Spicy Sweet Mac and Cheese

Macaroni and Cheese is my ultimate comfort food. So over the last several years I have worked on getting a good recipe.
 
Ingredients:
2 T. Melted butter and more for baking dish
1/2 cup bread crumbs (I make my own by using old sandwich bread that was frozen)
2 lb. (4 cups) grated cheese

• I use tillamook vintage white cheddar, dubliner white cheese, parmesan,  gorgonzola 
• mild cheddar can also be used if you don't want to spend the money on the more expensive ones.

16 oz penne or your favorite pasta
2 1/2 milk
16oz cream cheese
Gorgonzola
1/2 cup Parmesan
1 Tbsp. Sriracha (depending on how spicy you want- I usually put more)
3 Tbsp. Honey (to taste)
Pepper
Salt


Butter 9x13 baking dish . Toss melted butter with bread crumbs and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese in a small bowl.

In large pot of boiling water cook pasta.

Bring milk to boil over medium heat and add cream cheese in cubes, stir till melted. Then gradually stir in remaining cheese. Add a little gorgonzola here.

For sweet and spicy: add sriracha and honey and pepper to taste to cheese sauce then mix with pasta.

Mix all together and put in baking dish

Bake at 350 for 10 min then sprinkle with bread crumbs and gorgonzola and bake for 10 more min.

Hair of the dog chili (aka: Best Chili Ever)

This one won a chili cook off!

1 onion chopped
3 green chili pepper's chopped (or a large can of green chili's_
couple pounds of ground beef
package of your favorite sausage (we used andoullie chicken sausage last time) with casing removed and sliced into rounds
2 12oz cans of: black beans, kidney beans
3 cups corn (frozen works great)
2 cups mushrooms sliced
2 32 oz. cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup bourbon or to taste
1/4 cup diced jalapenos
4 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup sugar or honey
all these to taste- I don't measure
sriracha sauce
cumin
coriander
paprika
oregano
basil
chili powder
cayenne
taco seasoning

Saute onions and peppers until translucent. Add garlic, cumin, coriander, paprika, oregano, basil, chili powder and taco seasoning, cook until the fragrance of the herbs increase. Then add the ground beef. In a separate pan cook the sausages till browned. Put everything else in the pot and simmer for hours. Serve topped with cheese and cilantro. Tortilla chips are a mighty fine addition as well.

We meant to add bacon to it this last time but forgot... next time! I think it would be amazing!

Pumpkin Ginger Scones

Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar plus some for dusting
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup flax meal
2 tsp baking powder
1tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
5 Tbsp butter divided
1 egg
1/2 cup pumpkin
1/4 heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup chopped crystallized ginger
1 tsp vanilla or hazelnut or both

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Combine sugar, flour, flax meal, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Cut in 4 tablespoons butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat egg in small bowl, add pumpkin, heavy whipping cream, vanilla and ginger. Beat until well blended. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture, stir until soft dough forms.

Turn out dough onto well floured surface, knead 10 times. Roll out dough into with a lightly floured rolling pin. I rolled mine out to be about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick and then I used a pizza cutter to make triangles the size I wanted. Place triangles 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Brush triangles with butter, sprinkle with sugar. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown and wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack 10 minutes. Serve warm with butter. Makes 15-20 small scones.

Frittata

2 tbs olive oil
1 medium onion
2 medium potatoes
1 small sweet potatoes peeled and thinly sliced
salt and pepper
8 beaten eggs
1 cup of fennel turkey sausage
1/2 cup mushrooms sauteed
3 tbs gorgonzola
1/2 cup parmesaen

Heat the oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, then arrange the potatoes over the onions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and cook without disturbing for 10 minutes, until tender. Test with fork, if not done, cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir the potatoes and onions to mix. Sprinkle sausage and mushrooms over potatoes and onions then pour eggs evenly over the potatoes, sausage and onions. Cover and cook for 12 minutes.
Carefully place a large plate over the tog skillet. Wear a pair of oven mitts while you turn the plate over. Slide the uncooked side back onto the skillet . Sprinkle with cheese and cook uncovered for 4 to 6 minutes.
Serves about 4.

sweet potato, carmelized onions, gorogonzola and pepper sauce pizza

pizza dough
makes one 10" pizza
3 tbs hot water
3 tbs milk
1 1/4 tsp yeast
2 tbs olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbs whole wheat flour (I sometimes add part flax meal)
5/8 cup flour (plus more for kneading process)
1 small potato cooked and mashed

Mix water and yeast together. In a separate bowl mix milk and potato together. In a separate bowl, mix salt and flours together. Add wet ingredients to flour mixture along with olive oil. I use a mixer with the kneading attachment to knead my dough but roughly you want to knead for about 10 minutes. Add more flour as needed so that the dough is not sticking to you or the sides of the bowl. Then let rise for an hour and half so that it doubles in size.

Preheat oven to 500 with pizza stone in oven

pepper olive oil sauce
1 tbs cracked pepper
6 tbs olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp salt

Heat 3 tbs olive oil with the cracked pepper in pan to medium heat. Let simmer for 10ish minutes then strain the olive oil from the pepper. Then mix together a fresh 3 tbs of olive oil, garlic and salt with the strained pepper.

Pizza toppings
pepper olive oil
1 sweet potato sliced and baked
1 red onion chopped and caramelized
3/4 cup fennel sausage
top with gorgonzola, mozzarella and parmesan

I make mine on parchment paper for easy transfer and cleanup. Bake on pizza stone for 10 minutes then check it will probably take 15 but every oven is a little different.

smoked salmon mousse

fillet of smoked salmon
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
8 oz cream cheese
1 onion chopped and caramelized
1 teaspoon horseradish
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 tbs lemon juice
pepper and salt to taste
1 tbs capers (optional)

caramelize the onion. use food processor (mixer of blender) and mix cream cheese, heavy whipping cream, horseradish, brown sugar, lemon juice, salt and pepper until firms up. Flake salmon into smaller pieces set some aside for garnish. Add salmon and caramelized onions to mixture.

egg nog

4 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla/almond

Directions
Beat the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the 1/3 cup sugar and continue to beat until it is completely dissolved. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, over high heat, combine the milk, heavy cream and nutmeg and bring just to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and quickly stir about 1/2 cup of the hot milk into the egg and sugar mixture to temper it. Then return everything to the pot and cook, stiring, over low heat until the mixture reaches 160 degrees F. Remove from the heat pour into a medium mixing bowl, and set in the refrigerator to chill.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. With the mixer running gradually add the 1 tablespoon of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Whisk the egg whites into the chilled mixture.

I did the cooked version and it turned out so good! It takes a while for the foam to die down once you add the egg whites. Also to drink plain I mix it with a 1/3 milk because it is so thick.
Excellent in coffee! I have been drinking it in Longbottom Hazelnut Creme Coffee.