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Recipes - Main & Side Dishes
serious crayons:
Of course, England isn't exactly renowned for its fabulous cuisine.
Front-Ranger:
--- Quote from: serious crayons on December 30, 2023, 02:47:24 pm ---Of course, England isn't exactly renowned for its fabulous cuisine.
--- End quote ---
True, and the recipe Chuck posted shows off some of the questionable features of British cooking, including the baking of pasta (Why?) and the addition of a breadcrumb topping (again, why?). However, I must say that England was the site of one of the top five meals I have ever had. It was at the Magpie Cafe in Whitby on the shores of the North Sea. The dish was a simple one of one perfect lobster claw, one perfect scallop, one perfect crab cake, and a large shrimp (also perfect).
Back on the subject of mac & cheese, I got to experimenting and I've come up with a version that was appealing to me. I used a pasta a little larger than macaroni (called casaricci), a creamy sauce made with asiago cheese which melts just as well and is more flavorful than Velveeta, and with the addition of bite-sized baby artichoke hearts and chicken sausage. Voila! However, I don't think my grandchildren would eat it. They would say it tastes "weird", or "different than mac & cheese is supposed to taste."
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: Front-Ranger on January 01, 2024, 07:23:06 pm ---However, I don't think my grandchildren would eat it. They would say it tastes "weird", or "different than mac & cheese is supposed to taste."
--- End quote ---
Frustrating as that response is when cooking for kids, it's probably an evolutionarily protective reaction. Kids who are cautious about eating unfamiliar things are less likely to eat poison berries. My theory is that this explains children's widespread ambivalence about vegetables in general. Meat is usually reasonably safe if it's cooked and smells normal, whether it's deer or rat, but plants are trickier.
Front-Ranger:
Perhaps. I forgot to mention that there are also chopped greens in my Lee-style mac and cheese. I had collard greens for the New Year but any greens, such as chard, kale, or spinach, would work. I would also be tempted to add chopped or sliced olives and bits of any kind of meat.
So, here's a pic of the m&c section at my grocery store. The store-brand specialty versions are at the top and the regular ones, priced 50 cents lower, are on the lower shelves. The Velveeta shelf is surprisingly large but all of the lower shelves feature that orangeish color. I understand that comes from the addition of annatto which is a natural substance. It is the ground-up seeds of the achiote tree that grows in the tropical areas of the Americas. This dye isn't regulated by the FDA so it is used liberally in industrial food processing. It also has a taste and aroma, and some people are sensitive to it. I think I'm one of those people.
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: Front-Ranger on January 02, 2024, 04:59:23 pm ---Perhaps. I forgot to mention that there are also chopped greens in my Lee-style mac and cheese. I had collard greens for the New Year but any greens, such as chard, kale, or spinach, would work. I would also be tempted to add chopped or sliced olives and bits of any kind of meat.
--- End quote ---
I screwed up my New Year's cooking and totally forgot to make black-eyed peas and greens! :o :-\
--- Quote --- It also has a taste and aroma, and some people are sensitive to it. I think I'm one of those people.
--- End quote ---
I don't know if I'm sensitive to it but instant m&c is gross. I think I liked it as a kid, though.
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