Category Archives: Low Brow Treats

Southern-Style Mac and Cheese

I grew up below the Mason-Dixon line, which often manifests itself in my love of good, Southern cooking and a tendency to say “y’all” when I get angry or excited.  As such, on occasion you can find me whipping up dishes that get a low brow reputation, but are truly high in deliciousity.  And/or high in calories, but whatever to that.  The hardest decision one should have to make when tucking into comfort food is whether the Country Fried Steak should come with scrambled eggs and grits or mashed potatoes and corn.

Southern-Style Mac and Cheese © Spice or Die

Down south mac and cheese is all about the simple ingredients – no artisan cheese blends here.  Just straight cheddar, jack and velveeta to round things out.  The recipe is similar in preparation to my classic (more upscale) baked mac and cheese, with the exception of the velveeta to round out the sauce.  The pasta softens right up in the bubbly, creamy goodness and comes out so gorgeous, Aretha Franklin herself would sing bars of joy over a bite or two.  And I don’t just say that because we used to share the same last name…

Southern-Style Mac and Cheese

1 lb. of elbow macaroni
4 tbs. of butter
4 tbs. of flour
1 grated shallot, juices and all
4 c. of whole milk
2 tsp. of salt
1/8 tsp. of paprika
1/4 tsp. of black pepper
1/8 tsp. of white pepper
2 tsp. of worchestershire sauce
1 tsp. of deli mustard
pinch of cayenne pepper
10 oz. of velveeta, cubed
2 c. of sharp cheddar, shredded
2 c. of colby jack, shredded
1/2 c. of plain bread crumbs
1/4 tsp. of paprika
1/4 tsp. of black pepper
1/4 tsp. of garlic powder

Preheat oven to 400°. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente and drain.

While pasta is boiling, make your sauce. In a large sized pot, melt your butter on medium-low heat. Add the grated shallot and stir. Whisk the flour into the butter to form a smooth paste.  Add the cubes of velveeta and allow to melt.  Slowly add the milk in a steady stream, whisking the whole time to prevent lumps. Add the salt, paprika, black pepper, white pepper, worchestershire sauce, mustard and cayenne. Turn up heat and continue whisking until sauce thickens. Turn off the heat and add the 2 c. of cheese and whisk until melted.

Dump macaroni into a buttered 13x9x2 inch pan, pour the sauce over the pasta and stir.  Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. In a small bowl, mix the 2 cups of colby jack, panko, paprika, black pepper and garlic powder. Top the macaroni with the cheese mixture. Turn the oven up to 500° and bake for another 5 minutes or until the top is bubbly and golden. Let sit for 4-5 minutes and then serve.

Classic Mac and Cheese

Melt My Heart

Classic mac and cheese has to be in the pantheon of ultimate comfort foods.  Of the folks that deign to make their own from scratch, they each seem to have their own secret recipe that is tailored to their unique tastes.  Mine is a perfect reflection of my love of spice and texture – I give the sauce heat with a slew of different piquant ingredients, and add crunch with a lovely dose of panko (japanese bread crumbs).  It’s some majesty.

Classic Mac and Cheese © Spice or Die

There are two schools of homemade mac and cheese recipes – one where the sauce is made from a cooked bechamel, and the other which is made from an uncooked custard of eggs and cream that form a sauce upon baking.  I’m in the bechamel school – it’s how I learned to make it from my mom, and we all know that mama is always right.  If you’ve never made a bechamel before, it’s an incredibly simple and versatile sauce that you’ll be happy to have in your culinary repertoire.  I make my bechamel extra savory with a secret ingredient – grated onion.  The bits of onion, cut with a box grater on the fine setting, manage to melt into the sauce, imparting flavor without you tasting distinct bits of onion.  Secret ingredients should be just that – a secret.

This mac and cheese is interesting as leftovers – the sauce turns into a solid custard, which is deliciously guilty when eaten cold.  It’s incredibly easy to cut into squares, which is why I can image Paula Deen (who just so happens to be in the egg custard school of mac and cheese) has fun breading and deep frying chunks of leftover mac and cheese.  I personally don’t do this, but I won’t look at you funny if you decide to give it a try.  Comfort food should do what you will it to, and if you want to deep fry, there’s no time better than the present.

For my darling vegan friends, I have perfected the most luscious version of this recipe with absolutely no dairy.  I’ll post it as soon as I make a batch and snap some pics.

Classic Mac and Cheese

1 lb. of elbow macaroni
4 tbs. of butter
4 tbs. of flour
1/4 c. of grated onion, juices and all
4 c. of milk
2 tsp. of salt
1/8 tsp. of paprika
1/4 tsp. of black pepper
1/8 tsp. of white pepper
2 tsp. of worchestershire sauce
2 tsp. of deli mustard
pinch of cayenne pepper
4 c. of extra sharp cheddar, shredded
2 c. of colby jack, shredded
1/2 c. of panko bread crumbs (or plain bread crumbs)
1/4 tsp. of paprika
1/4 tsp. of black pepper
2 tbs. of grated parmasean

Preheat oven to 400°.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Cook pasta until al dente and drain.

While pasta is boiling, make your sauce.  In a large sized pot, melt your butter on medium-low heat.  Whisk the flour into the butter to form a smooth paste.  Add the grated onion and stir.  Slowly add the milk in a steady stream, whisking the whole time to prevent lumps.  Add the salt, paprika, black pepper, white pepper, worchestershire sauce, mustard and cayenne.  Turn up heat and continue whisking until sauce thickens.  Turn off the heat and add the 4 c. of cheese and whisk until melted.

Dump macaroni into the pot with the sauce and stir.  Pour out macaroni and sauce into a buttered dish.  In a small bowl, mix the 2 cups of colby jack, panko, paprika, black pepper and parmasean.  Top the macaroni with the cheese mixture.  Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until the top is bubbly and golden.  Let sit for 4-5 minutes and then serve.

Cincinnati Style Chili Mac

aka The Championship Chili

The zesty cousin of red-hot Texas chili, this Cincinnati style chili mac has a whole lot of soul in the form of a long line of herbs and spices.  Originally perfected by Greek immigrants, this slow-cooked, saucy treat is known for its long list of seemingly unusual ingredients.  In addition, the chili is traditionally served without beans and over spaghetti – you’ll see when you make this chili that it actually cooks up like a bolognese.

I first became familiar with it via the DC restaurant, Hard Times Cafe, where the chili is served in “ways”.  Starting with your basic chili, each additional topping is considered a way – so two-way is spaghetti and chili, three-way is spaghetti, chili and cheese, four-way is spaghetti, chili, cheese and onions, and five-way is all of the above plus pink beans. Continue reading Cincinnati Style Chili Mac

Classic Meatloaf

“Pass the Southern Comfort, baby.  It’s been a long day.”

And by that I mean spend some time getting a little déclassé and whip up some potatoes and veg for this super light and moist meatloaf.  I know, I know.  You want elegance and style.  You want strings and harps, and saucers of champagne.  But occasionally, you have to trailer-park-trash it up a bit and enjoy some straight up comfort food.  I know what you are thinking – Angela, aren’t you the self-proclaimed ingredient snob?  Truthfully, my deal is that everything be as tasty as possible, which is absolutely not elitist.  There’s room for truffles and tater tots alike in my mind.  Though maybe not in the same dish.  Anyways, the whole point is to put aside your preconceived TV dinner notions and tuck into Mama Angelina’s Bomb Meatloaf…yes, that’s literally what it’s called. And it’s “bomb” for “it’s the bomb”. Continue reading Classic Meatloaf