Clam Chowder and Fancy Mac & Cheese
Well, my cooking adventures tonight were a big success. I made two recipes that I got from foodtv.com.
Ropewalk New England Clam Chowder
Five-Cheese Mac & Cheese
Both were super delicious. The mac and cheese was really amazing, and very rich. Coincidentally, both of the recipes involved cooking bacon just to obtain the grease, without using the bacon. Well, I'll not be one to let good bacon go to waste, I put it in the mac and cheese!
Ropewalk New England Clam Chowder
This recipe was pretty simple, with the usual pokiness of chopping things up fine. I do recommend chopping your vegetables and potatoes quite finely, to avoid a stew-like consistency. The seasoning is quite important...I learned for the first time that it's the celery salt that gives clam chowder its distinctive taste.
10 strips bacon, cut into small pieces
4 T butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 ribs celery, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 T all purpose flour
3 cups chopped clams, with their juices
3 large potatoes, peeled and finely chopped
10 oz clam juice
3 cups milk or half-and-half, or combination of the two
1 t celery salt
5 dashes hot sauce
salt and pepper to taste
Cook the bacon in a skillet until crisp. Strain the bacon fat into a stock pot or soup pot (I did this using paper towels lining a wire mesh strainer to catch the little burny bits). Add the butter and heat until it's melted. Add the onion, celery and garlic, and cook until translucent. Add the flour and mix well, cooking until a roux forms. Add in the clams, potatoes, clam juice, milk/half-and-half and stir well. Cook over low heat, seasoning with celery salt, hot sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Let the chowder simmer for at least 15 minutes. The soup is quite runny when you first add in the liquids but thickens up as it cooks.
You could add back in the bacon you set aside, or use it as a garnish. I put it in the mac and cheese recipe below (after snacking on a few crispy bits myself, of course)
Five-Cheese Mac and Cheese
This recipe won first prize on Ultimate Recipe Showdown in the comfort food category, and I just had to try it. I was warned ahead that the blue cheese might get a tad overwhelming so I cut it down for my recipe (the amounts I used are the ones I've listed here). This recipe is a little poky. There's quite a bit of grating of cheese, and with five kinds of moderately fine cheeses it can get expensive. But it's well worth it, and it's very rich, so you won't be downing the whole pan unless you have ten friends over.
1 (16 oz) package macaroni or other curly noodle
1/4 pound bacon, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
5 T unsalted butter
6 T flour
1 T Dijon mustard
2.5 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 t salt
1.5 cups grated Fontina
1/4 cup blue cheese
1 cup grated Gruyere
1 cup grated Parmesan
1 cup grated white cheddar
1/2 cup bread crumbs
Preheat oven to 450, butter a 9 x 13 baking dish. Cook the pasta according to package directions and set aside.
Note: Grate all your cheeses ahead of time and have them pre-measured in a single dish (you are saving back 0.5 cups Fontina and 1/4 cups each Gruyere, Parmesan and white cheddar for the topping, which should not be omitted). You'll have to add the cheese quickly, so have everything ready to go.
Saute the bacon until crispy; remove bacon with a slotted spoon, leaving the drippings. Add the onion, saute in the drippings until translucent. Add the butter and cook a little more. Add in the flour, stirring constantly, to make roux. Add the mustard and mix well. Gradually add the milk and cream, whisking constantly - it will thicken quickly at first and then thin gradually as more milk and cream are added. Add the thyme, bay leaf and salt. Simmer over medium low heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. The mixture will thicken up some.
Strain the hot milk mixture into a large bowl. Discard the solids (onion, herbs, etc). Quickly add the cheeses and stir until they have melted and the sauce is smooth. Add the pasta and mix to coat. Add the bacon (if you want, this step is optional and wasn't in the original recipe) and mix well. Transfer the pasta mixture to the baking pan. Combine the reserved cheeses and bread crumbs well (I found shaking them in a Gladware container worked great) and sprinkle it over the top of the pasta. Bake for 20 minutes.
Ropewalk New England Clam Chowder
Five-Cheese Mac & Cheese
Both were super delicious. The mac and cheese was really amazing, and very rich. Coincidentally, both of the recipes involved cooking bacon just to obtain the grease, without using the bacon. Well, I'll not be one to let good bacon go to waste, I put it in the mac and cheese!
Ropewalk New England Clam Chowder
This recipe was pretty simple, with the usual pokiness of chopping things up fine. I do recommend chopping your vegetables and potatoes quite finely, to avoid a stew-like consistency. The seasoning is quite important...I learned for the first time that it's the celery salt that gives clam chowder its distinctive taste.
10 strips bacon, cut into small pieces
4 T butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 ribs celery, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 T all purpose flour
3 cups chopped clams, with their juices
3 large potatoes, peeled and finely chopped
10 oz clam juice
3 cups milk or half-and-half, or combination of the two
1 t celery salt
5 dashes hot sauce
salt and pepper to taste
Cook the bacon in a skillet until crisp. Strain the bacon fat into a stock pot or soup pot (I did this using paper towels lining a wire mesh strainer to catch the little burny bits). Add the butter and heat until it's melted. Add the onion, celery and garlic, and cook until translucent. Add the flour and mix well, cooking until a roux forms. Add in the clams, potatoes, clam juice, milk/half-and-half and stir well. Cook over low heat, seasoning with celery salt, hot sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Let the chowder simmer for at least 15 minutes. The soup is quite runny when you first add in the liquids but thickens up as it cooks.
You could add back in the bacon you set aside, or use it as a garnish. I put it in the mac and cheese recipe below (after snacking on a few crispy bits myself, of course)
Five-Cheese Mac and Cheese
This recipe won first prize on Ultimate Recipe Showdown in the comfort food category, and I just had to try it. I was warned ahead that the blue cheese might get a tad overwhelming so I cut it down for my recipe (the amounts I used are the ones I've listed here). This recipe is a little poky. There's quite a bit of grating of cheese, and with five kinds of moderately fine cheeses it can get expensive. But it's well worth it, and it's very rich, so you won't be downing the whole pan unless you have ten friends over.
1 (16 oz) package macaroni or other curly noodle
1/4 pound bacon, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
5 T unsalted butter
6 T flour
1 T Dijon mustard
2.5 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 t salt
1.5 cups grated Fontina
1/4 cup blue cheese
1 cup grated Gruyere
1 cup grated Parmesan
1 cup grated white cheddar
1/2 cup bread crumbs
Preheat oven to 450, butter a 9 x 13 baking dish. Cook the pasta according to package directions and set aside.
Note: Grate all your cheeses ahead of time and have them pre-measured in a single dish (you are saving back 0.5 cups Fontina and 1/4 cups each Gruyere, Parmesan and white cheddar for the topping, which should not be omitted). You'll have to add the cheese quickly, so have everything ready to go.
Saute the bacon until crispy; remove bacon with a slotted spoon, leaving the drippings. Add the onion, saute in the drippings until translucent. Add the butter and cook a little more. Add in the flour, stirring constantly, to make roux. Add the mustard and mix well. Gradually add the milk and cream, whisking constantly - it will thicken quickly at first and then thin gradually as more milk and cream are added. Add the thyme, bay leaf and salt. Simmer over medium low heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. The mixture will thicken up some.
Strain the hot milk mixture into a large bowl. Discard the solids (onion, herbs, etc). Quickly add the cheeses and stir until they have melted and the sauce is smooth. Add the pasta and mix to coat. Add the bacon (if you want, this step is optional and wasn't in the original recipe) and mix well. Transfer the pasta mixture to the baking pan. Combine the reserved cheeses and bread crumbs well (I found shaking them in a Gladware container worked great) and sprinkle it over the top of the pasta. Bake for 20 minutes.