Macaroni and Cheese

Adapted from a 2000 Oprah Magazine Thanksgiving recipe.

1 lb macaroni or cavatappi
3-4 C sharp cheddar shredded
1/2 C shredded American or 4-5 slices unwrapped
4C milk
4T butter melted
1/3 C white flour
salt
pepper
1/4 t nutmeg (optional)

Boil pasta. Drain off. Oil them a little.

While boiling water and pasta, make a white sauce:

Make a paste out of butter and flour in a saucepan on medium/medium high.

Add milk, salt, pepper and a dash of hot sauce (or cayenne). Let sauce thicken (whisk constantly). Take off heat and whisk in half the cheddar.

Put half pasta in oiled casserole (4Q). Layer on American cheese and remaining cheddar. Put on rest of pasta. Cover with cheese sauce.

Oprah says to put on half a cup of parmesan but that seems nasty, don't it? I'd do crushed and buttered Ritz crackers if you wanted it southern style.

Bake 350 degrees uncovered for 25-30 minutes.

RICE AND BROCCOLI CASSEROLE (Mrs. Mills' recipe)

There were a few years when Mom made ham. And she always served it with this broccoli casserole. The recipe was from Mrs. Mills, our sweet neighbor who was also the cook at Kennedy School for years. Mom just told me Dave likes this, and when I looked on the back of the recipe card, indeed it says, "David loves it."

2 cups cooked rice

1/2 cup onions

1/3 cup minced celery

3 T butter

1 package (big bag) chopped frozen broccoli

1 small can evaporated milk

3/4 cup Velveeta (I think there are lines on the foil for measuring).

1 can cream of mushroom soup



In a frying pan, cook broccoli, onion, and celery in butter. Mix all ingredients together, put in a casserole pan, and bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

TOMATO GARLIC SAUCE/Salsa Pizzaiola

This is the sauce for The Meatballs! In China, you eat long noodles on your birthday for longevity, and so we ate this with spaghetti.

In a 3-4 quart enameled or stainless steel saucepan heat:

3T olive oil
1 C finely chopped onions

Stir constantly for 7-8 minutes. Add:

1 T finely chopped garlic.

Simmer for a minute, then add:

4 cups Italian plum tomatoes chopped but not drained (canned is okay, but not the kind with basil flavoring and so on).

1 6 oz. can tomato paste

1 T dried and crumbled oregano

1 T finely cut fresh basil (or 1.5 t dried and crumbled)

1 bay leaf

2 t sugar

1.5 teaspoons salt, maybe less if you don't like saltiness

few grindings of black pepper

Bring to a boil and then simmer one hour. Remove bay leaf and serve with meatballs.

The Meatballs/Polpette alla Casalinga

These are the meatballs. You know, the special *birthday* meatballs. The ones everyone likes, but they take a while to make. The real deal. The meatballs are from the same book as the pumpkin pie (see below).

2 slices French of Italian or white bread torn into small pieces

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

1 pound ground chuck

1/4 pound sweet Italian sausage (you may have to buy a whole pack at Kroger, but you can grill the extras).

6 T grated Parmesan

2 T finely chopped parsley

1 T olive oil

2 T finely chopped garlic

1 t finely grated lemon peel

1/4 t ground allspice (actually, mom and I leave this out)

1 1/4 t salt

freshly ground pepper

olive or vegetable oil

1 batch of tomato sauce (recipe above).

Soak pieces of bread in milk for 5 minutes. Then squeeze them dry and discard the milk. Mix in large bowl the bread, egg, ground beef, Italian sweet sausage (cut out of the casings), Parmesan cheese, parsley, 1 T oil, garlic/lemon/all spice, salt and a few grindings of pepper.

Kneed mixture vigorously with both hands until mixture is smooth and fluffy. Shape into 1" diameter balls. Lay them in one layer on a baking sheet or tray. Cover with wax paper when done (or cling wrap -- whatever you have). Heat up one fourth a cup of vegetable oil in a heavy skillet until a light haze forms on top of it. Fry the meatballs about 15 at a time, always shaking the pan or gently turning them with a spoon to keep them brown and round. In 7-10 minutes, the meatballs should be thoroughly cooked. As you cook them, throw them in the pot of sauce. Add oil to the meatball fry pan as needed/scrape pan as needed.

One batch for one restrained King meal. If you want leftovers, you might make two batches. :)

POUND CAKE

Here's the second copy, in Mom's handwriting, of the pound cake recipe. It's actually several recipe cards held together with...medical tape of course.

This cake is not too sweet, so you keep eating it, even though it's got a truckload of butter in it. Mmm.

8 egg whites (1 cup)
3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 t baking powder and 1 t salt
2 cups of sugar
2 cups of butter (4 sticks/or one pound)
8 egg yolks
1 T grated orange peel (don't grate to the white pith -- it's bitter)
2 T grated lemon peel (same)
2 T lemon juice

Let egg whites warm to room termperature (about an hour).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Grease and flour a Bundt pan.

2. Into a large bowl, sift the flour, salt and baking powder and 1/4 t of the salt.

3. With mixer at high speed, beat egg white with 1/4 teaspoon salt till foamy throughout.

4. To the eggwhites, add 1 cup of the sugar, 1/4 cup at a time until stiff peaks form.

5. In a different large bowl at high speed, beat butter with remaining cup of sugar until light and fluffy (5 minutes) Important!

6. Beat egg yolks into the butter mixture with mixture on high speed; beat in peels, lemon juice and 2 T of water until smooth.

7. Divide flour mixture into thirds and at low speed blend the flour into the butter mixture a third at a time until just combined. Takes about seven minutes to get all the flour incorporated.

8. Fold in egg whites (or use lowest speed on hand mixer). Blend in egg whites, half at a time just until blended. Scrape batter into Bundt pan in 350 oven for 60 minutes. Cool on rack 15.

You want glaze? Mama doesn't make it with glaze. But here's the recipe anyway, for the glaze.

1 T butter
1 pound confectioner's sugar
1 t grated lemon peel
1/3 C lemon juice

Blend butter, sugar, lemon juice, until smooth then drizzle over cake.

PUMPKIN BREAD

This is that pumpkin bread made with raisins and walnuts. Way better than a fruitcake, and good served with whipped cream. It's not too sugary, and if you reduce the amount of sugar by a third or half, it still tastes pretty good. I have memories of this cake being eaten by Jack at midnight in the kitchen, and also I remember the cool whip sticking to his mustache. Good times. :-)

INGREDIENTS

2/3 cups butter (11 and a half tablespoons)
2 and 2/3 cups white sugar
4 eggs
2 cups pumpkin
2/3 cups water
3 and 1/2 cups flour
2 t baking soda
1.5 t salt
.5 t baking powder
1 t cinnamon
1 t cloves
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
2/3 cup raisins

Grease and flour a Bundt pan or two loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 65 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

This is a pretty good gift for neighbors and co-workers.

*THE* PUMPKIN PIE

This is The Pumpkin Pie recipe. No other pumpkin pie compares. It's in the Time-Life Foods of the World set, 1968, often seen in thrift stores (American volume). Well, other pumpkin pies are fine, but if you really want to do something special for Jack, David or me, make us this pie.

Find some pie crust, pre-made or from scratch.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Roll out the pie doughs and bake for about 8 minutes. This makes the crust flakier, or just don't bother. Dave likes chewy dough and I think Jack might too.

The following recipe fills two deep dish shells since making only one would be kind of wrong.

FILLING

1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
1.5 cups dark brown sugar
2 t cinnamon
1/4 t ground cloves
1 t ground ginger
6 eggs, lightly beaten in separate bowl
4 T applesauce
3 cups pureed pumpkin (Libby's)

Here's what the cookbook says. Ahem.

"In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream, milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves and ginger. Stire thoroughly, then add the lightly beaten eggs and the applejack. Stir in the pumpkin puree. Carefully pour the filling into the pie shell(s). Bake for 40-50 minutes in the center of the oven until the filling is firm and the center of the pie barely quivers when the pie pan is gently moved back and forth. Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or stiffly whipped cream.

(Or Cool Whip).