Master's of...huh?

Since technology escapes me and every day is a struggle to get a GD photo uploaded on this blog, I'm going to hold off on my next entry.  [Preview: An in-depth examination of the juxtaposition of salt-laden aged cheeses with the sweetness developed through the caramelization of semi-dried fruits and compotes…whoa, I blacked out for a second.  I talk things about cheese and the jam].

I couldn’t wait to make the following observations, though.

1. We kicked off the Real Housewives Fantasy League.  We’re starting with Beverly Hills only, but more on that later.  The only thing I wanted to mention was how hilarious it was when Adrienne sent that plant to Lisa’s Villa Blanca party.  And to think, Mark Wahlberg struggled so hard to warn the good people of Beverly Hills that it’s the trees that are killing everyone, and Adrienne chose to use this knowledge for evil in hopes to poison Lisa and her fellow revelers for not inviting her.  This will go down as one of my all-time favorite RHW petty retaliations.  Right behind when Jill vowed that she would, indeed, get a hobby.  Look who’s building model trains now, Frankel!
   
   
   2.      I really like soup.
   
   
   3.      I had to fill out a paper ballot last night, so I’m pretty sure my vote in no way counted.  Regardless, I’m very pleased Maryland Question 6 passed.  It’s embarrassing it’s taken until 2012 to get here.
   
   
   4.      The new T-Sizzle CD is a 4 out of 5.  While there are some pretty good jams about Jake Gyllenhaal (both hair and unhairy), some of the songs are a little meh.  Anything about Conor Kennedy is creepy.  If you don’t have the album and remotely care about this, I recommend “All Too Well” and “I Knew You Were Trouble”.
   
   
   Next time I'll manage to perform simple tasks generally relegated to 8-year-olds and get my pics up.
   

Return of the Mac...and Punkin Things!

First of all, you are lying to yourself if you say you don’t love that song.

Last Sunday was one of those gorgeous fall days that you always envision at this time of year, but very rarely actually experience (nothing like the horrible hurricane we experienced this past weekend.  I would have posted this earlier, but I find everyday tasks daunting).  Prime sweater weather, not a cloud in the sky, the leaves that shade of red that looks almost unnatural on the trees.  Waking up that morning there was only one thing that could set this perfect autumn day over the top: punkin things.

Punkin time is like, pretty much my third favorite time of the year. Poppy and I hit up Dunkin Donuts so I could get a pumpkin donut and pumpkin latte, which sweet Jesus was amazing, and then we headed over to Weber’s Farm in Parkville, MD to meet up with my sister, brother-in-law, and their twin boys.  We roamed the shop and the pumpkin patch, and I embarrassed Poppy by screaming when a bee landed on my coffee.  What I imagine as delicately waving the bee off of my coffee cup and casually sashaying over a few feet with the grace and elegance of Ann Romney's horse Rafalca, was in reality more like arms flailing and screams of terror while surrounded by small, better-behaved children.

I bought some old bay cheddar (whaaaaattt), apple butter and rhubarb jam that will no doubt make an appearance in a later blog.  It really was a perfect fall morning.

But what started out as a lovely day went downhill fast when the Raven’s suffered a humiliating loss to Houston.   I don’t know what happened.  I raised the green flag just like you told me, Ray.

While the game sucked, the mac and cheese did not.  Poppy and I make this mac pretty frequently, switching up the cheese and spices, our favorite being Parmesan white cheddar.  This time, we went with sharp white cheddar and pepperjack. 

  

The recipe is below.  This version was pretty good, but I like my mac spicy, so next time I’ll add a ½ tablespoon of crushed red pepper flakes.

1 pound gemelli or campanelle pasta (I like fun shaped things)

3/4 quart milk (or the whole thing if you like your cheese sauce a little thin)

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

8 ounces grated sharp white cheddar

8 ounces pepperjack (or more, why not)

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Parmesan and Garlic breadcrumbs



I don't pretend to be a good photographer, so you just have to trust that this tastes better than it looks.



Preheat the oven to 375.  Boil the pasta to a nice al dente (soggy mac and cheese is the Brad Pitts) and drain well.  In a sauce pan, warm up the milk on medium-low.  Meanwhile, melt 6 TB of butter in a medium-low pot.  Once melted, whisk in the flour in order to create a somewhat thick roux.  Then, add the milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and optional red pepper flake and stir.  Next, slowly add in the cheese, constantly stirring until it's almost fully melted.  Finally, stir in the drained pasta.  Transfer the mac and cheese into a 9x12 glass baking dish.  Top with a layer of breadcrumbs and then add the remaining 2 TB of butter, melted and drizzled over the top.  If you want, add a little extra cheese on top of the breadcrumbs, too.  Bake for 25-30 minutes

Look, you could make your own breadcrumbs but that seems like a lot of work, so don't.  But I will say don't buy pre-shredded cheese; it just doesn't melt the same as block cheese.

We have maybe 2 weeks left of punkin things time, so enjoy it while it lasts.

Let them eat (cheese)cake

My inaugural blog.  I’m sure I should come up with some humorous, insightful introductory entry.  I should share the historical account of my love affair with cheese or perhaps delve into my mission here – explain why I even started this blog.  I ought to impart some wisdom or espouse my ideals.  I should really do something to draw the reader in.

But I won’t.  Because that’s really hard work.  A blog about cheese doesn’t need to merit a Pulitzer.  So instead of trying to create some meaningful prose about how much my voice should – no, must – be heard by the world, I’ll just get right into the cheese.  Give the people what they want.

Recently, I attended my friend Jen’s 30^th birthday party.  We had talked a lot about making it a cheese themed event.  While you may consider that to be somewhat nerdy, I would have to correct you.  It is, in fact, super nerdy.  Which is probably why reason prevailed and we opted not to pursue the cheese theme.

But I felt like I really owed something here.  Not only is Jen a dear friend celebrating a milestone birthday, but she’s also a fellow cheese enthusiast (hence why she’s a dear friend).  I really need to deliver on this cheese premise; I need to come up with something original, remarkable.   Unforgettable!  But I get easily overwhelmed...

So instead I went simple: a birthday (cheese)cake.   

 

I removed the rind from the top of one wheel of brie and spread some strawberry preserves on top.  I then removed the rind from both the top and bottom of a second wheel and placed this atop the first, and adding more preserves on top, essentially “icing the cake”.  After topping the cake with a few sliced strawberries and raspberries, I have to say it actually came out looking like an amateur’s take on confectionary art.

Needless to say, the birthday (cheese)cake was a HUGE hit.  In fact, literally NO ONE ate it.  I like to think it’s because it was so beautifully crafted and elegant that people wouldn’t dare compromise this masterpiece.   

In the end, the party was a success, regardless of my ill-fated creation, with plenty more cheese and fun to be had.  Happy birthday Jen!