Baked Caprese Macaroni and Cheese

I’m all about simple, tasty dishes. To me, fresh ingredients are what it’s all about and you don’t need a million ingredients to cook something fancy…or a grownup version of your childhood faves. The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board asked me to come up with a mac n cheese recipe for their 30 Ways 30 Days blog. I whipped up the posh-looking Baked Caprese Macaroni and Cheese in no time with fresh, local food…most of which I had right in my fridge. Since my cheese of choice was yummy, gooey mozzarella, the first thing that came to mind was caprese salad - milky mozzarella with sweet tomatoes and fresh basil. I used that as my inspiration and started with my fave: baked grape tomatoes - I love the way they burst in your mouth. From there I kept it quick and easy combining stovetop cooking and finishing off the browned bubbly top in the oven for a few minutes. Less waiting = thumbs up in my book. Shells were the perfect choice since their little crevices capture all the cheesy goodness. My last minute decision to coat the fresh mozzarella in the baked tomatoes’ pan sauce gave it the extra punch the mild mozzarella needed. I like to dive right into the baked dish, straight out of the oven. There’s nothing like that stringy, gooey, mouth-watering effect that comes from scooping into a pile of yummy molten mozzarella. Enjoy!

Baked Caprese Macaroni and Cheese
Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 1 pack grape tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 lemon juiced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
• 1 pound medium shells pasta
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (in the bag)
• 1 ball sliced fresh mozzarella cheese

Directions:

In a baking dish, combine grape tomatoes, olive oil, basil, lemon zest, juice of 1/2 a lemon, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Toss to coat and bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Remove and let stand. In a medium saucepan, boil water on high heat and cook 1 pound medium shell pasta for 12 minutes or until tender. Drain and let stand. In the same heated sauce pan, turn the heat to low. Combine milk, butter, shredded mozzarella cheese, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper. Stir continually until the cheese melts to a thick sauce (about 1-2 minutes). Add the drained pasta back into the sauce pan and toss to coat. In an oven-safe dish, add in the pasta and cheese mixture and top with baked grape tomatoes. Use the remaining baked tomato pan sauce to coat the sliced fresh mozzarella. Place the seasoned fresh mozzarella on top of the pasta and tomatoes. Broil for 5 minutes until the fresh mozzarella gets gooey, bubbly, and browned. Serve.

Courtesy of the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. See more mac n cheese recipes at the 30 Ways 30 Days blog

Use local and/or organic ingreds if available.

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La Maison Le Grand Lemon Confit + Pumpkin Seed Roast Chicken with Artichokes

I love wandering around the grocery store looking for new products that make my life – and cooking – simple. One day, these colorful little pouches caught my eye - La Maison Le Grand sauces. I checked them out and vowed to try one next super market visit. Before I could do that, one of my PR contacts offered for me to test one out. I jumped at the chance – hey, I was going to buy it anyway. They are raw (nothing cooked over 118 degrees), made every week from natural ingredients, and contain no added sugar or preservatives. The pouch is also recyclable in certain areas and the screw top allows you to use just what you need and store the rest – no waste. I decided to use the Lemon Confit & Pumpkin Seed Aromatic Sauce with a roast chicken. The confit is thick like a paste and has a light tangy lemony flavor and a bright curry-yellow color. The chicken turned out juicy with a hint of lemon and the artichokes had just enough flavoring added to them - amazing. There are 8 flavors in all – try one for yourself and let us know what you think…


La Maison Le Grand Lemon Confit + Pumpkin Seed Roast Chicken with Artichokes

• 3-4 lb roasting chicken
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 pack La Maison Le Grand Lemon Confit + Pumpkin Seed Aromatic Sauce
• 1/2 lemon
• 1 can artichokes
• salt
• pepper
• 1 tsp corn starch
• 3 Tb cold water

Preheat oven to 325. In a roasting pan or pot, combine chicken broth and 2 Tb of the Lemon Confit. Wash the chicken, pat dry, stuff with 1/2 lemon. Smother in Lemon Confit until covered and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place chicken in the roasting pan, cover, and cook for 1 hour. After 1 hour, remove the lid, baste the chicken, add artichokes around the chicken and roast for another 30 mins. Once finished roasting, remove the chicken and artichokes and let stand for 10 mins. Transfer the drippings to a sauce pan and simmer on medium heat. Combine corn starch and water and add to the simmering drippings to make gravy. Slice the roast chicken, top with Lemon Confit gravy, and serve with artichokes.

Use local and/or organic ingreds if available.

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Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes

Extra candy canes laying around from Christmas? Whip up these Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes with yummy cream cheese icing. They are also festive for Valentine’s Day parties. I made these for a Christmas party and everyone kept asking where I bought them…as if!

Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes

• 1 box of chocolate cake mix
• 1 can of cream cheese frosting
• 2 tsp peppermint extract
• 1 candy cane

Follow the instructions on the bake of the cake mix. Add in peppermint extract and stir. Pour in muffin tins and bake according to the box instructions. Let cool. In a Ziploc bag, add the cream cheese icing. Press all towards one corner and twist the top of the bag. Snip off the corner of the bag so you can pipe out the icing. Start from the outside and pipe in. Smash a candy cane and crumble over the top of each cupcake.

Use local and/or organic ingreds if available.

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New Leaf Chef Dishes on Pesticides

Over the summer, I took a cooking class at Whole Foods on Bowery in NYC. It was part of their chef series in which local chefs take you around Whole Foods and "shop" with you then prepare a meal while you watch. Scott Campbell, head chef of the New Leaf Restaurant, cooked up local, organic food like five spice chicken and summer cherries with creme fraiche (among more). But while shopping downstairs, Scott addressed the importance of eating organic minus pesticides and how Europe beats out the US when it comes to pesticide use. Pretty interesting stuff.



Learn more about the New Leaf Restaurant.

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Spicy Asian Mushroom Soup

Noodles bars are one of my favorite places to eat. I love all the fixins added to a warm salty base of broth – the combinations are endless. My top noodle bar hands down is Wagamama in London…it’s addicting. To my surprise, they just added locations in Boston and DC. Keeping my fingers crossed for NYC. Anyway, until then I like to whip up this easy soup and toss in leftovers to remind me of my days of living in London.

Spicy Asian Mushroom Soup

• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1/4 cup soy sauce + 1 Tb
• 1 lime juiced
• 1 pack ramen style Asian noodles
• 1 lb chicken
• 1 pack mushrooms
• peanuts
• bean sprouts
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• olive oil
• salt

In a large pot, combine chicken broth, lime juice, and 1/4 cup soy sauce. Bring to a boil and add in ramen noodles. Cook 3-4 mins until tender. Remove from heat. In a skillet on high heat, coat with oil and add 1 Tb soy sauce. Season mushrooms with salt and stir fry for 2-3 mins and add in peanuts for an extra 1-2 mins. Add to the soup. In the same skillet on medium high, coat with oil and cook chicken. Shred the chicken and add to the soup. Toss in red pepper flakes and salt to taste. Simmer for 10 mins. Spoon until a large bowl and top with bean sprouts.

Use local and/or organic ingreds if available.

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