It's in the oven...I can smell it from up here.

[SOLDIER #819]

My mac & cheese that is. It'll be another 20 minutes before it's done. I can't waaaaiiiiit.

The first time I made it I used a recipe that used velveeta, muenster, and egg to make the "body" of it. I tasted good, but was a bit too bland. Now I'm trying another recipe that uses cottage cheese, sour cream, and shredded sharp cheddar and parmesan. The crust will be cheddar and colby jack slices. Heart attack in a pan, mmmmmmmmm. I've never tried it before, so I'm sort of anxious. I hear that mac & cheese can have REALLY different ingredients depending on where you go.

What about everyone else? Cook anything lately? Used what? Blah blah blah.

FOOD/COOKING THREAD.

Edit: Or uh, have you tried anything especially different? What did you/they use to make it?

[Taco-Calamitous]

I take a piece of bread and eat it by itself, or I put peanut butter and jelly or cheese with it. Sometimese meat or mayonaise. I also take a can of soup, put it in a bowl, and stick it in the microwave. Sometimes I also eat microwavable entrees or oven ready pizzas. And fruit. And a lot of potato chips and other junk food.

When I first moved out, I got three boxes of hamburger helper and macaroni and cheese with the theory that I would learn how to actually cook things. I probably could cook things, but I am lazy. Anyhoo...

Wuv, Yer Mom

[SOLDIER #819]

I take a piece of bread and eat it by itself, or I put peanut butter and jelly or cheese with it. Sometimese meat or mayonaise.

A peanut butter, jelly and meat sandwich? You may be on to something.

I just ate some mac & cheese. It tasted...almost exactly the same, hahahaha. There was definitely a certain tang to it that you don't find in "processed cheese product", but macaroni & cheese is what it is no matter what I guess. Or maybe I suck at tasting stuff. Either way, I'm stuffed, and I'm sure my cholesterol just shot up. Mmm...

[nix]

We don't get mac and cheese round these here parts, so ive never had it

[SOLDIER #819]

Not even the instant stuff?! It's pretty good man...though I've heard some people call it nasty if they aren't used to it. If by the slim chance you like cooking, I can give you a recipe. All it requires is some about two pounds of some cheeses, some elbow macaroni, and a good bake.

I think I want to try to make enchiladas...I've gotten a lot of tips from Sarah. Anyone else try it?

[nix]

What IS macaroni ? We don't get that round these here parts either, i should make a food check list next time i visit the US

[Sarah]

Macaroni is just pasta. You could use any kind of non-string pasta with the recipe S uses. Ziti, bow ties (farfalle), rotini, et cetera would all work.

I would have done S's recipe a little bit differently. I would have made a cheese sauce separately (oil/butter, water, shredded cheeses on a double boiler). Then I would add that sauce with the pasta and put more shredded cheese on top, maybe with bread crumbs and grated parmesan on the very top. Mexican cheeses would have made an interesting mix up for the cheese sauce.

I haven't ventured into any special cooking experiments lately. The last thing I did was a 10 pound vegetable barley lentil soup from scratch. Half of it is waiting in my freezer to be thawed.

Lately, I have considered making some chili. It's getting very cold here now, and that would warm me up very well. I haven't made any since I had to cut out all of that food, so this should be fun. I want to make it very spicy, to warm me up. I'm thinking 6 different kinds of peppers and lots of spices. I'm gonna see about putting some beans in it- probably black beans. I need to figure out the rest of the filler, though. Onions for sure. I've never tried putting rice in it, so that could be good. I'm definitely going to want crackers on the side. Yeah, this should be fun!

[Taco-Calamitous]

Last night, I made a can of spicy chili. Then I went to a meeting betwixt my friends in which we discuss our week and tell each other how to not be stupid for the next week. My anus spoke quite frequently, and they all thoroughly enjoyed it Anyhoo...

Wuv, Yer Mom

[Korova]

I eat a LOT of macaroni and cheese so i'm always adding variants to it. Adding meats (hot dogs!), seasonings, broccoli, and hot sauce as i see fit.

Hot sauce is a wonderful addition to mac and cheese if you need to change the flavor a bit. After serving it just douse it in something. I recommend Cholula Garlic Onion (or just original Cholula) but Tabasco's Chipotle is also fantastic.

[SOLDIER #819]

I would have done S's recipe a little bit differently. I would have made a cheese sauce separately (oil/butter, water, shredded cheeses on a double boiler). Then I would add that sauce with the pasta and put more shredded cheese on top, maybe with bread crumbs and grated parmesan on the very top. Mexican cheeses would have made an interesting mix up for the cheese sauce.

It really wasn't a sauce per say (the end result is anything but). More like I just drained the pasta and added to it whatever would be the body. The only liquid there was was milk to keep it a bit moist. How would you go about making a cheese sauce out of the bare ingredients? Normally I rely on the heat of the pasta to melt down the necessaries (like Velveeta or whatever).

I have business with mah spicy chili.

Sounds reeeally good...

I eat a LOT of macaroni and cheese so i'm always adding variants to it. Adding meats (hot dogs!), seasonings, broccoli, and hot sauce as i see fit.

Hot sauce is a wonderful addition to mac and cheese if you need to change the flavor a bit. After serving it just douse it in something. I recommend Chalula Garlic Onion (or just original Chalula) but Tabasco's Chipotle is also fantastic.

Yeah, I was thinking of replacing one of the ingredients with pepper jack or chipotle cheddar and maybe throwing some sort of sausage into it. Only problem is that my mom's a vegetarian, so I can't do meat unless I make the effort to make half of it with and half without. As it stands I really want to get rid of the blandness, even if I have to pour tabasco all over it...That doesn't sound half bad, lol. Maybe I should take a cue from your Chalula and mince a clove or two of garlic into it.

My next mac & cheese is going to be a disaster.

[Korova]

The Chipotle Tabasco tastes nothing like tabasco and is one of the most fantastic flavors. I use it on pizza, home-made egg mcmuffins, chili, and really anything else. I switch between that and Cholula.. For mac n cheese i like Cholula a little better.

[Quistis]

Chipotle Tabasco is yummy, especially on Chipotle burrito mmmm...

[Sarah]

I found something that makes me very happy. A vegan version of mac and cheese called "Mac and Chreese." It's pretty damn good. The sauce is a bit thicker than cheese sauce, so I'm going to have to think about what I would add to it. My first thought was broccoli, though. I'll post a picture of it when I get some more.

I also found a some soy nog. Not too sure what I could use that for, but it will go well with any recipe I come up with. Damn good, too. It tastes very similar to the real stuff from what I remember. It has been 2 or 3 years since I had the real thing, so I'm not entirely sure on that. I think it does, though!

Seeing the ingredients for the Mac and Chreese has given me some ideas. If I can find those ingredients individually, I'm going to try something of my own. I could use that cheese-like stuff for anything. I could have it with some baked Tostitos and other stuff and makes nachos. It sure beats the hell out of soy cheese. Damn stuff tastes like the plastic wrap from Kraft singles.

[SOLDIER #819]

I found something that makes me very happy. A vegan version of mac and cheese called "Mac and Chreese." It's pretty damn good. The sauce is a bit thicker than cheese sauce, so I'm going to have to think about what I would add to it. My first thought was broccoli, though. I'll post a picture of it when I get some more.

What's the recipe?

[Sarah]

Organic Unbleached White Flour, Nutritional Yeast, Organic Tapioca Starch, Unrefined Sea Salt, Organic Garlic Powder, Organic Ground Yellow Mustard Seed, and Annatto.

The same company sells just the chreese powder and nacho chreese, so I don't even have to attempt to replicate it. I can just buy the stuff and use it in whatever recipes I can think of.

To answer your question from earlier about cheese sauce, S.... to make it you would need a double boiler (a pan or metal bowl for your cheese and a bigger pan under it filled with boiling water) for indirect heat. Start with some cheese and a little water, milk, or cream. Let it melt to see the consistency. Keep adding cheese or liquid as needed to get the consistency you want. Add oil or anything else if you want, like spices. You can use the very same method for chocolate sauce. I've also done the same thing to make chocolate peanut butter frosting, and similar method for a berry sauce using whole berries, bit of water/oil, and confectioner's sugar.

It's a little hard to describe what I do with food. I rarely measure anything, with the exception being pastries or other baked goods. I do everything by eye. Try it out anyway and think of it as an experiment.


EDIT: Use shredded cheese, cut blocks, or deli slices for the sauce. That Velveeta stuff would just make a horrible, horrible mess. Plus, Velveeta isn't real cheese. It seems to be mostly a block of solid oil. You'll get a much better taste with real cheeses.

[SOLDIER #819]

Organic Unbleached White Flour, Nutritional Yeast, Organic Tapioca Starch, Unrefined Sea Salt, Organic Garlic Powder, Organic Ground Yellow Mustard Seed, and Annatto.

The same company sells just the chreese powder and nacho chreese, so I don't even have to attempt to replicate it. I can just buy the stuff and use it in whatever recipes I can think of.

Oh I see. That's a lot more convenient. Is it really that thick though? The mac & cheese I'm used to isn't saucy, so I can't tell the difference judging from the videos alone.

EDIT: Use shredded cheese, cut blocks, or deli slices for the sauce. That Velveeta stuff would just make a horrible, horrible mess. Plus, Velveeta isn't real cheese. It seems to be mostly a block of solid oil. You'll get a much better taste with real cheeses.

Yeah, Velveeta was just a cheap and melted easy. I'll probably replace it with something spicier next time around. Sauce-wise, I'd need to buy a double boiler before I can even attempt it. Buying the ingredients in general dent my wallet, so I may need to take a break to afford it.

[Sarah]

Chreese could very easily made to be thick. The sauce is cooked to thicken it up. Like any sauce with a starch in it, it will get thicker as you cook it. You could use the same idea for sauces or soups, too. People often use corn starch or flour to thicken them up. I'm not a big fan of it, though. I like creamy sauces, rather than thick. Plus, corn starch can be a bitch to mix in. You can't just put into into something hot. It will just cook little balls of corn starch that look like matzo balls. You have to mix it into a cold liquid, then put that liquid into your sauce or soup.

For a double boiler, you might just need to see what pans you have. A large pan and a smaller pan/metal bowl that can fit on top of it would work just fine. I've never used a set that was sold as a double boiler; I've always used a make shift one.

For cheap cheeses, I used to use the generic brand of shredded. It tastes pretty much the same and doesn't rape your wallet. You could try going to a place like BJ's and buying in bulk, too. I've found some damn good deals on lots of things there. Watching for good sales would be a good idea, too. In good sales, the brand names can be cheaper than the generic.

You should watch Good Eats! Awesome cooking show. Alton Brown goes over a lot of things, including the science behind how cooked food gets to the way it is.

[SOLDIER #819]

I tend to watch Good Eats from time to time...I think. If it's the one you're talking about, it's pretty informative. They really do overact sometimes though. I laugh because it's so corny, haha.

Usually when buying food in general I try to get whatever's on sale. The problem with buying dairy in bulk is that I end up buying a ton of it but never use it. I try to be stingy with what I eat when I'm not cooking since I'm dieting...and unfortunately cheese is as bad as sweets when you're trying to lose weight.

And owww. I made parmesan chicken tonight. As I was applying the sauce to it (since baking it in a tomato sauce tastes good) I burnt my left hand. Owwww.

On the plus side I made my first salad. It had a bit of fruit and cashews in it and used a nice dressing that was basically sugar, lemon juice, poppy seeds, oil, and various other things. Tasted great from what I could taste before I surrendered it to my parents. So my hand is hurts like hell but I'm overall happy with tonight.

[True Omega]

Krupuk!

[Sean]

Cooking is my bitch. (was halfway to an associates in culinary arts before switching gears, and cooked banquets, buffets, plated dinner parties, as well as regular old line cooking to order for 5 years, I still cater on the side with my friend's catering company)

I'd be happy to hand out tips any time. Go go necroposting!


As far as mac 'n cheese goes, I'm lazy. I buy 33 cent boxed mac n cheese from Wal-Mart and toss in 4-5 slices of American Cheese with the powder/milk/butter and melt it down.

[SOLDIER #819]

Teach me stuff!