Crazy Quilts and Tweakability Factor

i had been meaning to sew a crazy quilt for alex,
the daughter i don't have,
as a graduation gift,
since june.

i finished it yesterday.
i wish i had remembered to photograph it to post here.
it was one of my better ones.

crazy quilts are
seemingly random pieces of fabrics,
purposely and thoughtfully sewn together to create
a story of sorts, if done well...

...not unlike the dishes we create out of
seemingly random ingredients,
purposely and thoughtfully thrown together to create
a story of sorts, this one for our taste buds to tease out,
if done well.

and as no two crazy quilts are ever exactly alike,
the same is true of the dishes we create,
even when we start with the same basic recipes.

i like to tweak basic recipes to see how many really good
variations i can come up with.

here is one very tweakable recipe to play with.
feel free to take it and create your own story.
more to come.


Amazing Mac and Cheese
Makes Enough for Many

Ingredients:

Pasta Mixture:
2 T butter
2 T flour
1 qt heavy cream
1 cup white wine or stock
2 lbs of pasta
1 1/2+ c sharp white cheddar, grated
1 c gorgonzola, crumbled
1/2 cup parmesan, grated
1/2 cup romano, grated
1/2 lb cream cheese, Philadelphia Brand, please!
S,P

Bread Crumb Topping:
6 slices white bread
3/4 stick butter, melted
S,P

Make topping: Pulse bread in cuisinart until crumbly. Add butter, S,P.

Make the pasta mixture: Cook pasta. While pasta is cooking, make the béchamel, the french term for cream sauce. Melt butter over medium lowish heat.. Whisk in flour until smooth. Whisk in cream and wine or stock. Let simmer for a minute or two. Set aside. Drain the pasta…leave it a little on the wet side, and put back into pot. Add cheeses and warm sauce. Stir until cheese is nicely mixed in. Season with S and P. Taste. Adjust seasoning if necessary.

Transfer to buttered baking dish (13 x 9). Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake at 375 F for about 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden.

Note: Can make to the point of tossing with cheeses and cream to be baked later. If the mixture seems to dry, add some chicken stock or wine.

Another Note: The gorgonzola adds just the right amount of saltiness…it’s not very gorgonzola-y.

Yet Another Note: I like to cover the baking dish first with saran wrap and then with tin foil. It helps to prevent the mac from drying out. Carefully remove the foil and saran and pop back in oven for a few minutes to brown the crumbs.

The idea is that the starch from the pasta will thicken the sauce, so the sauce can be somewhat on the thinner side. I prefer my mac and cheese to be a little saucy (like me) as opposed to really thick and pastey (not me at all).

Tweakability Factor:

This recipe lends itself very well to variations.

First, you can add all sorts of things to the pasta mixture itself as garnish: rosemary ham, bacon, peas, roasted garlic, pulled pork, buffalo chicken, caramelized onions, braised short ribs to name but a few. The sky's the limit.

Or, you can play with the cheese combinations.

Plus, you can tweak the sauce by adding various seasonings, flavorings to compliment your pasta variation.

And, you can change your crumbly topping by adding cheeses and seasonings to variable bread crumbs (rye, wheat, panko, sourdoe, triscuit, etc) that also compliment your pasta variation.

eg. For a Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese with Blue Cheese Crumbles, you would marinate the chicken in buffalo wing sauce (essentially, hot sauce mixed with melted butter), grill and shred when cool. Fold chicken into pasta mixture. Top with crumbs tossed with blue cheese.

Eat.