Asymmetrical Information

Your annualized return would be much, much, (much) higher than 16,425%. If you do make the switch to 24/7 gambling please let the Treasury know -- they're going to have to buy some extra printing presses. Oh, and don't forget the little people.

French cooking is the foundation for Sh*t on a Shingle?

Cor lum stone the crows!

You made 38 cents an hour. I guess that beats a sweatshop in China.

TO ALL THE MEN IN THE NEW YORK AREA

Let's review: Megan is witty, well educated, good looking (by all reports), and now we learn that she can cook and that she plays poker. Why is this woman still single?

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Do not use margarine; this is not a dish that is going to make you any friends in your arteries. As well to be hung for a sheep as a lamb.
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Far worse yet, the lamb in sheep's clothing.
Margarine is marketed by being free of saturated fats, however, the risk due to trans-Fatty acids which compose margarine makes it just as bad, if not worse for you.

There's no question which is better from a culinary standpoint.

Yeah, don't use margarine, at least don't use it if it's hydrogenated.

I like to put a little dried mustard in it myself. Adds a little tang. Also, this same cheez goo put on top of sliced potatoes and baked will also make a nice attempt at scalloped potatoes.

Technically that would be potatoes au gratin, and yes it is tasty. This basic cheese sauce goes well on almost any vegetable, especially broccoli and asparagus.

Mustard's not sufficiently purist for me, but many people swear by it.

Looking at the recipie I thought of someting to add to the sauce just before putting it on the pasta: shredded bacon, maybe a cup or a cup & a half. (I say shredded bacon instead of bacon bits to avoid the vaugely baconish flavored chunks of soy masquerading under the name...)

"Meanwhile, take a medium saucepan, put your milk in it, and put it on to heat over medium-low heat. If it starts to bubble over, the heat is too high. Turn it down."

I nuke the milk, so I don't have to worry about overheating.

"Unsalted pasta is an abomination in the eyes of God."

Heh.

"Your butter should be melted now. Dump in the flour and stir it around until it's mixed in. Now leave it on the heat."

I mix in the flour a Tbsp at a time so I don't have a great lump to break up.

"While you are letting it bubble, take a tablespoon of the remaining butter and rub it around the inside of the pan until it is covered with butter. This is known as 'buttering the dish'. The downside is that your hands will also end up covered with butter, but thankfully they're washable."

If you start with a fresh stick and leave the part you don't need for the white sauce on the paper you can pick up the still-partly-wrapped butter and rub it around without getting much butter on you hands.

"When the butter-and-flour-mixture in the pan has bubbled for a minute, dump in your now-hot milk. Stir. It's important to stir fairly constantly, scraping the bottom so all the gook you just bubbled gets blended in."

Again, adding the milk gradually to the roux makes it easier to mix the two.

"That gook is known as a 'roux', and as soon as it thickens up, the sauce you are working on will be known as a 'bechamel sauce'. Congratulations. You just did your first fancy French cooking."

Without checking, this recipe sounds like the one in Fanny Farmer. Or do you use Joy of Cooking?

Neither one; it's a family recipe. And I'm afraid that Julia Child vehemently disagrees with you on the subject of gradualism in bechamel. . .

Sounds generally like the recipe from 'The Vegetarian Epicure', except they use Fontina and some Parmesan. Great results - it's a staple for casual get-togethers around here, and as you say, it freezes well for last minute dinners.

I gotta go with gradualism on the white sauce, too.

Cheers,

Glenn

That Kraft muck disguised as mac and cheese? It should be against ones' beliefs to eat something the color of the stripe down the middle of the road. Also, real cooks grate their own cheese, the sharper and more flavorsome the better. The military commissaries used to unload Department of Ag surplus cheddar, and that made the best mac and cheese ever.
Definitly add mustard to the sauce: it intensifies the taste of the cheese. And one night when I was slightly blitzed and making mac and cheese, I grabbed the cayenne pepper instead of paprika; what a taste thrill!

Used your receipe to make dinner last night. Mmmm good! Thanks!

My first testimonial! Had you made anything like this before, and if not, did you find it easy?

Well, yes and no. I am a competent basic cook but I had never had much luck with macaroni and cheese for some reason. Following your receipe was straight forward tho I was not sure how much macaroni was a "box". I have a nice receipe for coconut bread if you would like it?

Would love it. For future reference, one box is usually a pound of pasta, which is what I should have said. Excellent feedback for my next venture: Wild Mushroom Pasta

Here is the coconut bread receipe:

COCONUT BREAD

2 Large Eggs
1 1/4 cups Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 1/2 cups Flour, more for dusting pan
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
2 teaspoons Cinnamon
1 cup Superfine Sugar
5 ounces Flaked Coconut
6 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
Vegetable Oil (for loaf pan)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl, whisk together Eggs, Milk and Vanilla.
In a small pan, melt Butter.

2. In a medium bowl, sift together Flour (2 1/2 cups), Baking Powder (2 ts) and Cinnamon (2 ts)
Add Sugar (1 cup) and Coconut (1 1/2 cups) and stir to mix. Make a well in the center, and pour in egg mixture. Gradually mix with dry ingredients, until just combined. Add melted butter, and stir until smooth. Do not overmix.

3. Oil and flour an 8 1/2-by-4 inch loaf pan.
Pour batter into pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 to 1 1/4 hours.
The bread is done when a knife thrust into the center comes out clean.
Cool in pan 5 minutes, remove from pan and finish cooling on a rack.

4. To serve, cut in 8 to 10 thick slices. It is good plain or buttered or with a good tart marmalade. If you have leftovers, it is delicious lightly toasted and with butter.

Enjoy!

In the spirit of full disclosure and credit where credit is due, I will tell you that I got this receipe from a piece in the NYT (Jan. 9, 2002 p.B15) by R.W. Apple Jr. The man is a waste of paper and ink as a political commentator but he does know something about food. He picked it up in a cafe in Sydney.

I enjoy reading your blog. It is one of those that I check every time I get online. You are funny and you make me think. A rare combo.

I've never made mac-and-cheese like this before, but tonight I did it with a recipe similar but not identical to this one (I have a williams-sonoma cookbook called Cooking For Yourself that provides nicely-scaled-down recipes). I was sure I was going to burn the roux. I have a tendency to burn things. But no! I actually kinda did it wrong, in terms of what heat for how long and stirring or no, but it came out beautifully. I also own no cheese grater and forgot to plan ahead, so I cut the cheese with a knife. I did not burn that either!

I discovered that I do not, in fact, like "real" macaroni and cheese.

:-(

I made Jane's mac and cheese last night and it was delic. Tomorrow I am going to try beth's coconut bread. Sounds yummy and can't wait. I just quit working and plan on doing a lot of homemade food for a change. I will welcome any tasty receipes anyone might have- especially involving green beans, corn and more int. mac and cheese ideas. Thanks.

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