macaroni and cheese...

Let me start out this post by telling you that until Thanksgiving day I haven't had a spoonful of macaroni & cheese enter my mouth in over 40 years. Horrid memories of the baked crisp and dried out school lunch macaroni & cheese and the version my own mother made left me with an extreme dislike of the dish. But while looking at a blog called "Our Old Southern House", Natalie, the author, stated: "There is only one dish that I am “known” for. Everywhere I go people want the recipe. In fact, every family event we have I get automatically signed up for it–whether I want to do it or not." I figured this was a recipe I had to try while looking for a crowd pleasing recipe - you see last year, I hosted the first annual chili/soup cookoff for my extended family. We had so much fun showing our competitive sides while presenting and bragging up our soups in order to win the "crock pot" trophy that this year my sister is hosting the first annual Minnesota "hotdish" and blue ribbon bar competition next weekend. Hotdish is known as a casserole in most other states :) I made a taste testing 1/2 batch of Natalie's recipe for Carmelized Onion and Pecan Macaroni and Cheese on Thanksgiving and for a mac/cheese hater this dish was pretty darn good :)

Carmelized Onion and Pecan Macaroni and Cheese
as copied from Natalie's blog. Please click HERE for her full "Oh So Cheesy" post with the recipe.

Ingredients

1 (8-oz.) package large elbow macaroni
2 tablespoons butter
2 large onions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon sugar
1 (16-oz.) block white Cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Parmesan cheese
32 saltine crackers, finely crushed and divided
6 large eggs
4 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional sure, but I think they make the dish)

Preparation

1. Prepare macaroni according to package directions; drain and set aside.2. Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sliced onions and 1 tsp. sugar. Cook, stirring often, 15 to 20 minutes or until onions are caramel-colored.

3. Layer half each of macaroni, onions, cheeses, and cracker crumbs in a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Layer with remaining macaroni, onions, and cheeses.

4. Whisk together eggs and next 3 ingredients; pour over macaroni mixture.

5. Stir together remaining cracker crumbs, melted butter, and, if desired, pecans. Sprinkle evenly over macaroni mixture.

6. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until golden brown and set. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

While this dish is fantastic I am not sure it classifies as a "hotdish" which according to Wikipedia is a meat, starch, vegetable and a canned soup so I am undecided as to what I will bring for the competetion. I think Tater Tot Hotdish might be our state recipe and it is One Hot Dish according to this article in Relish Magazine. While it is a favorite I don't think it is a prize winner so if any readers have a "winning" recipe for a hot dish or a pan of bars that if entered in a fair would win a blue ribbon please send them on!

Of course, I could always call this dish a vegetarian hotdish :)

Marsha - Thumbs UP
Jeff - Thumbs UP

back in the kitchen...pumpkin turnovers

Thanks to some gentle prodding from my dear friend, Kathleen, I'm back to blogging from Marsha's Kitchen. Summer is just such a busy time for us and our business that it is hard to find time to prepare new recipes - usually we eat the quick tried and true old ones. I look forward to sharing many new recipes once again over the fall/winter/spring months. Besides, I need to be up and running so I can participate in her White Christmas/Winter White meme on Dec 15th! Look for more information in the coming weeks on her blog.

The new recipe I tried today was from the blog of a Minnesota food writer, Sue Doeden (All about Food). She also writes a weekly newspaper column in several newspapers. She calls these little bites of pleasure "Grab-and-Go Sweet Pumpkin Turnovers".
Since the oven was heated up I also made some banana bread (2 small loaves and some pumpkins & leaves in my silicone molds).
I always add chocolate chips to my banana bread and today since I had extra chopped walnuts from the turnovers they were tossed in as well.When the baking was done I made myself a cup of tea to go along with the "sampling" and also to have a little break before I tackled the pile of dishes.
One bite into the crispy pumpkin turnover and the leaf banana bread went back on the serving plate so I could "grab" a second turnover :)
The cinnamon sugared leaves and acorns made out of the scraps of walnut studded pie crust were pretty darn good as well :)
The recipe as copied from All About Food on this POST.
Grab-and-Go Sweet Pumpkin Turnovers

* 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 1 teaspoon baking spice blend, pumpkin pie spice blend or your favorite baking spice
* 1 (14.1 ounce) package refrigerated pie crusts
* 1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped
* Milk
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1 egg white, lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon water

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar and spices. Set aside.

Unroll one pie crust on work surface. Sprinkle with half of the chopped walnuts. Use a rolling pin to roll over dough, pressing the nuts into the dough.

With a 3 1/2- to 4-inch round cookie cutter, cut 8 rounds from the dough.

Repeat with remaining pie crust in package.

Spoon one tablespoon of pumpkin mixture onto the center of each round. Moisten edges with milk, fold in half and press edges together to seal. Combine 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon. Brush turnovers with egg white. Sprinkle each with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place on ungreased or parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake in preheated 450-degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 16 turnovers.

The first ones are sweet and crunchy with the cinn/sugar topping, Sue states in her notes that after being stored the pastry will be soft. I'm leaving these sit out for a while so that when Jeff comes home he gets to taste the crunch as well.

Marsha - Thumbs UP
Jeff - not home yet, but I'm confident it will be a 2nd thumbs up :)