Homemade Mac & Cheese

I've never met someone that doesn't like macaroni and cheese. The problem is most people eat the stuff out of the box with the fake, oddly colored orange cheese. I'm not naming any names here, but you know who you are...

Ok. Back to business. There are basically three steps to this recipe: making your cheese sauce, cooking your pasta, combining the two and baking.

Let's start with the pasta (use 1 box--I like the large shells). If you don't know how to cook pasta, I can't help you. The only thing you need to do here is cook the pasta el dente, which as my Sicilian grandmother will tell you, means "to the tooth" or just a bit tough. Basically, cooked just to the point that it's no longer crunchy. You want it like this so that when you bake the dish, the pasta won't turn to mush.

Once your pasta is done "to the tooth," put it in an oven safe bowl, preferably one that has a lid. If you don't have a lid, it's ok. Just use what you have.

Next, you are going to make a white sauce. Start by heating up 2 3/4 cups whole milk in a regular pot... you don't want the milk boiling just warming up. Medium heat is fine. If it starts boiling turn it down.

Then heat a flat-bottomed, wide sauteeing pan on medium heat. Melt a half stick of butter. (Optional addition: I like to add a few finely chopped shallots and a couple of finely chopped cloves of garlic. Don't brown them, just let them simmer until translucent). Then, add 1/4 cup of flour and stir until golden brown. At this point, you are on the way to making a roux, which I've included a link to if you are interested. Butter and flour becomes the base to many sauces and will be the base to your cheese sauce. Go ahead and start whisking in the warm milk. I use single ladles until all the milk is mixed into the sauce.

Now you're ready for the fun part--the cheese. I use five cups of shredded cheese. The best part is you can use whatever kind of cheese you please. I like to mix and match depending on what I'm in the mood for, but here are some options: sharp cheddar, gruyere, fontina, parmesan, edam, or smoked or aged gouda. I usually add a bit of parmesan, but I wouldn't add more than a half cup of any hard, Italian type cheese.

The next thing you need to do is season your cheese sauce. It's hard to tell you exactly how much salt and pepper to use because different cheeses have different saltiness so you just have wing it. Just season a bit and then taste until you get it how you want it. A lot of people (myself included) add a 1/8 teaspoon of both cayenne pepper and nutmeg.

You should have a nice cheese sauce and a bowl of pasta. Mix them together really well and set your oven to 350. If you're in the mood, you can add a layer of breadcrumbs or if you want to be super fancy, a layer of Japanese panko.

I bake my mac and cheese with the lid on (or covered with foil if you don't have a lid) until it is bubbling throughout. Once you see bubbles forming in the center of the dish, go ahead and remove the lid/foil and let it get a little brown on the top. Enjoy!

Flounder with Sea Scallops and Spinach

This one is really simple and good. Not to mention, it's very healthy. You need about two-three filets of flounder, sole, tilapia or other delicate white fish and about six large sea scallops. Slice the fish filets down the center so you have essentially thinned them by half. Then cut them again into slices that are approximately 1 inch by 4-5 inches. Season each side of each filet with salt and pepper.

Cut the scallops into two or three pieces depending on their size. You want to be able to roll a piece of fish around the scallop so use that as a guide.

Then roll each piece of fish with a scallop and a piece of spinach. Use a toothpick to secure. Set them in a pan and drizzle with a bit of EVOO and some lemon juice. I bake these on 450 for about 5-7 minutes or until they are done. Enjoy!