the Crown Jewels. We actually saw them twice. The first time, we asked where they were and went in a door that led directly to the Crown Jewels, missing the longer exhibit leading up to that room. Known formally as the Honours of Scotland, the crown jewels had been stuffed forgotten in a chest after the Scottish and English parliaments merged in 1707. There they languished for 111 years before being rediscovered and placed on exhibit. |
| Entrance to Edinburgh Castle |
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| Along the Water of Leith in New Town |
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| Cockburn Street in Old Town |
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| St. Giles Cathedral on High Street |
The Whittard of Chelsea Covent Garden Tea Bar
London, England, UK.
Afternoon Tea in London with all its accoutrements is truly a special treat! Whittard of Chelsea serves a delicious spread of finger foods accompanied by a truly excellent tea selection at their Covent Garden Tea Bar. Best of all, with all-day tea service from 10 to 10, you can enjoy tea with friends or family without the need for advance reservations.
First a note on terminology. There are several British tea traditions and high tea is not the same as afternoon tea. Furthermore, there are other lesser known tea times. You might have heard of elevenses, which was not invented by Tolkien for the Hobbits of Middle Earth, but consists of a late morning work break with baked goods and hot tea or coffee. According to historian Bruce Richardson as reported by NPR, the tradition of elevenses probably arose in the 20th century, but is now well engrained in British culture.
Afternoon tea for the upper classes became popular in the mid 19th century, when tea prices dropped after the introduction of 茶 (pronounced cha or tey)* from China in the 17th century. Also known as "low tea" because the crustless finger sandwiches, scones, macaroons and cakes were served around low tables surrounded by low armchairs or loveseats, it was reportedly popularized by Anna Russell, the duchess of Bedford and friend to Queen Victoria, as a fancy snack between meals. In contrast, high tea refers to a hearty early supper with tea that was enjoyed by the lower classes after work. These meals of kidney pie, potatoes or breaded fish with buttered toast and scones were served at a high dinner table or countertop with a pot of strong tea to nourish and revive body and spirits after a long hard day at work. Then there is cream tea, a variant of afternoon tea focused on scones with clotted cream and jam.
Irrespective of what time you wish to enjoy your tea with cakes and other food, the Whittard Tea Bar in the downstairs Whittard tea shop at Covent Garden is truly worth a visit. With a choice of over 100 loose leaf teas ranging from traditional to inventively spiced, the afternoon tea gives you a chance to sample new flavors with little risk. They will switch your pot to a different tea if you dislike your first selection. They also serve coffee, hot chocolate and cold beverages, as well as spirits and tea-infused cocktails. Plus it's fun to explore the shop and taste the samples of both hot and iced beverages. Notably, only the most popular teas come prepackaged. For the real selection of loose leaf teas, go to the back of the shop.
We asked our hotel to check on availability, and then set off for a lovely walk to the Covent Garden piazza. The first Whittard storefront we walked in directed us to their larger downstairs shop, where we were seated right away. Walk-ins are also available, and there was a small line forming by the time we got our tea. The three of us all opted for the full Whittard Tea experience at 30 pounds a person. This consisted of finger sandwiches filled with coronation chicken salad, egg salad, buttered cucumber or smoked salmon with lemon cheese. The type of chicken salad was originally prepared for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, and consists of tender chunks of chicken breast in a curried mayonnaise dressing. This was our favorite of the sandwiches.
Afternoon tea for the upper classes became popular in the mid 19th century, when tea prices dropped after the introduction of 茶 (pronounced cha or tey)* from China in the 17th century. Also known as "low tea" because the crustless finger sandwiches, scones, macaroons and cakes were served around low tables surrounded by low armchairs or loveseats, it was reportedly popularized by Anna Russell, the duchess of Bedford and friend to Queen Victoria, as a fancy snack between meals. In contrast, high tea refers to a hearty early supper with tea that was enjoyed by the lower classes after work. These meals of kidney pie, potatoes or breaded fish with buttered toast and scones were served at a high dinner table or countertop with a pot of strong tea to nourish and revive body and spirits after a long hard day at work. Then there is cream tea, a variant of afternoon tea focused on scones with clotted cream and jam.
The ultimate comfort food! Elbow macaroni or cavatappi cradled in a creamy sauce with bites of sharp cheddar and subtle spices to tantalize the tongue. This easy and delicious recipe has been a family favorite since 1995. Plus, a glimpse of memorable restaurant mac 'n cheese creations.
Shortcut to the printable Love2Chow recipe.
I've enjoyed my share of the Kraft variety with the powdered cheeses and the thin, mildly curved noodles. While several men that I know all seemed to share a penchant for making a meal of boxed mac and cheese with cut up hot dogs, I was much more likely to add spinach and mushrooms to ramen noodles. I also didn't really care for the Velveeta version, with its shiny, gluey processed texture. Even the addition of burnt ends from smoked brisket doesn't fix the apparently cheese food-dominant sauce served by one area restaurant. But I found myself liking the Boston Chicken/Boston Market rotini mac and cheese side despite its slightly gluey texture -- it must have been the addition of blue cheese into the Cheddar and American cheese mix.
Over the years, a handful of transcendental mac and cheese experiences at restaurants across the country have made their impression.
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| Urban Solace: Duckaroni |
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| Urban Solace: Cheddar-Chive biscuits with Orange-Honey Butter & Smoked Tomato Jam |
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| Proper Brick Oven: Brisket mac & cheese |
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| Parish Cafe: baked mac & cheese with bacon and mushrooms |
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Tag @love2chowblog and hashtag it #love2chow.
Now on to the recipe...
As a homework assignment for an online MOOC entitled Science & Cooking, I recently learned how to make a white sauce using real milk, butter and cheddar cheese that magically transformed into the color and texture of the common stove top mac and cheese. (So maybe I can't tell if a sauce was made from processed cheese food or not). Yet nothing compares to a simple, but tasty recipe that I have tweaked over the years to just the right creamy-white texture peeking out from a blanket of extra sharp cheddar. This recipe was modified from the Horseradish Grill in Atlanta, which appeared in the September 1995 issue of Bon Appetit.
Click here to read about Daddy's Chili Mac, another easy and crowd-pleasing casserole pictured below.
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| Ultimate Mac & Cheese, Daddy's Chili Mac, green salad |
Ultimate Love2Chow Mac 'N Cheese July 31, 2019
Ingredients.
1 lb block of extra sharp cheddar, divided into 8 oz (w) halves
3 1/2 cups dry elbow macaroni or cavatappi
3 1/2 cups dry elbow macaroni or cavatappi
4 Tbs flour
1 to 1 1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp dry mustard powder
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1.5 cups milk
1.5 cups whipping cream
1 cup sour cream
3 large eggs
1 tsp Worchestershire sauce (Lea & Perrins®)
1 to 1 1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp dry mustard powder
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1.5 cups milk
1.5 cups whipping cream
1 cup sour cream
3 large eggs
1 tsp Worchestershire sauce (Lea & Perrins®)
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 13 x 2 inch baking dish or a 2 quart pan.
2. Cut 8 oz (w) of the cheese into 1/2 inch cubes. Grate the remaining cheese.
3. Boil the macaroni until just tender (al dente), following package instructions.
4. Drain and transfer to greased baking dish. Stir in cubed cheese.
5. While macaroni is cooking, whisk together the dry ingredients for the sauce (flour to nutmeg) until finely dispersed with no lumps.
6. Gradually whisk the milk and then whipping cream into the dry mixture until frothy.
7. In a smaller bowl or 2 cup measuring cup, beat eggs with Worchestershire sauce, and then sour cream. Fold into the milk/cream mixture.
8. Pour over macaroni, pressing down on protruding noodles. Top with shredded cheese.
9. Bake 25-30 min. Let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Tip:
🐾 Don't wait too long after noodles are cooked to add the sauce and place in oven. This dish does not work well if you try to make the noodles ahead of time to bake later.
All photos and content © 2019, 2020. All Rights Reserved. Contact admin@love2chow.com for permissions.
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? Tag @love2chowblog and hashtag it #love2chow
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? Tag @love2chowblog and hashtag it #love2chow
