Saturday, February 9, 2013

Dinner and a Movie: Open Season on Homemade Mac & Cheese

 
It's freaking cold outside...I mean, the kind of cold that chills you past your bones and right into your soul.
 
It's the one part of living in New England that I could never stomach - well, that and the aggressive drivers and the...ok, screw it, there's a couple of things I'd rather not deal with - but that's everywhere.
 
But we were talking about the weather.  And aggressive drivers.

The Blizzard of 2013, more popularly known as Nor'easter Nemo is raging outside - zero visibility, winds at a steady 40 miles per hour and gusts to 70...an epic storm that has already broken the all-time record for snow fall in a single storm system - and yet these people in their trucks are tooling around town like they're on a Sunday drive...
 
...it seems that everyone in Maine drives a truck - and most have big rifle racks.  They love the snow, and they go out hunting in it.  They lay in it, lurking in the weeds waiting for some unsuspecting animal to cross their line of sight so they can kill it.  And then they eat it.
 
Me, I back my car out of my heated garage and go to the store to buy things that are already dead so I can take it home and cook it on my George Foreman Grill.  And then I eat it.  The only cold I encounter is the sprint from my car to the store and when I open the cooler to grab a half rack of beer.
 
No freezing my butt off, no rolling around in the snow, no being elbow deep in Bambi's guts - no guilt.
 
So, I'm innocent.  Kinda.
 
I love cheesburgers, hot dogs and steak.  My boy does not.  A typical 8 year old, he's more of a macaroni and cheese kind of guy - so when we have our boy's night in, I relent on the menu but we have to agree on the movie...which is nowhere near as difficult as getting me to go out in the cold.
 
Tonight, it's the very first Sony Pictures Animation, computer generated film - one which features talking animals that plot to turn the tables, so to speak, on the hunters that would seek to kill them...

...and my homemade Macaroni & Cheese.  It's the same stuff I make every night at the Rock Bottom Grill, and it's as simple to make as it is fattening.  There is nothing healthy about Mac & Cheese, let's be right up front about that - in fact, most comfort foods are the most unhealthy things you could eat, but Lord, don't they taste good?

 
 
Open Season is perhaps the finest animated film ever made - and that's saying a lot.  Though it is a relatively recent production (well, 2006) it's content and humor speaks to many generations.  In fact, the first time I watched it was with my Dad and teenaged sons and my youngest, who was five at the time, and we were all laughing so hard that we had to pause the DVD so Dad could catch his breath.

Martin Lawrence provides the voice for Boog, an 800 pound grizzly Bear that was raised from a cub by a Forest Ranger and has been trained to ride a unicycle for a daily performance in the town of Timberline


In the winter, Canada shares their air with us - which is really nice of them, especially since the arctic shares it with them.

 
 
8 ouncesuncooked elbow macaroni



 

Cook macaroni according to the package directions. Drain.
In a saucepan, melt butter or margarine over medium heat. Stir in enough flour to make a roux. Add milk to roux slowly, stirring constantly. Stir in cheeses, and cook over low heat until cheese is melted and the sauce is a little thick. Put macaroni in large casserole dish, and pour sauce over macaroni. Stir well.
Melt butter or margarine in a skillet over medium heat. Add breadcrumbs and brown. Spread over the macaroni and cheese to cover. Sprinkle with a little paprika.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Serve.

 
 
 
In fact, there's lots of things that Canada shares with us besides thier frigid air: Hockey was their's I believe.  Bob and Doug Mackenzie, William Shatner and Bachman Turner Overdrive - Rush, Howie Mandel, Jim Carrey and
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Though the idea of eating savory food after a full meal makes sense only when evening stretches into night and, usually, when overindulgence in alcohol has taken place, rarebit is also good in the afternoon, and can be made in advance save for the final toasting. To get that just right, toast the bread on a baking sheet until each piece is evenly browned on top. Then turn the pieces over and toast them about half as much on the second side before adding the cheese.
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 tablespoon mustard powder, or to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
  • 3/4 cup strong dark beer, like Guinness
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, or to taste
  • 1 pound Cheddar, Grated
  • 4 to 8 pieces lightly toasted bread
Method
  • 1. Put butter in a saucepan over medium heat and, as it melts, stir in flour. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and very fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in mustard and cayenne, then whisk in beer and Worcestershire sauce.
  • 2. When mixture is uniform, turn heat to low and stir in cheese, again stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and pour into a broad container to set (you can refrigerate for up to a day at this point).
  • 3. Spread mixture thickly on toast and put under broiler until bubbly and edges of toast are crisp. Serve immediately.




grilled cheese sandwich, toasted cheese, cheese toastie or simply grilled cheese).


Cooked bread and cheese is an ancient food, according to food historians, popular across the world in many cultures; evidence indicates that in the U.S., the modern version of the grilled cheese sandwich originated in the 1920s when inexpensive sliced bread and American cheese became easily available. The cheese dream became popular during the Great Depression.[1]
It was originally made as an open sandwich, but the top slice of bread became common by the 1960s.[2] U.S. government cookbooks describe Navy cooks broiling "American cheese filling sandwiches" during World War II.[2] Many versions of the grilled cheese sandwich can now be found on restaurant menus across the United States.



No comments:

Post a Comment