Macaroni and Four Cheeses with a Kick

100_0036, originally uploaded by predictablyhungry.

I've been wanting to try a new macaroni and cheese recipe... something different than the one my mother taught me to whip up.

So for Easter I did it. You can definitely use other cheeses (as these cheeses can be quite costly). I think perhaps I'd use pepperjack to give it more a spicy kick.

So without further ado:

What you'll need:
- 7 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups half and half
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons Franks Red Hot Sauce (or however much you'd like to taste). I like mine spicy.
- 8 1/2 ounces grated parmesan cheese (about 2 cups)
- 1.5 pound elbow macaroni
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 4 ounces grated cheddar cheese
- 4 ounces grated fontina cheese
- 4 ounces grated gruyere cheese
- 1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs (onion bread is tasty)
- 1/2 teaspoon Creole Seasoning

What you'll do:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a heavy, medium saucepan melt 4 tablespoons of the butter over low heat.

3. Add the flour and stir to combine. Cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes.

4. Increase the heat to medium and whisk in the half and half little by little. Cook until thickened, about 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

5. Remove from the heat, season with the salt, pepper, hot sauce and 4 ounces of the grated parmesan. Stir until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. Cover and set aside.

6. Fill a large pot with salted water and bring to a boil over high heat, and add the macaroni.

7. Return to a boil, reduce the heat to a low boil and cook for about 5 minutes, or until macaroni is slightly undercooked.

8. Drain in a colander and return the macaroni to the pot.

9. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter and the garlic and stir to combine.

10. Add the sauce and stir until well combined. Set aside.

11. Using the remaining tablespoon of butter, grease a 3-quart baking dish or casserole and set aside.

12. In a large bowl combine 4 ounces of the remaining parmesan cheese, cheddar, fontina and gruyere cheeses.

13. Toss to combine.

14. Place one-third of the macaroni in the bottom of the prepared baking dish.

15. Top with one-third of the mixed cheeses.

16. Top with another third of the macaroni and another third of the cheese mixture.

17. Repeat with the remaining macaroni and cheese mixture.

18. In a small bowl combine the bread crumbs, remaining 1/2 ounce of grated parmesan, and the creole seasoning and toss to combine. Sprinkle this over the top of the macaroni and cheese.

19. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the macaroni and cheese is bubbly and hot and the top is golden brown.

20. Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Margarita Fruit Salad

Margarita Fruit Salad, originally uploaded by predictablyhungry.

I made a version of this last summer, and it was a big hit. I used different fruits, and a different recipe (no alcohol) then (I'll post that one after this current one).

So this year I decided to make a version of this fruit salad using different fruits (that I had on hand), and alcohol. Though, I'm pretty sure most of the alcohol burns off in the boil, as it's not an overwhelming taste.

It's recommended that you let it sit at least four hours in the refrigerator, I kept it in overnight (which didn't make the fruit mushy).

So, for the recipe (as seen in the picture):
** I used these fruits, you could use whatever you'd like**

What you'll need:
Mixed Fruit
- 1 cup blackberries
- 2 mangoes, peeled and diced
- 1 grapefruit, peeled and wedged
- 1 large orange, peeled and wedged
- 2 cups strawberries, hulled and diced

"Sauce"
- 1/4 - 1/2 cup granulated sugar (depending on your taste)
- 1/3 cup orange juice
- 6 tablespoons tequila
- 6 teaspoons triple sec
- 3 teaspoons margarita mix or lime juice

Optional
- 1 cup unsweetened toasted coconut flakes

What to do:
1. To make the sauce heat the sugar and orange juice over medium heat in a small saucepan.

2. Stir for a few minutes until sugar dissolves

3. Stir in tequila, triple sec, and margarita mix. Let cool.

4. Once cooled, combine with fruit in a large bowl, cover with saran wrap and refrigerate for at least four hours.

5. If using coconut, sprinkle on right before serving.

Another idea came up while eating this, a dollop of whipped cream would go wonderfully on this mixture.

It's a great snack for everyday or summertime cool down.

Baconnaise Deviled Eggs

Baconnaise Deviled Eggs, originally uploaded by predictablyhungry.

Easter away from the family is pretty tough so last year I decided to make my own little feasts for myself (with a Quiche Lorraine).

This year I opted for my egg dish to be Deviled Eggs. For those of you curious, the rest of the Easter menu included Orange Icing Cinnamon Rolls, Four Cheese Macaroni and Cheese, and Margarita Fruit Salad (I'll post more recipes as the day progresses).

Anyway, back to my deviled eggs. Having just bought Baconnaise a few weeks ago I decided to give them a try in my eggs.

They turned out pretty damn good, without an overwhelming taste of bacon.

I hard boiled 9 eggs, peeled, split, and set aside the yolks.

Ingredients needed:
1. Baconnaise
2. Mayonnaise
3. Yellow mustard
4. Peppered Bacon Salt
5. Tabasco
6. Green onions
7. Sweet relish
8. Paprika
9. Salt and Pepper

After the yolks are gathered in one bowl stir in Baconnaise and mayonnaise on a 1:1 ratio until you reach consistency desired.

Squirt in a ribbon of mustard (not too much).

Add tabasco to taste.

Add green onions.

Add a generous amount of bacon salt (it isn't too overwhelming).

Add salt and pepper to taste.

I like to make the filling the night before, as I find this allows the taste of tabasco and green onions to full absorb into the yolks. If you are doing the same, keep the yolks and white separate overnight or they may get funky. Be sure to keep the yolks covered or you can even slip them into a ziploc bag for easy dispensing later (by cutting a corner off the bag).

When you're ready to serve the eggs, spoon the mixture in and sprinkle with paprika.

Enjoy!

Burger King Onion Rings Flavored Snacks

Burger King Onion rings, originally uploaded by mt•MT•Mt.

I've had my eye on the Burger King Flavored Snacks line for awhile, but just couldn't bring myself to paying near $3 for them at Walgreens.

Good news! They were at the local $1 store, so for a buck I just had to give them a try (this was the only flavor they had).

I anticipated a chip similar to my beloved Funyuns, but was a little skeptical about their brown color. Which brings to mind... how am I not put off by the Funyun's yellow color?

Anyway, the BK onion ring snack are smaller and thicker than your average Funyun, and well, they don't really taste like them either. Which is probably a good thing, as they're a unique snack.

Upon first bite I was hit with an onion-y with a hint of sour cream flavor. I didn't like it... or so I thought. With the onion flavor lingering in my mouth I found myself getting up just to try one more, and another, and another.

They're addicting, and I believe, way more tastier than a Funyun.

And no, I probably still wouldn't pay $3 a bag.

Anyone ever try their ketchup and fries one? I'll have to keep an eye out for if/when those go on sale!

(Note: Thank you to mt*MT*mt for use of their wonderful photo).

Homemade Chorizo Pizza

Homemade Chorizo Pizza, originally uploaded by predictablyhungry.

Lately we've been relying on Round Table Pizza for our pizza needs. In knowing that we haven't made pizza in awhile, and how fun team work could be sometimes in such a creative endeavor like this we headed to the grocery store on a Saturday night.

We're so hip.

We used a boboli crust for time's sake (the original style). We decided that we wanted to try Mexican style chorizo pizza. In going with the Mexican theme we also chose fresh jalapenos, onions, cilantro, and a Mexican four cheese blend.

You must cook the chorizo separately! Be sure to brown it in a frying pan. We chose to cook it until it was fairly well cooked to ensure that it would get a crispiness to it in the oven. After finishing cooking it we placed the cooked chorizo on a paper towel to sop of some of the grease (so the pizza wouldn't be too greasy).

We threw on a four cheese spaghetti sauce from Classico, layered on the cheese (and boy, do I mean LAYERED). Then it was time for onions and chorizo followed by jalapenos and cilantro.

Bake per baking instructions on pizza crust. Topped with red pepper flakes and parmesan cheese.

Delish!

I found that the pizza was best 2 days later when I took into school for lunch. It seemed as if all the flavors melted together wonderfully.

J&D's Foods: Bacon Salt, Baconnaise, Bacon Lip Balm

J&D's Foods.All Products.Bacon Salt, Baconnaise, Bacon Lip Balm.005, originally uploaded by baconsalt4you.

I can't remember how I first heard of Baconnaise or Bacon Salt, but I'd been dying to try either one.

It may have been facebook ads or woot.com or something of the sort.

Anyway, I finally found bacon salt at my local super market. I purchased the original and peppered, as they were both on sale. As soon as I paid for my products I ripped open the tops and well, stuck my finger in.

Yummm, tastes like seasoned salt really. I've been impressed enough to add it to my turkey sandwiches and popcorn.

Impressed enough that I looked EVERYWHERE for baconnaise until I realized that unless I lived in another state I'd be stuck paying an arm and leg for it through the internet.

And that I did.

I HAD to try it, and the excuse of using it for deviled eggs on Easter only made me order it.

It was expensive... including shipping the thing was like $12! For a jar of mayonnaise!

So I got it, and what did I do? Yep.

Stuck my finger in immediately. The baconnaise is definitely better than the salt and tastes more like bacon than its salt counterpart.

The night it came in the mail I put it in a homemade cheeseburger, and I'd have to say that last bite of bread that had burger juice on it with baconnaise was the best.

Today I used it in equal parts to regular mayonnaise for an egg salad sandwich.

Yum!

I suggest you guys try it out, but you might want to wait til you run across a promotion so that it's not so expensive through the internet.

Pastrami Rueben from Memphis Minnie's

Pastrami Rueben, originally uploaded by predictablyhungry.

My work recently relocated down the street from from Memphis Minnies (Lower Haight) from the Mission. I'll admit that at first I was pretty bummed about not being able to chomp down on delicious burritos for lunch anymore. But not so bummed now that I've found this place.

I was craving some fries and walked past this place. I glanced at the menu and couldn't help myself... it smelled so darn good!

The guy behind the counter talked me into trying their pastrami rueben sandwich. He promised it was the best sandwich in the city so I tried it with a side of fries.

That sandwich was tasty. The meat was nice and moist they were generous with the cheese. The fries were outstanding. They were crisp and spicy.

My main disappointment ended up with really thin watery bbq sauce, however, it was spicy (good).

I'm interested to try their mac and cheese and cornbread. I also noticed that they had a fried peach pie. Yum?

We'll see!