Macaroni and Cheese

When my younger son was little, I bowed to the tyranny of a two year old and made mac & cheese from the blue box. But honestly that stuff is expensive and full of strange ingredients. Plus I dislike using canned soups a great deal. In fact, you could say I downright hate it. Fortunately this mac & cheese recipe doesn’t rquire cans of anything.

Ingredients:

2 cups pasta (we prefer gemelli but if you like elbow macaroni, have at it)
4 T butter
¼ C all-purpose flour
3 C milk
2 C shredded semi-hard cheese (cheddar, Gouda, Monterey Jack—whatever you have on hand and feel free to mix it up)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2/3 C freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Directions:

• Preheat the broiler.
• Cook your pasta OR follow my "no humidity added to the house" method described below. Drain well.
• In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over low heat.
• Whisk in the flour until a paste forms.
• Gradually whisk in the milk until smooth.
• Bring the sauce to the boil over moderately high heat, stirring or whisking constantly, until thickened.
• Remove the pan from the heat and add in the shredded cheeses until melted (not the Parmigiano-Reggiano just yet).
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Stir in the cooked pasta and then put the mixture into a 9 x 13 glass or ceramic baking pan.
• Top with the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
• Broil about four inches from the heat for about four minutes or until richly browned.
• Let the dish sit for about five minutes before serving.

*Bonus no-humidity method for cooking pasta:

• Bring the water to the boil in a covered saucepan.
• Add the pasta, cover and immediately turn off the heat.
• Let sit, covered, on the stove for 20 minutes.
• Drain and enjoy your humidity-free home.

Caveat: Angel hair pasta doesn’t really need the full 20 minutes and gemelli may take up to 25 minutes.

Fra Diavolo Sauce

While out for dinner, Kent enjoyed a Fra Diavolo shrimp dish at a restaurant and decided to create his own version. So he took a basic tomato sauce recipe we love (created by Oyster Evangelist) and tweaked it to come up with his own version.

When I made this the other night, I had some chicken sage sausage on hand so I diced that up and sautéed it and added it in. The sauce is equally good with no meat—it’s got lots of flavor all by itself. Cut down the red pepper flakes and the cayenne if you don’t like things hot.

Ingredients:

4 T (1/2 stick) butter
1 small onion, minced (1 cup)
2 t red pepper flakes
1 t cayenne powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 C water
2 cloves garlic, put through a press
1 32-ounce can crushed tomatoes and their juices

Directions:

• In a large heavy pan, melt the butter.
• Add the onion, red pepper flakes, cayenne powder and oregano, and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are soft, about 10 minutes.
• Add the tomato paste and cook a few minutes until it begins to stick to the bottom of the pan. 
• Stir in 1/2 cup of water, scraping the bottom of the pan to pick up any cooked-on bits. 
• Add the tomatoes and the garlic.
• Simmer for 30 minutes.
• Put on your favorite pasta.