These are a Few of My Favorite Things!

A Pretty Picture of Great Finds at

 the Opening of Headhouse Market

                        May, 2014

Lately, I find myself recommending various products, people, and places related to fair food and eating local and well.  I started a bit of a list for myself - this is also useful when folks are coming into town and ask for recommendations.  

I thought I would share some of my favorites.  I would love to hear yours as well.

For Local - and relatively local - Shopping:

The Reading Terminal Market (RTM) - This place is truly a cathedral to me.  I send every visitor I can to the Market, and I get annoyed with them if they don't follow my directive!  The history of the RTM is fascinating.  My history with it goes back to following my grandmother around on the sawdust covered floors, chickens and meats hanging, shopping, and ending up sitting at the Bassett's Ice Cream counter. Same as it ever was. Yes, it gets incredibly crowded when there are conventions and exhibitions in town.  But those of us who go weekly learn to plan our "best times' when the crowd factor goes way up.  It has been our supermarket for nearly 30 years.

Fair Foods Farmstand - The best addition to the Reading Terminal Market in a long, long time.  Where would we be without them?  Even during the cold winter months, we are always able to find some local, natural, delicious treats. Maybe most importantly, it's a fun place, with great and knowledgeable staff persons.

Green Aisle Grocery - Now at two locations!  These local brothers got it right.  Their motto:  "Know where your food comes from" pretty much says it all.  An independent family business.  Shopping there is always a treat.

Ippolitos Seafood - For the past couple of years this local seafood institution (Samuels and Sons is the restaurant/wholesale supplier) has made continuously positive additions and changes.  Leaning towards offering mostly line caught, sustainable seafood - much of it local - the staff also make some delicious take out dishes and have even added a few tables for inside dining.  And their crudo and sushi is wonderful. There are reasons that the place is always packed.

Greensgrow Farm - Our Kensington in - city Farm.  Greensgrow was one of the early standard bearers of urban farming. Along with those of us who drive in to see what's new and buy gorgeous plantings and food, Mary and the staff at Greensgrow are providing a source of good, healthy local food to a neighborhood that needed it.  Greensgrow is a Philly treasure.

Headhouse Farmers Market (Sundays 10 - 2 in season) - what a joy to go to Headhouse on Sundays!  All stands sell only their own products from produce to poultry to coffee.  You can "do dinner" from this market pretty easily.  Appetizers, vegetables, meats, cheeses, and now fresh seafood, even dessert - all are now available.  It is a happy, beautiful although very crowded place.  Get to Headhouse early!

Mancuso & Son's on Passyunk Avenue:  Lucio Mancuso makes the best homemade Ricotta and Mozzarella (daily) that you will find anywhere outside of a Tuscan hill town.  And he's been doing it for as long as anyone can remember. There are tons of other authentic italian goodies in the store as well - and the prices are very reasonable.  And now that they have installed an espresso machine, I am offered a pick me up when I stop by.  This place is an original. Another Philly treasure.

Booth's Corner Farmers Market (aka "The Sale") - Worth the trip if only for Cajun Kate's - the best New Orleans staples outside of New Orleans.  And then there's the amazing cream of crab chowder and crab cakes at Christopher's Crabcakes.  The home made pierogies & smoked kielbasi and other homemade Polish treats at Krystyna's are authentic and delicious.  You can't leave without some of the delicious and fresh PA Dutch "junk food" at the Nut Shop.  If you need a snack you will find very good pizza by the slice at Massimo's Pizza.  All of this and more combined with an inexplicable combination of non-food items make for a delicious and colorful marketplace.  A bit of a drive from Philly but always a big treat to rush home with such treasures.

Moore Brothers Wines - the originial wine shop in Delaware is a two and three times a year pilgrimage for us.  There is also a shop in Pennsauken, New Jersey, but if we are driving down to Booth's Corner we make sure a stop at Moore Brothers is part of the trip.  The knowledgeable, without being snooty, staff persons are the best; questions are, in fact, encouraged.  They represent only small, privately owned wineries and have actual relationships with the wine makers.  And their twice a year sales are fantastic.

Chic Petique/Street Tails Animal Rescue - no doggie or kitty junk food here!  High end, well sourced and worth the price if you want to feed your furries the healthiest food - like you feed yourself!  We were adopted by a number of the rescues of the wonderful Street Tails.  Lindsey and her staff persons are some of the best people I've met.

Online - we don't do much online anymore; we have even taken to ordering books through our local, individually owned bookstore.  But there are couple of online purveyors that we always keep on the llst. 

Anson Mills:  This is THE source for real Carolina Gold Rice!  The bagged rice in the supermarkets that says, "Carolina Gold" does not even come close.  If you have never had it, do yourself a favor and order a small amount from this family owned business.  This rice is an actual Heirloom, and the Anson folks brought it and the procedure for milling it back.  When it's cooking the whole house smells like butter; the flavor will make you a fan forever. 

Zingermans:  A long time favorite of mine back in the day when exotic foods products and oils weren't as easily available as they are for us now.  I still treat myself to a can of Alizari French Olive Oil occasionally.  And the gift baskets and food "subscriptions" offered by Zingermans' are a wonderful way to send gifts to your foodie friends.

And finally just some miscellanous things:

Labneh:  I really love Fage' full fat yogurt and making Labneh with it means I always have a middle eastern treat in the 'fridge to spread on a warm pita or sandwich.  So easy and so delicious.

Ian Knauer:  A "local boy makes good story here".  Formerly with Gourmet Magazine and the PBS show, "Diary of a Foodie", Ian now runs the Bucks County farm that has been in his family for generations.  His cookbook, "The Farm" is one of my favorites as is his new PBS show with the same title.  But I really love his bread recipes - basically one recipe with a few interesting techniques. He is my make your own bread guru - hands down.

Espresso in the afternoon:  It really does offer a nice pick me up and I have learned to drink it the Italian way - no lemon peels, a cube of sugar instead. 

Smoking food and experimenting with smoking food:  I am learning so much about the world of smoking with my new Bradley Smoker.  I will be writing more about my experiences for this blog very soon.

"Urban Homesteading" not being a bizarre term anymore:  I am so happy that I can be a small part of a big movement!  There's always so much to learn.

All of the great sustainablity and local food related events held in Philly each year - Farm and Food Festivals, Brewer's Plate, "How to" classes, etc.  When you see these things taking place, you really should consider attending.  

And lastly, I am always saying "Thank You" to all of the wonderful folks that I get to meet and in some cases get to know who's lives are devoted to growing, producing, and making wonderful healthy food and other products available to us.  Those folks are probably my most "favorite things". 

Desperately Seeking Spring!

Hey, It's Cold Out Here!

Seriously. I believe that I speak for myself and a whole lot of other growers, urban farmers, hobby farmers, gardeners and, I am just guessing, big scale farmers too, when I say:  "Stop it, Mother Nature!. Please!"

It is just not sitting well with me to be stuck inside, with a fire going and our space heater chugging along, a WEEK after the first day of Spring!  As growers, as gardeners/stewards of the land, urban homesteaders - our DNA has been programmed!  We need to be cleaning, bagging, planning, tending, planting, mulching, . . . , but instead we sit, waiting for the "warm up" they tell us is coming.

How many of us needed to get our early and cole crop plantings "in" by St. Pat's Day and now sit with our fingers crossed hoping that they survive this latest punch of snow, ice and frigid temperatures?  How many of us just longed for a little color and so last week put a few pansies into windowboxes and planters only to watch them get hammered by the cold?  And how many of us are watching our delicate little bulbs poking their heads through the dirt and/or our Helibores struggling to hold their heads up?

You know, in the area of the city where our homestead is located, we always joke (and are somewhat serious) about the fact that we are a "sub zone" when it comes to our planting and growing cycles.   When the catalog company says, "you are zone 6" - we know differently.  It's warmer here - it just is.  Much of that is due to the reality of tall buildings, lots of concrete, and many humans in a relatively compact area.  Along with that, our last few winters have been very mild - with hardly any snow, and pretty reasonable temperatures. Many of us believe that we were impacted so much by various garden pests during the past few growing seasons because nothing got killed off over those mild winters.  Last winter, I had little, if any, frozen ground in the gardens.  So, I guess you could say that we've been teased by warm winters only to be toughened up by this past - it is past, right? - brutal one. 

So, I sit inside.  I add more things to my Garden To Do list.  I take one more look through the pile of garden and seed catalogs - although the orders are already in and have been for awhile. I leaf through the gardening magazines that I have picked up - more in the past few weeks, I must say.  Every once in awhile I go to the back door and stare at the Cold Frame and pray that its warm enough underneath those lids - and those moving blankets occasionally piled on top.  Then I look out of the side windows and check on the covered planters where my beans, carrots, and Swiss chard are supposed to be germinating.  Filling the bird feeders finds me getting down to ground level to inspect the tips of those peeking bulbs.  This is not gardening!  This is not growing!  This is voyeurism! 

Today, the sun is shining brightly, the wind is blowing like mad and the temperature is only in the 30's. But I am told better days are coming this week. Meanwhile, I'll keep looking out the windows and looking and dreaming. Hang in there, everyone.  Spring has to come soon, doesn't it?

Smoked Turkey London Broil - Turkey Pastrami

        My Bradley Hard at Work

Note:  This recipe was also published at the Bradley Smoker North American Website

As another one of the Bloggers for Bradley, I am very excited to be joining some really talented cooks and food writers in exploring all of the wonderful things that can be done with Bradley smokers.  It is very motivating to be part of helping people to get the most out of these wonderful smokers.

I am not going to sugar coat it:  I am a novice smoker!  Oh, I have used my big Weber Kettle from time to time with a tray of wood chips, and quite a long time ago, I purchased a very inadequate, poorly constructed smoker which got very limited use.  So my experiences with my Bradley will be like many readers: a new direction and an adventure!

We have access to good, drug free, pasture raised poultry in Philadelphia through many local producers and farmers markets.  Quite some time ago, one of those producers introduced me to Turkey London Broil.  The cut is really one whole side of the bird, from breast to thigh.  It's very versatile, responds wonderfully in marinades, and is usually large enough to feed a crowd!  

I came across a recipe for "turkey pastrami" in one of my grilling cook books,  so I purchased the turkey and set out on the maiden voyage of my new Bradley.

As you will, I hope, see, the final product was awesome!  For this recipe, it's really all about the marinade and the smoker!  Both did an extraordinary job.

Smoked Turkey Pastrami

Ingredients

1 Three to Four pound Turkey London Broil

4 teaspoons cracked Peppercorns

2 tablespoons Coriander

4 teaspoons Brown Sugar

6 Garlic Cloves, minced

8 teaspoons of sea salt

4 teaspoons of sweet paprika

3 teaspoons of mustard seeds

2 teaspoons of ground ginger

   Turkey London Broil after 24 hours in the refrigerator 

Techniqe

Mix and pound all of the spices together - I used a large, stone mortar and pestle

Rub the spice mixture all over both sides of the turkey london broil

Place the turkey in a glass casserole or large plate, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight

The next day, remover the turkey from the refrigerator and let it stand for 2 hours

Rub the smoker rack with oil - I used canola

Preheat the smoker to 210 degrees F

Place the turkey on the oiled rack and smoke it for three hours for a 3 pound turkey london broil

       ~ until an instant thermometer reads 140 degrees F

Let the turkey rest for about 20 minutes

For an authentic, "pastrami" appearance, slice very thinly in long pieces.

 The Turkey London Broil right out of the Bradley

      

       The Sliced Turkey Pastrami

Serving Suggestion:  This makes a delicious sandwich on rye bread, with a bit of butter and some good mustard, and perhaps some cole slaw.  You will think, "Pastrami". 

Coffee. Some Thoughts & a Recipe. There is a Lot to Learn!

If you are a coffee drinker, and we take it very seriously in our house, do you feel that you know all that you should about the growing, raising, importing, and finances associated with the tiny bean?

I have recently started watching Todd Carmichael's "Dangerous Grounds" on the Travel Channel.  Todd owns La Colombe Torrefaction coffee here in Philadelphia. The products are great and are available in some of our finest restaurants.  Todd is also widely appreciated as a man who loves adventure (witness his trek across Antartica), and is deeply involved in social and ecological issues around the world.

At first I thought of the show as merely a vanity production - and it is to some extent - but, what I didn't count on was getting an education about the inequities and the violence in the worldwide harvesting, buying and producing of coffee. I knew that there was a great deal of unfairness and that native growers were taken advantage of regularly.  But I am learning that it is much worse than I thought.

In our home, we spend a lot on our coffee.  We always select Fair Trade and buy whole bean so that we can grind it as we use it and we store it - I think - appropriately (not in the refrigerator).  For years we've been buying our beans from the same local importer and recently we have tried some of the young start up coffee roasting businesses that have sprung up here in Philly and in Brooklyn, as well.  All good coffee.  Some better than others.  And, of course, we pay for that goodness.  I generally pay between 15 and 20 dollars a pound for whole bean, free market/free trade coffee.  

Now - for those of you who are gasping at price points, remember that the canned stuff in the supermarket is, in many cases, practically stolen from the folks in the rain forest areas and other coffee growing environments.  That's why you pay half of what I am paying!  Yours is probably treated with all sorts of nasty stuff,too, and probably has additives to increase weight, etc.  You know, the usual disgusting practices which we should come to expect and are so common to big "food" production.

Which brings me back to Todd Carmichael and the TV show.  If you are a coffee lover, I do suggest that you watch the show. You will learn a few things.  In specific, a recent show entitled "Rome", if you can access it on On Demand, presents a picture of the horrible fear and nasty consquences befalling small independent coffee growers in Rondandia, Brazil.  "Big Ag", as it is referred to in the show, literally steals the coffee fields and threatens indigent people with such punishments as branding and death (armed guards are everywhere) if they attempt to come near what was once their own land.  In other practices, the land is not stolen, but the coffee farmers are paid practically nothing for their product.  This goes on in so many places in the world where coffee is grown.  Certainly in Haiti, Bolivia and Borneo to name a few coffee producing countries.

Remember, this is where the mega corporations who manufacture most supermarket products get their coffee beans - and barely pay for them.   This is where the coffee beans in your Maxwell House, Chock Full 'o Nuts, and a host of other brand names come from - direct to those cans on the supermarket shelves.  This is hardly an abstract issue.  This is real exploitation, intimidation, and at times, serious violence being practiced - openly - by powerful corporations.  For a beverage that we Americans guzzle by the gallon!

Please consider learning more about the world's coffee production.  And always, always looks for "Fair Trade" coffee beans.  

And remember the most important rule:  Always Know Where Your Food Comes From!

Recipe:  Buttered Coffee

Ingredients

Two cups of good, hot black coffee (Fair Trade Coffee, you don't want additives)

One heaping tablespoon of really good unsalted butter (Farmers' Market butter, from grass fed cows or make your own with great cream or Kerrygold butter works very well too). 

Optional:  Coconut Oil or Agave Syrup

Technique

Warm up a glass container with some hot water before you pour your coffee into it

Dump the water, pour the coffee into the container and put the tablespoon of butter on the top of the hot coffee

Let it melt a bit (if you are adding a sweetener, do it now)

Then submerge a milk frother into the coffee - or a small hand whisk - and really whip it.  You can also use a blender.  

A thick foam will form on the top of the coffee

Optional:  a tablespoon of coconut oil or agave syrup for added decadence

Very delicious and it will give you all kinds of good energy for the morning!  Give it a try!

Surviving a Serious Winter

    Exercise and Rationalize!

Yes, Readers it has been awhile!  The recovery period for Better Half - leaving me as a single urban homesteader, professional commitments and deadlines and the incredible demanding winter (the worst we have experienced in Philly in years) have eaten up the days in ways I never could have imagined.  Those of you out there who have been caregivers for a family member know exactly what I mean.  And the good news is that my Better Half is actually getting more functional with each passing day.  But she can't shovel snow, walk all three dogs at once, do much in the kitchen or drive.  But, we are very lucky.  With the help of good neighbors and friends, we're doing more than OK.

It's funny.  When I started this post, the weather - while cold - was pretty stable.  Now we are a few hours away from the beginning of a Nor'eastern with possibly a foot of snow and ice.  We knew it was coming so I did the "provision run" yesterday for the usual items that give us many options with our Larder and Freezer.  

Some of the things I've been craving and making over the weeks/months of this rough weather period:

Homemade Bread.  There's nothing like it.  And it is easy! The heat, aroma and flavor will lift your spirits and fill your stomach.

Spaghetti, Meatballs, Sausage, and good Red Gravy.  Followed by:  Baked spaghetti - with the left over pasta and sauce. A great way to put those left overs to use in a wonderful, satisfying way.

Soups - we had lots of asparagus from last season in our freezer.  Cream of asparagus soups at this time of year will lift your soul!  Onion soup is also a great idea.  While not creamy it provides a richness, with a bit of cheese melted on top, that will really hit the spot. If you canned tomatoes, or if you have good canned tomatoes, now is your chance to top anything from Campbells with a creamy rich tomato soup.

Shrimp and Grits - You don't need a whole lot of shrimp - just some good sized ones - to add to some creamy, cheesy grits.  Make them a bit spicy too.  Good reheated as well.

Brisket - a few days in a marinade in the 'fridge, a "low and slow" cooking process (adds warmth AND aroma to the house), and the addition of mashed potatoes and maybe a bitter green and you have a real comfort food dinner and fantastic sandwiches, with horseradish cream, for another meal.

Macaroni and Cheese - well, of course, the tried and true Cheddar kind, but also try just grating the pieces of cheese you find in your cheese drawer as well. You'd be surprised the impact of a llittle piece of blue cheese to your mac 'n cheese.  And if you dare, there's always the option of frying squares of what's left over!

Roasted Root Vegetables - spreading long cuts of carrots, butternut squash, and other veg onto cookie sheets topped with evoo, cumin, salt and pepper and maybe some dried pepper flakes (or whatever combination you want) and roasting at high heat, quickly, are delicious and can also be mashed later or processed together and made into a dip.  Really. Try it.

Chops - lamb especially but really gnawing on any bones is a good thing right now.  It is a natural craving and you can feel free to give right into it!

Pork - actually pork anything! - Chops, a loin, big fat sausages, whatever.  This is what you need to take the cold edge off of things!

Stews, chili, chicken pot pies - any and all "one pot" meals provide many options. 

Pancakes for dinner - you know you want it!  And with the addition of breakfast sausage and great maple syrup you will find yourself eating and grinning.  I promise.

Lastly, don't forget Sweets!  Chocolate is very important when the days are short and dark and the temperatures are low.  Of course, chocolate is very important when the days are long and bright and temperatures are high!  But seriously, in this bitter cold, you don't have to rationalize!  I also like to take some of the berries we froze last season to make tarts.  Scones are wonderful to have in the house - and not at all as hard to make as people think.  And, of course, since I make butter at home, Buttermilk Pie and Biscuits are in the house a lot.

My point of sharing these various ideas with you is to reinforce how much better you will feel through these short days, snow storms and bitter cold when you have good food bubbling or baking, lovely aromas wafting through the house and some seriously comforting dishes to eat. Forget guilt!  Choose delicious!  

Stay warm!

Urban Homesteading for One & a Delicious Soup from the Freezer

Over the past week, I have been chief caretaker for my Better Half who went down on the black ice walking the dogs and seriously fractured her wrist.  Her right/dominant wrist, of course.  The damage was so bad that surgery - and plates and wires and pins - were required.  If you've been through this type of injury you know it is a bear.  Lots of pain and immobility.  Lots of ice and pain medications. I have been doing my best to keep things happy, light, efficient, and I am cooking up a storm of course.  I am a firm believer that good food is a cure in itself - for anything.  It is right?

I have learned some valuable lessons,  so I thought I would share. We have an excellent division of labor here at our beloved Il Moya - our urban homestead.  And I realize now, how much it is a two person operation!  I mean, I personally feel that I am doing pretty well going it alone - but I wouldn't want it as a permament situation!  Oh No.  I haven't worked this hard in - well, maybe never!  Certainly not since we decided to take our home and our life together in certain directions.  And certainly not with six furries in the house!

First of all, there is of course, the paramount issues relating to taking care of Better Half's needs and requests - as it should be.  Then there are our two dogs and two cats and the dog and cat we are fostering because their family lost their home in a fire.  I mean they all need attention, exercise, meals, and the occasional intervention.  Well, Better Half doesn't usually require the latter!  

Then there is a laundry list of things that relate directly to our systems of maintaining an urban homestead.  We cook from scratch, for example.  Nothing prepared or processed.  We shop from purveyors who provide us with seasonal, fresh, and humanely raised products and ingredients - so, we don't do "one stop" shopping. During this period, I have never contemplated more how incredibly busy working Moms must view someone like me who makes three, four, sometimes five stops to feed the household.  And usually does it a couple of times a week!  I haven't caved and I won't but I have learned more about the "why" of total supermarket shopping.  I will also say that all of that canning and freezing work in the Fall - well, it was worth every minute!  

As I have explained in other postings, we endeavor to keep the big heater in our home from kicking in, so we employ space heaters, and only in the rooms we are using.  And, as we have a south facing side on the house, we are always attempting to capture passive solar.  So it's open up.  And, close up quickly when the sun is gone!  Get moving.  It seemed so much easier before.

The Cold Frame which we set up this year in our garden is packed with growing things that need tending on a daily basis.  Lettuces, brocolli, beets, collards, etc. are growing away and the temperature must be maintained.  Of course, the weather has been crazy during this period - one day went from 60 degrees to single digits in 10 hours!  And there's the "home" growth to tend to. These include our house plants and those plants we've brought into the house to over winter.  They are all over three floors and they need watering and occasional tending.

Of course, there are also the usual daily activities of living.  I mentioned cooking.  Believe me, that's a walk in the park compared to laundry, stripping beds, dealing with the trash and the recycling, the composter, cleaning rugs where somebody had an "accident", and general home upkeep.

I'm exhausted just looking back at this!  I am learning so much about our living systems, and how we may simplify them even further.  It is a true blessing that I work from home and have a good deal of control over my schedule; I don't know how I'd be holding up under different circumstances!

There is a lot of learning and thinking taking place in this urban homesteader's mind, I have to say.  I don't think I will forget about this and return to business as usual when there are two of us to manage life again.  I'll keep you in the loop and, by the way, thanks, this was very therapeutic!  Now a recipe that I made a few days ago from the freezer.

Recipe:  Cream of Asparagus Soup

I loved making this, because we bought and froze a good deal of local asparagus last Spring when it was in season, and I so enjoy going to the freezer and pulling out a couple of bags.  Frozen asparagus will lose its "snap" of course, but not its flavor and it is wonderful for soups, frittatas/omelets and sauces.  This is so delicious and perhaps will encourage you to freeze local asparagus when it appears this upcoming Spring.

Ingredients

Twelve ounces of frozen asparagus (the asparagus had been briefly blanched prior to freezing) defrosted and chopped

Two large Shallots, chopped 

One small garlic clove, chopped

Four tablespoons of unsalted butter

Four cups of a good low salt or no salt stock of your choice:  Vegetable or Chicken

One cup of heavy cream - or half and half for a bit lighter soup

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 

Optional ingredients, see below

Technique

Melt two tablespoons of the butter in a medium sauce pan

Add the chopped shallots and cook over medium heat, stirring until they soften, about five minutes

Add the chopped garlic and stir for about one minute

Add the chopped asparagus and another tablespoon of butter and cook, stirring occasionally, for about five minutes

Add the stock, stir, and bring the mixture to a quick boil, turn it down to a simmer and let it simmer on low to medium low with a lid on the pot for about 15 minutes - keep an eye on it.

Puree:  When the asparagus is soft and the flavors have incorporated, puree the mixture.  You can do this by adding a cup at a time to a blender or food processor but be careful with hot liquid in either.   The other option is what I do - and I highly recommend this piece of equipment - if you have one, use an Immersion Blender (a hand held stick shaped tool) that allows you to puree the mixture in the pot with no pouring required.  However you make the puree, you want the mixture to be creamy with very little solids at all.  If you want you can also let the mixture cool and strain it to insure no "strings" or bits of solid will be in the soup at all.  I would do that for company but it's delicious without the strain.

For service, reheat it slowly, add the last tablespoon of butter and salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with toasted croutons 

Options Ingredients:  Add thinly sliced toasted almonds to each bowl at service.  Add your favorite herb sprinkled over the soup at the end of cooking time, and stir into the soup.  A dollop of sour cream at service is wonderful. Or top each bowl with crispy bacon bits.

Enjoy!

Reader Requested Recipes - Part III

Probably - no, not probably, for sure - Baked Macaroni and Cheese would be on my Desert Island Food list.  Life without it would be impossible.  That's true reallly any time of the year, but in the colder months, nothing replaces it!  

This is a way of making Mac 'n Cheese that I love to employ when my cheese drawer is chock full of still good, but oft eaten, pieces of cheese - and always, always, I have some good Canadian Cheddar in the house.  A good cheddar is something that must be part of your "keep stocked" efforts.  I have been especially strict about this since we gave up "american cheese" - you know, the processed stuff. I have loved american cheese with a serious love all of my life, but for me, I decided it was time to part ways. I recovered from a long time love of Velveeta too, but that was some time ago and a story for another day.

I also employ a technique with this recipe that I have named a "reverse roux" to make mac 'n cheese.  Don't look it up. I made the name up!  I like it though.  What do you think? Over the years, I have spent a good deal of time learning to make good roux.  A roux is indispensible for a jambalaya, a bechamel, and a host of other things.  That said, sometimes when time is short and you just want to get the macaroni casserole into the oven - this technique works really well, is easy, and takes less time.

Recipe (But really just technique):  Bits and Pieces Baked Macaroni and Cheeses

 Ingredients

A regular sized box of whatever pasta you like to make macaroni and cheese with - for this most recent batch I used leftover dry pasta from the pantry - half of a box of Farfalle and half of a box of Penne.  See - it really is, "bits and pieces"!

Next, get into the cheese drawer in your 'fridge - or wherever you store your cheese - and start to decide what is not going to make the cheese board again, but is still perfect or nearly perfect.  Last time around I used Comte', Smoked Gouda, some previously grated Parmesan, and of course, Cheddar.

After you select all of your cheese, grate everything on the wide grate on your hand grater - You don't want it too fine. The amount/volume of cheeses you use is really up to you.    I like mac 'n cheese to be ridiculously cheesy.  For the batch pictured here, I had about three cups of grated cheeses. If you have parmesan that you grated for last night's pasta, you don't have to grate that, of course!  Mix all of the cheeses together and set the bowl aside.

Next, cook your pasta.  Knock about 1 minute or two off of the box instructions so that your baked pasta has some al dente quality to it after almost an hour in the oven. Remember to add a good handful of salt to your water.

Drain the pasta into a big strainer and put your pot back on the stove.  One pot, one bowl, one casserole dish for this one - that's enough!

Now - put a stick of butter (yes, a stick, it's mac 'n cheese, after all) into your pot, turn it on medium and melt the butter completely but don't let it brown.  When it is completely melted, add two cups of whole milk.  If you want, and it's in the 'fridge, and you are feeling you need more richness, you can use one cup of milk and one cup of half and half.  If I have half and half, I almost always feel that I "need more richness".  Honesty - my policy.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Whisk the butter and the milk together and keep it on a low heat as it slowly gets hot.  Don't rush it.

While the mixture is warming, rub the inside of your casserole with softened butter.  If you want some extra kick you can also rub the casserole with a half of a garlic clove.  Depending on my mood, I either love a little garlic in my mac 'n cheese or I find it interferring with my experience. It's up to you.

Get your bowl of mixed, grated cheeses and stir in a good half cup or more of regular flour onto the grated cheeses. You want to see the flour.  Add a teaspoon of kosher salt and a teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper.  I like my mac 'n cheese peppery always, so add less if you are not a fan. Stir.

Pour the cooked pasta into the buttered casserole dish and set it aside.

Pour the grated cheeses and flour mixture into the warm milk and butter.  Set the heat to medium, and stay right at the pot, whisking at least every minute or more.  You will see that the mixture will start thickening up relatively quickly.  It will be thick enough in five minutes if not sooner. Much faster than a roux.

Pour the thickened mixture over the pasta in the casserole and stir it a bit so that it is evenly distributed.

Put the casserole into the 375 degree oven, covered with foil, for 40 - 45 minutes.

You want to see the mixture bubbling when you take the foil off.  So, if you check it and it's not bubbling, place the foil back on and put it back in the over for another five minutes or so.

When the consistency is where you want it, take the casserole out, turn on your broiler, make sure that you have a rack about 6 inches from the broiler and put the casserole under the broiler.  Do not leave it.  You have to keep your eye on it.  When it is as browned on top as you want, remove it.

Let the casserole sit for about 15 minutes prior to service.  It needs to "set up" and it is going to be molten lava hot anyway.

I think that you will find that your "bits and pieces' mac 'n cheese has a wonderful and different flavor - It has to! It has a different cheese mixture almost every time.  I mean what could be better?  Consistency and novelty all wrapped up in gooey deliciousness.

Enjoy!