Mac 'n 'Cheese

I love mac 'n 'cheese, but have never found a recipe that that I really like, until now. This recipe comes from the December 2013 BBC Good Food magazine. The recipe was meant as a way to use left over turkey, but you can really add whatever you have. I added some cooked, crumbled sausage, but it would have been good without it. Whatever meat you use, just throw in a handful and call it done. You can also use whatever cheese you like. The real reason this dish works so well is the crème fraiche. I never would have thought of using it, but it gives the mixture that creamy consistency that most recipes lack. Enjoy this one, it's quick and simple and will serve four.


Mac 'n' Cheese


Heat oven to 200 Celsius. Cook 350g macaroni or penne about 3 minutes less than package guidelines. Stir together 250g half-fat crème fraiche, 125g grated mozzarella, 125g grated English medium cheddar and a handful of leftover meat in a large baking dish. Drain the pasta and stir into the dish, stirring everything together well. Season with salt and pepper. Top with 50g of bread crumbs and drizzle with olive oil. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until crisp and golden.

Tomato Sauce with Mushrooms and Pork & Leek Sausage

On Sunday, I asked Dan what he wanted for dinner on Monday night and he said pasta. I figured this would be an easy dish to prepare, because all of the ingredients could be found at one store, right? Wrong. Just like most other meals I prepare, I end up going to multiple stores to find all of the ingredients. This time my search was for a proper Italian sausage. I started at Kirkgate and could find none. Sainsbary's no. Tesco no. So I headed all the way up to Morrison's. This was my first trip there and I was very excited because this was a large grocery store. They actually have a frozen food section!! They had practically every kind of sausage that I could hope for , but no Italian! Come on, they had prosciutto, chorizo, hot dogs, brats and Polish, but no Italian. I ended up buying a pork and leek sausage that was okay. Next time I will just buy some pork mince (ground) and season it appropriately. My other problem was that I only have one large sauce pan, so I ended up having to make the sauce and pour it into a baking dish. I then placed that in the oven to keep warm until I cooked the pasta.

 

 

 

Tomato Sauce w/ Mushrooms and Pork & Leek Sausage

 

Heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil in a large sauce pan. Add 1 small onion chopped, about 1/2 cup and 170 grams sliced mushrooms. Saute for 10 minutes until soft. Add 4 cloves garlic, minced and cook for 1 minute. Add 1 tsp. Italian seasonings a few grinds of black pepper and salt.

 

Add 200 grams of crumbled sausages (3 removed of casings) and cook through.

 

Add 1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning, I bay leaf, 1 (430g) jar of Passata Tomato Sauce with basil, 1 (220g) Can of chopped Italian tomatoes with juice, 1/4 cup red wine and 2 tsp. sugar.

 

Add 1/4 cup water to the tomato jar and give it a good shake to get out all of the tomato goodness and add to sauce pan.

 

Bring to boil, reduce and simmer, stirring often for 1 hour. Adjust seasonings, remove bay leaf and serve over favorite pasta.