Single Serving No Fuss Mac ‘N Cheese

I consider mac ‘n cheese to be “kick off my shoes, ratty-clothes-I-can’t-wear-out, just-wanna-stay-at-home” food.  Sure I might try lobster mac ‘n cheese at a trendy bistro, but most often, I want a simple, homemade version that uses better cheese than American, but still reminds me of the Kraft packaged version from my childhood.

There are lots of great macaroni and cheese recipes out there.  When my kids were growing up, I usually made a variation on the 1963 classic McCall’s Cook Book version.  But I’ve gotten lazy and wanted to see if I could come up with a single serving mac ‘n cheese that does not require cooking the macaroni first.  You think that’s impossible?  Think again.

There are only 2 tricks: first, using macaroni or pasta that is relatively thin, such as elbow or mini farfalle (bow tie) shapes; and second, steeping the dry macaroni in the milk-based mixture for 10 minutes before baking.  The result is more like a kugel or noodle pudding than a creamy casserole (and I did get the inspiration from a kugel recipe), but it’s pretty good for a dish that takes only a few minutes of active preparation time.

The ingredient list below is for 2 servings, but you can easily cut the amounts in half for 1 serving or multiply them for more – the math isn’t difficult.  The baking time is for single serving ramekins; as long as you use them, adding another few to the oven wouldn’t change the timing drastically.  I noted the egg proportions for a single serving but the dish is good cold or re-heated; if you’re eating alone, consider making 2 and keeping the second for leftovers. 

Single Serving Macaroni and Cheese 

(No Boiling of Pasta Required)

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Stir-Fried Ginger Broccoli

At Christmas and Hanukkah time, my food-related thoughts go straight to starch and sugar.   I can spend hours planning which cookies I’ll make, or devising latke variations.  Ogling my storehouse of cookie decorations, grating potatoes and using up more butter, sugar and flour than I care to inventory is pretty much my modus operandi at this time of the year.

So it was refreshing to stir-fry broccoli with the Grace Young and the Wok Wednesdays crowd this week.  The dish was simple to prepare, especially with my tip for peeling ginger.

The recipe does have an extra step (before stir-frying) – quickly cooking the broccoli for just about 1 minute in rapidly boiling water – a technique called blanching that will turn the broccoli a bright green and tenderize it before the stir-fry.  But if you set out all the ingredients near the wok (mise en place) before you start stir-frying and use a cheat sheet to remind you of the steps if you're like me and need help remembering the steps as you cook, you can make frangrant and crunchy stir-fried ginger broccoli in less than 5 minutes.

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Thanksgiving - A Tale of Two Chutneys

Today I’m rushing around, picking up the turkey from the store and setting up schedules for when to make my favorite stuffing and various other dishes.  This is no time for patschkieing around as my mother would say – dilly dallying in plain English.  And it’s certainly not the moment to begin experimenting with my traditional versions of cranberry sauce and relish.  

But our cousin Michelle unwittingly inspired me to do just that when she told me last night that her favorite Thanksgiving food is cranberry chutney.  I have a fabulous mango chutney recipe and had already made a batch, the perfect condiment for leftover turkey sandwiches over the weekend.  Still, the thought of cranberry chutney stayed with me as I slept, and I awoke determined to create my own version.  

So, without further ado, here is the original mango chutney recipe and below is my cranberry adaptation:

Cranberry Chutney

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