2009.04.27
Mom's mac 'n' cheese
I hope everyone enjoyed that unseasonably warm weekend! I'm back to remind y'all that I would like to feature favorite recipes from mom for Mother's Day. If you've got a recipe that came from your beloved Ma, please share it with us on the blog for a Mother's Day column.
I know there are lots of readers out there who hardly ever comment but sometimes think about chiming in. This is your time! Dig up a recipe or give Mom a call and jot it down. And while you're on the line with her, tell her that you love her!
Here's my mother's delicious, simple recipe for creamy stovetop macaroni and cheese. As easy as it is to make, I wonder why Mom only saved it for special occasions. Maybe because it's so rich. Or maybe she used it as a motivational tool for me, her messiest and most procrastinating child.
Sandra Nair's Stovetop Mac 'n' Cheese
1 1/2 cups dry elbow macaroni
4 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
1 1/2 cups milk (more or less)
One block (12 oz.) sharp cheddar cheese, grated
Salt to taste
1. Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain well and set aside.
2. In the same pot, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour until the mixture is smooth, not lumpy. Do not let the roux burn! Gradually whisk in milk, then bring to almost a boil, whisking all the while to prevent clumping and flour from sticking to the bottom of the pot and burning. When the sauce begins to thicken, whisk in the cheddar cheese, a handful at a time, until it is all incorporated and melted. If the sauce appears to be too thick for your liking, add a little bit more milk. It will thicken a bit more as it sets up.
3. Gently stir in noodles. Taste to see if it needs any salt. Serve hot!
Personally, I'm a big fan of Mom's lasagna. She made it the last time we were home and she put deer sausage in it. I prefer it without the sausage myself but hubby acted like Garfield and almost ate the whole thing!
Comment by Kim — April 27, 2009 @ 11:15 am
We always had stovetop macaroni, except my mom just put the cheese, milk, butter and salt straight in the pot with the macaroni instead of making the roux. I didn't know what baked macaroni was until I was in high school. And of course, we never touched the box stuff.
My mom made a good quick fixin southern chicken in dumplin type of soup. I brought it to work and everyone loved it.
1. boil a whole chicken
2. remove the chicken
3. dump out half the water
4. add elbow noodles to water to cook
5. pick the chicken and add chicken to noodle & water
6. add several jars of turkey or chicken gravy; add salt & pepper to taste
7. once boiling, pinch apart biscuit dough and drop it in.
8. cover and let the biscuits steam a few minutes.
Another thing she used to do is fry up some potatoes and onions in oil. When they where tender she would add biscuit dough and then lay a ham steak on top. She'd cover it until the steak was heated and the biscuits were done. The biscuits would be a little gooey and they'd take on the flavor of the onions and ham.
Comment by Dana — April 27, 2009 @ 12:06 pm
My mom makes a delicious oxtail soup.
Take 2 or 3 good size oxtails remove some of the fat and sear over medium high heat in about 2 TBS olive oil in a heavy deep pot.
remove the oxtails once they are good and browned (leave all the dark bits on the bottom of the pot.) Add another TBS of olive oil and then add:
chopped onions, carrots and celery (about a cup each) saute' until soft then add a couple cloves of minced garlic and saute' until soft.
Return oxtails to the pot w/ the above veggies and add a quart of beef stock (enough to cover oxtails and veggies)
Simmer on top of the stove for a good 3 hours (you may need to add a little water if it starts getting too dry)
Once the meat is done and starting to fall off the bone remove them from the broth and add about 1/2 cup of barley. Add a little more water if you need to. Remove meat from the cooled oxtail and add back to the soup.
Add salt and pepper to taste. You can finish this off w/ some fresh flat leaf parsley.
Comment by Kim — April 27, 2009 @ 4:00 pm
Lindsey, I love mac & cheese, but have never made it from scratch myself. So when I saw your mom's recipe yesterday, I decided to to give it a try. It was delicious!! And fairly easy for a self-described non-cook to prepare. Thanks for sharing...and hugs to mom
Comment by Leisa — April 28, 2009 @ 1:42 pm
Great, Leisa! I'm so glad it came out well for you. It is so creamy and yummy. I think it's cheesier than the baked kind.
Comment by Lindsey Nair — April 29, 2009 @ 10:41 am
This is similar to the recipe in Joy of Cooking, except Joy adds dry mustard. My husband made it one night for dinner and OH. MY. GOD. It was sooo good! I think I prefer stove-top mac & cheese because it is creamier than baked.
Comment by Lori — April 29, 2009 @ 11:59 am
Lindsey,
I've just discovered your column and I've been reading through the archives...then it hit me...we went to school together, AHS class of '94...pretty neat. Anyhow, I thought I'd contribute a recipe. My mom is a cook at a small restaurant just outside of Clifton Forge called "The Triangle" she makes most stuff from scratch and when she makes Chicken and Dumplings she has a list of people that have asked her to call them when she makes this so they can come by and eat. I thought I'd share her recipe:
1 (5 lb) whole Chicken
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp parsley flakes
1 tsp salt
Dumplings:
5 Cups self-rising flour
1/3 Cup Criso Shortening
3 Cups Buttermilk
Sauce:
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of celery soup
2 cans of water
Additional ingredient:
1 stick of butter
Wash chicken off and put in large stock pot with a gallon of water, pepper, salt, and parsley flakes. Bring to a boil and cook about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Remove chicken and set chicken broth aside. Pull chicken skin off and debone. Cut chicken eat into pieces. Strain chicken broth. Put a little broth on meat.
Mix together ingredients for dumplings. Turn out on a floured table. Roll to 1/2 inch thickness. Let rise. Sprinkle with flour and roll back down. Cut into 1 inch squares. Bring chicken broth to a boil. Add dough squares to boiling broth, 3 dozen at a time. Cook 5 minutes and dip out into another pan. Continue until all dough is used up. If broth thickens too much, add water, 1 cup at a time. When all dough squares are cooked, return them to large stock pot.
Mix ingredients for sauce. Blend until smooth. Pour into large stock pot with dumplings and stir until mixed, approximately 5 minutes. Add stick of butter. Stir until melted. Add chicken and mix well. Yield:2 gallons.
Enjoy!!
Comment by Brian — May 2, 2009 @ 4:32 pm
I LOVE Triangle!!! My grandparents and great aunt and uncle lived about 5 miles up Rt. 42. When we go to the river we sometimes get cheeseburgers at Triangle (they rock) and I've also had a great breakfast there.
I'm so excited about this recipe. Thanks, Brian!!!
Comment by Lindsey Nair — May 3, 2009 @ 2:26 pm
Lindsey,
If you ate breakfast at Triangle odds are pretty good that mom fixed breakfast for you. She's been working the morning/lunch shift for quite a while. Mom's about average height for women (I tell her she's short since I'm 6'5") with white-ish color hair...and loud. My favorite chicken dish mom makes is Chicken Casserole, I have that recipe around here in a cookbook (she's always being asked to submit recipes to various fund raising cookbooks) somewhere, I'll find it and post it sometime.
Later,
Brian
Comment by Brian — May 4, 2009 @ 7:15 pm