Recipe of the Month: Baked Apple Mac n' Cheese

This is one of our most recent recipes, created for a client who wanted a casual autumn supper. This just might be the perfect addition to your holiday table, a new holiday tradition, a dish that both adults and children will gobble up with delight.

Baked Apple Mac N Cheese

Serves 8-10

1 pound Small elbow noodles

1 T Salt

5T Unsalted butter

6T All purpose flour

¼ tsp Hot Sauce

¼ tsp Sugar

½ tsp Minced garlic

6 cups Whole milk

¼ tsp Salt

¼ tsp Pepper

1 ½ pounds cheese, shredded (we used cheddar, swiss, and Parmesan)

3 cups Curry Roasted Apples (recipe follows)

1 tsp dried thyme

For the Pasta:

1) Bring 4qt of water to boil over med high heat. Add the elbow noodles and 1 tablespoon on salt. Cook until the pasta is tender. Drain the pasta in a colander and set to the side.

For the Cheese Sauce:

1) In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over medium- high heat until it is foaming. Add garlic, sauté for 1 minute, add the flour. Whisk well to combine. Continue whisking until mixture has a nutty fragrance, and cool deepens, about 1 minute.

2) Gradually whisk in milk and hot sauce; bring to a boil, constantly whisking. Mixture must come to a full boil for mixture to thicken properly. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, whisking occasionally until thickened to consistency of heavy cream, about 5 minutes.

3) Remove pan from heat, add in the cheese whisking to fully incorporate and all the cheese has melted.

4) Add the cooked noodles to the melted cheese mixture; add thyme and curried apples. Taste and add the salt and pepper as needed.

5) Pour the noodle and cheese mixture into a prepared baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

6) Bake in pre-heated oven set at 365 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Until mixture is bubbly and golden brown on top.

Roasted Apples

6 apples, medium dice (we like Fuji)

2 stalks celery

¼ cup olive oil

2 tbs curry powder

1 tsp sugar

Kosher salt & fresh ground black pepper

1) Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

2) In a large bowl, toss all ingredients together. Pour the apples onto a sheet tray, and bake for about 25 minutes, or until they are just soft.

*Note you can do some of the prep ahead of time, just keep the apple mixture and the macaroni mixture separate. On the day of your meal, mix the two together and bake.

Recipe of the Month

Is your garden overflowing? Are you wondering what do with all those tomatoes and cucumbers that decided to ripen at the exact same time? Well then, Main Course California Executive Chef, Nadia Licea, has just the recipe for you:

Heirloom Tomato & English Cucumber Salad

1 english cucumber

1 1/2 pounds heirloom tomatoes

1/4 red onion, thinly shaved

4 oz. roasted mini sweet peppers

1/3 cup kalamata olives

1/2 cup crumbled feta

1/2 bunch chopped fresh oregano

zest of 1 lemon

Combine the following in a medium sized bowl:

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 Tablespoon sugar

3 Tablespoons olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

You will also need:

Your favorite lemon vinaigrette

Quarter the heirloom tomatoes and lay down on a platter in a single layer. Next, cut the cucumber in 1/2 lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and then julienne into 1/4" batons at an angle.

Toss the cucumber and the red onion in the vinegar mix and let sit for abot 5 minutes.

Then place the cucumbers on top of the tomatoes and sprinkle the rest of the ingredients over the cucumbers. Drizzle with lemon vinaigrette. This salad is great with grilled hanger steak. Happy gardening and happy eating!

Pan Seared Steak with Cherry Port Sauce

This delicious recipe, from our Cooking with Fortified Wines class, serves 6.

Steak

Drizzle of blended olive oil (extra virgin will smoke really bad!)
Six 6oz steaks, room temperature
Salt & Pepper to taste

Heat your oven to 500 degrees. Put an iron pan in the oven until it is good and hot. Season the steaks with salt & pepper. Pull the pan from the oven, and put it on the stove on high flame. Drizzle with oil. Immediately put the steaks, a few at a time, in the pan. Cook for about 1 minute, then turn over and cook another 30 seconds. Put the pan in the oven, and cook for about 2-3 minutes more. Let the steaks rest for at least 5 minutes before serving, drizzled with Cherry Port Sauce.

Cherry Port Sauce

Makes about 2 cups

Drizzle of olive oil

¼ cup minced shallots

A couple sprigs of thyme

1 cup pitted cherries – believe it or not, frozen are ok

2 cups ruby port

Salt & black pepper to taste

2 tbs Beurre manie

Put the steak-free pan on the stove over medium heat, and add a little olive oil if needed. Add the shallots, and scrape the pan with a metal spatula or flat-bottomed wooden spatula. Sauté the shallots until translucent.

Add the thyme and cherries. Add the port, and stir. Continue to cook over medium high until the port is reduced by half. Season with salt and black pepper. Add the beurre manie, and stir until the sauce is thick. Enjoy.

Beurre Manie

Don't be afraid, this is so easy! Combine equal parts soft butter and flour, and knead between your fingers. Add this to sauces to provide a rich flavor and to thicken them – lump free!

Pappa al Pomodoro

If you haven't had a chance to attend one of our cooking classes yet, you may not know that in addition to being a great chef, Rachel is also quite the dynamic teacher. Check her out at our most recent class, Italian Al Fresco, preparing this delicious tomato soup. Rachel first had it in a small restaurant beneath a little hotel in Sienna, and it blew her mind! It is intensely flavored, yet so incredibly simple; and a great way to use all your garden-grown tomatoes and basil.


Serves 8

About 1 1/2 pounds ripe cherry tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, finely sliced
A large bunches of basil, picked and stems finely chopped - separated
Sea salt & freshly ground pepper
38 oz good quality plum tomatoes
About 1 pounds good quality stale bread
The best extra virgin olive oil you can find (we’re using Ojai Olive Oil)
8 eggs

1. Prick the cherry tomatoes and toss them with two of the sliced clove of garlic and a quarter of the basil leaves. Drizzle with EVOO, sprinkle with salt and pepper, put them in a roasting pan, and cook at 3500F for about 15-20 minutes.

2. Heat a couple table spoons of oil in a pot, and add the remaining garlic and the basil stems. Stir gently and fry for a moment until softened. Add the canned tomatoes, then fill the cans with water and add that. Break the tomatoes up with a spoon, bring to a boil, and simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Tear the bread up into thumb sized pieces, and add them to the pan. Mix well and season to taste. Tear the basil leaves and let the soup sit over low heat for about 10-15 minutes. By this time, the roasted tomatoes will be done. Pour the tomatoes and all the juice from the pan into the soup. Add about 6 tablespoons of olive oil, and stir.

4. In another skillet, heat a little more olive oil over medium heat. Add the eggs, cooking 3 or 4 at a time, until they are just over easy – the whites will be set, and the yolk should be runny. Cook the rest of the eggs while you plate the soup. Place an egg in each bowl, and ladle a bit of soup on top. Garnish with basil and another drizzle of olive oil. Repeat with the remaining eggs, and serve.