Emily spent this past weekend at her dad's, and got home Sunday evening feeling crook (to quote my Australian friend, meaning she was feeling poorly. Yes the slang is rubbing off :) ) and with only enough time for a quick shower before bed. She woke up in the morning feeling better, and I asked if she still planned to cook supper. She grabbed a stack of recipe magazines and quickly found this one in the January/February issue of the Food Network Magazine. It looked easy enough, so it was agreed upon and we returned to the routine (there's that safety net again!) of getting ready for school.
I am ever thankful her school has plenty of microwaves available for student use. Making up a dish of leftovers is easier than sandwiches. At least I think so. And it makes Emily happy.
After school she spent an hour or so on the computer, writing a story for her teacher just because, I think. She seems to really enjoy creating things, which warms her writer mother's heart.
In retrospect I should have sent her to the kitchen a little sooner to prepare all her ingredients, as she still lacks the skill of chopping & stirring and managing timing. A lesson for us both. Although I am a consummate procrastinator I have somehow learned to manage fairly precise kitchen timing. I think, perhaps, some weekend night I will simply have her make a basic white sauce to truly learn the technique. Who would have thought my Home Ec teacher was right? (I stubbornly refused to memorize those basic recipes, although the years have imprinted them anyway)
I set a pot of water on to boil for the pasta while Emily chopped broccoli. Once that was measured she started chopping bacon. She was struggling, so I suggested she use the kitchen shears instead. Now the process went a little faster. We used regular bacon rather than the listed Canadian bacon because I had it on hand. I did consider the ham in the refrigerator leftover from the Croque Monsieur sandwiches I made on the weekend, but I didn't feel like trying to explain the finer differences to a 10 year old. And how can bacon be wrong?
She sauted the bacon and then removed it from the pan, stirring in some onion that I had chopped for her. The recipe called for scallions, but again, I hadn't wanted to make a trip to the store. While the onion was cooking we dipped out a cup of water from the pasta & broccoli water before draining it, now that the pasta was fully cooked. I explained to her how to whisk in the flour while she measured out a couple teaspoons of Dijon mustard. I was surprised she didn't comment on the smell, as she doesn't like mustard at all. We then stirred in the reserved pasta water and some milk. I stirred this while it thickened so Emily could measure out enough grated cheese from the bag in the fridge. We had another discussion about the difference between 1 1/2 and 1/2....a discussion I pursued at dinner. Fractions are still new at school, but necessary to be understood in the kitchen. (I think I have learned more mathematics cooking and shopping than I ever did in the classroom).
She stirred in the shredded cheese (a blend of cheddar, mozzarella and Gruyère) and some Parmesan, It was followed shortly by the pasta and broccoli and the bacon.
Emily added more cheese to her bowlful at the table, I only stirred in a little extra pepper. It was rich and creamy, a lovely, grown-up version of macaroni and cheese. Not so great for cutting carbs as I am trying to do, but there is a whole week of menus for me to do that in.
Broccoli and Bacon Mac & Cheese
8oz cavatappi or other corkscrew pasta (we used sedani ritotti)
4 cups broccoli florets
2 tablespoons butter (we eliminated this & used the bacon drippings instead)
4 slices Canadian bacon, chopped
4 scallions, chopped (or about 1/4 cup finely diced onion)
2 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard*
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt & pepper
Bring a pot of water to boil and add the pasta, adding the broccoli during the last 3 minutes of cooking time. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water before draining.
While the pasta is cooking melt the butter and cook the bacon until golden & crisp, transfer to a paper towel lined bowl, reserving the drippings.
Add the scallion whites (or the onion) and cook until softened. Whisk in the flour and the mustard, cooking until the flour is lightly toasted. Whisk in the milk and pasta water, stirring until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the cheeses, whisking until creamy and the cheese is melted.
Stir in the pasta, broccoli and bacon, season with salt & pepper. Serve topped with the scallion greens.
* You could probably substitute regular yellow mustard for the Dijon, but Dijon has a stronger flavour and will and more depth and body to your dish. And it tastes better on a sandwich.
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