Cooking with Emily

After a brief hiatus we're back to tearing up the kitchen.  I had the flu last week, so Monday's supper was a DIY affair, that is, "I'm not cooking, your're on your own with whatever easy thing you can scare up".  It happens.  I expected some argument because Emily does look forward to cooking on Mondays, but she took one look at me on the couch when she got home from school, asked how I was feeling, shrugged and settled in to do her homework.  There was a brief mention that perhaps she might cook Wednesday instead, but that didn't pan out either, although she did help me coat some boneless chicken with home made shake-n-bake. I was craving fries, so dinner was pretty unremarkable, but was just what the doctor ordered.

Anyway.  Sunday evening we settled in to watch "The Sound of Music", a movie I haven't watched for ages and my 10 year old has never seen.  She loved it, as I knew she would.  While we watched she combed through cookbooks looking for something to make.  She settled on baked macaroni and cheese.  The recipe she found was simple enough, simpler than the one I usually make, sauteing onions in the butter before making a roux, but a good start.
Monday afternoon we got home and I put a few good beef sausages into the oven to bake, setting Emily to start prep for her meal, putting a pot of water on to boil to cook the macaroni, and shredding cheese.  She popped the last little hunk of cheese into her mouth, wiser than her mother, since the last time I was grating cheese I grated my thumbnail off below the quick.  It has finally stopped hurting.  It was a good lesson on caution though.
The recipe called for 3 cups of cooked macaroni, so I suggested she measure 1 1/2 cups dry pasta into the now boiling water, explaining that a good rule of thumb is that rice triples, pasta doubles.  As it turned out we could have used a few more noodles, but I think her measuring may have been a little scant anyway, and I have always just eyeballed it (but that takes practice, it can't be taught, exactly).
When the macaroni was almost done I had Emily measure out 1/4 cup of flour and 2 cups of milk while I found her a whisk.  We drained the pasta into a colander and I put 3 tablespoons of butter into the pot (one less pot to wash that way) and set it on the burner to melt.  Once it was melted I had her whisk in the flour with a little salt and pepper. After a minute or so we started whisking in the milk, a little at a time.  At this point she was watching me, since I can pour and whisk at the same time.  She thought it looked hard, but I explained it really isn't difficult, but does take some practice so you don't wind up with clumps of flour in the milk.  Once the sauce was smooth she stirred it until it started to thicken.  I had her stir in the mound of cheese she had grated, leaving out about 1/2 a cup, as well as about a 1/4 of Parmesan.  Once all the cheese (a cheddar & mozzarella blend) was melted I let her stir in the macaroni.  When that was all blended I handed her a greased casserole dish and helped her transfer the gooey pasta and sauce into it.  She topped it with the remaining cheese and some fresh bread crumbs before putting it in the oven to bake beside the sausages.  I suggested she find a vegetable to go along side while I started sorting out the mess & doing some of the dishes.  She decided on broccoli, and like we need more cheese, melted Cheez Whiz.

Dinner was delicious, and Emily learned (although I have made mac & cheese from scratch regularly) macaroni & cheese doesn't have to come from a box.  She didn't like the sausages, these were chorizo, and quite spicy.  I thought they were a good foil for the rich pasta.  And despite the great quantities of cheese in the sauce she thought it needed more cheese.  Ah well.  It reappeared for breakfast, and with the rest of the broccoli went to school for lunch today.

She may not realize it yet, but she learned to make a basic white sauce which is lovely on its own, but also a great base for other sauces, like the cheese sauce here.  I will make it and stir in pesto (either regular green basil, or the red sundried tomato) for a quick sauce for pasta.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

3 tablespoons margarine                       1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup flour                                          3 cups cooked elbow macaroni

2 cups milk (or chicken stock)              1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs

2 cups shredded cheese (any mixture you like)

Heat oven to 350F.  

Melt the margarine in a large pan over medium heat.  Whisk in the flour (with salt & pepper); cook about 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Gradually stir in the milk; cook & stir 3-5 minutes, until thickened.  Add 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan.  Stir until the cheese is melted, about 1 minute.

Add the macaroni, stir to coat evenly.  Spoon into a 1.5L  greased casserole dish.  Top with remaining cheese & crumbs.

Bake 20 minutes, until heated through & lightly browned.