Three Cheese Macaroni

There's this thing called cheese. The vegetable drawer in my fridge holds no vegetables. It's completely packed with cheese. Always. That being the case, my mac 'n cheese is never the same - because I always use a trio of different cheeses. This one was pretty darn good though... and my daughter couldn't get enough of it. Mothers - this is for you.

Three Cheese Macaroni

Serves at least 6

1lb dried elbow noodles
1 cup shredded smoked Gouda
1/4 cup Mascarpone
1 cup shredded Mozzarella
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon flour
1 cup chicken broth

Cook noodles according to directions on the box.

While noodles are doing their thing, get out a medium sauce pan and melt the butter on medium heat. Add the flour and stir until fully mixed in and lumps have disappeared. Stir in the chicken broth and cook until mixture thickens slightly (about 3 minutes).

Take the mixture off the heat and add the mascarpone. Once stirred in, slowly add the Gouda and mozzarella, continually stirring.

By now, those noodles should be cooked perfectly and drained. Add those noodles to your medium saucepan mixture and stir up all the goodness. It should be cheesy.

Sprinkle some ground black pepper on top to serve. Enjoy with a tall glass of cold milk.

I Dairy^ou to Cook! Winners Announced

I bet you've been starving for some new dairy recipes - especially since my contest was announced and it's June Dairy Month! Well guess what? We've tested and tasted the entries and we've come up with some winners. I want to thank those that assisted in the judging process as well as the sponsors (listed below) who donated prizes for the winners and the contest entrants.

I hope you give all of these recipes a try as they are all unique and are tailored towards any skill level. Here they are (click on the recipe name for the actual recipe):

Appetizer

Smoked Salmon Avocado Salad

Hidemi Walsh of Plainfield, Indiana

Main Dish

Roasted Cauliflower Gruyere Soup

Elizabeth Olson of Alexandria, Minnesota

Dessert

Blueberry Delight

Jayne Hanna

I Dairy^ou to Cook! Recipe Contest

I've decided to put myself on the other side of the line and host my own recipe contest. Please enter. I dairy^ou. I'm not doing it alone, necessarily. The prizes have all been donated by surrounding businesses and organizations and my 'support staff' deserves some recognition as well.

Why dairy? I'm a dairy farmer, cheese lover and recipe obsessed. And well, June Dairy month is approaching quickly.

Why enter? Because you could win some great dairy/food related prizes and everyone will get to see how great of a cook/baker you are. Don't deny it. You're good - and it's about time you get recognized for it.


See the contest image at the top of the banner on the right of this page? That's where you enter. You can link on the image of this blog post too. You have from May 1st until May 31st, but don't be a procrastinator, or you'll stress me out. All of the details are included in that link, but you're more than welcome to ask me questions if you have any. Just use the 'contact me' form at the bottom right of my blog.

Are you ready for this? June Dairy month is coming! I can't wait to try all of your recipes.

The Classics: Lasagna

I can't resist a good lasagna. I've never followed an actual recipe for this comfort food, so it's nearly impossible for me to repeat a favorite. But that's the fun of it. Whatever you have around the kitchen, add it to your lasagna. Seriously. I've added pumpkin puree, eggplant, cottage cheese, goat cheese... maybe it doesn't sound that ridiculous, now that I think about it.

I'm also a little obsessed with trying everything in a cast iron pan. There's something so rustic about pulling a meal out of the oven and placing it on a giant wooden cutting board in the middle of your dinner table. It makes me smile. And that's what makes me weird. I accept that. I have about 5-6 different sizes of cast iron pans, so if there's only two of us eating - I use the small pan. No leftovers. Boom.

As I said, I usually don't follow a recipe for lasagna, but I'm going to share this one with you. I may never make it this way again - simply because I've had it, I want to try a new one next time.

Ooh! But the great thing about this particular recipe, is that you have enough ingredients to freeze a meal. Yeah - more for later.

Three Cheese, Two Meat Lasagna

1lb ground beef
1lb ground pork
1 jar marinara
1 box bake-ready lasagna noodles
4+ cups shredded mozzarella
4oz garlic and herb chevre
8oz ricotta
1 egg
1 box frozen spinach, thawed and drained (so no longer frozen)
salt
pepper

1 9-inch cast iron pan
1 bread pan

Directions

In a large fry pan on medium heat, brown the ground beef and pork together. Once browned, dump in the jar of marinara and stir.

While meat is browning, combine chevre, ricotta, egg, spinach, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Taste at your own risk (raw egg is involved).

Set meat sauce and cheeses aside.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Next, get out your lasagna noodles and place a layer at the bottom of your cast iron pan (this recipe can also be used for a 9x13 pan, or whatever pan you prefer, as long as it's oven safe). It's not going to look pretty, but don't worry - it'll be covered with meat and cheesy goodness. No one will notice - unless you take a picture and blog about it.

Now, spread on a good layer of the cheesy mixture. You might have to use your hands to get it to spread evenly, that's ok - just be sure to wash them.

The meat layer comes next, followed by a layer of shredded mozzarella. Lay down another layer of noodles and go through the motions of layering for about 3-4 layers. *Note - you will have extra filling if using a 9inch cast iron pan. Fill up that bread pan with a mini lasagna, wrap it in plastic wrap, then foil and toss it in the freezer for a later time. Be sure to take off the plastic wrap before baking it though - that could be bad.

Notice that I didn't finish the top with a bunch of shredded mozzarella. That's because you need to bake the lasagna with foil on top for the first 40 minutes. I'd hate for you to lose all of that cheese to the foil. After 40 minutes has passed, take off the foil, layer the top with shredded mozzarella and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the top cheese has melted and browned slightly. I'd also recommend placing a cookie sheet on the rack below your lasagna in the oven. Just in case. (I like to put these notes later to see who reads the recipe before starting it). 

Once the final timer goes off, announce that dinner is ready and have that wooden board placed in the middle of your dining room table. This stuff is best served hot and gooey.

What's your favorite way to make or serve lasagna?

The Perfect Dessert

Sharing this recipe is long past due. I've gotten multiple requests for my winning grilled cheese sandwich recipe from the 1st Annual Wisconsin Grilled Cheese Contest that happened back in April. While the picture above is not the exact winning sandwich, it's pretty darn close. The winning recipe used an apple drizzle that I had bought while living in Vermont. Since I did so many practice rounds for the contest, I ran out of drizzle for my photo shoot. So I decided to use a local spread the second time around. This one is a fig and black tea preserve from a maker in Madison, WI. It's heavenly.

Figgy Pudding Grilled Cheese

Ingredients:

4 slices cinnamon-raisin bread
4 slices Les Frères or 2 Petit Frère, caps removed and sliced
8 Tablespoons fig and black tea preserve, or your favorite fruit spread (apple is perferred)
Powdered sugar, for garnish

Directions:

Pre-heat fry pan to medium heat.

Lather two slices of cinnamon-raisin bread with fruit spread. Place two slices of cheese on top of the jam and finish with the second piece of bread, jam facing inward. Repeat for second sandwich.

Carefully butter the fry pan only where you will be placing the sandwiches. Place each sandwich down onto the pan. Cover with a lid (this helps the cheese melt faster).

Once the first side is browned and crisp, carefully flip the sandwiches over with a spatula and brown the second side. Re-cover with a lid.

When both sides are crispy and hot - take sandwiches off of the heat, slice in half, dust some powdered sugar on top and serve with a big cold glass of milk.

Parmigiano Reggiano Chicken and Waffles

If you're obsessed with watching cooking channels, you'll totally know what I'm talking about here. If not, this might be a new concept. It's chicken and waffles. Together. Married together with sweet, sticky honey.
It's delicious.

I was sold when dining out in North Carolina and got served this giant Belgian waffle with two pieces of perfectly crusted chicken and honey on the side. The girl across the table from me was like 'OMG - I could never eat all of that'. My pregnant-self said to self 'watch me'. And yes, I ate the whole meal and it was wonderful. My husband was impressed. At least - I think he was?

My urge to recreate this masterpiece has been intense lately and well, I had to find a way to incorporate cheese. Because I always need to find a way to incorporate cheese into my dishes. It took a little tweaking, but I got it. I got it good.

The trick? Finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Lots of it. It adds a saltiness and a savory edge to the waffles. And the chicken? Who doesn't love deep-fried chicken? With cheese.

I'll stop writing now and get to the goodness:

Parmigiano Reggiano Crusted Deep-Fried Chicken

Serves 2

1 pound chicken drumsticks and wings, skin on

2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup shredded Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 eggs, beaten
3-5 cups vegetable or peanut oil, for frying

In a large saucepan, place chicken and cover with milk. Over medium-high heat, bring milk to a boil, then lower heat to a medium-low. Simmer the milk until the chicken is cooked through entirely, about 30 minutes. Once cooked through, transfer chicken to a cooling rack and allow to cool for about 15-20 minutes. Pat dry using a paper towel.

While waiting for chicken to cool, heat the vegetable oil in either a deep fryer or Dutch oven on high heat to about 325*F.

Combine shredded Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, flour, Italian seasoning and black pepper in a large zip bag. Have the 2 beaten eggs in a medium bowl, set aside.

Place the pieces of chicken in the bag, close and shake until the chicken is completely coated (this is where kids can help). Dip the coated chicken into the beaten eggs, one at a time. Place the chicken back into the dry mixture and shake for one last coating.

Carefully place each piece of chicken into the 325*F oil and fry until the crust turns golden in color, about 1 minute per side. Remove from oil and place on the cooling rack, lined with a paper towel.

Serve hot.


Whole Wheat Parmigiano Reggiano Waffles

Makes about 6, 8-inch waffles

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons sugar
3 eggs, separated
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cups buttermilk, room temperature

In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients and mix until fully combined. In a second medium-size bowl, beat together the egg yolks, melted butter and buttermilk until well blended. Combine the two mixtures and stir just until combined. Do not over mix!

In a third bowl, beat egg whites until they form medium stiff peaks. Gently fold into the waffle mixture. Trust me, this part is worth it.

Turn on your waffle iron to a medium-high heat. Coat the inside with butter.

Once the waffle iron is ready, pour about 3/4 cup of the waffle mixture in and close. Wait patiently for your fluffy waffle to cook.

If preparing in advance, have your oven set to 200*F and place cooked waffles on a cookie sheet in the oven. Not only will they crisp up a little more, but they'll be warm.

Serve with Parmigiano Reggiano Crusted Chicken Drummies drizzled with buckwheat honey.