what's for dinner?

this is hopefully become a semi-regular "feature" of this blog, similar to the "current reading" posts. it will equally hopefully encourage me to cook more, since i'm not doing that so much since he's in class 3 nights a week. and since this is practically a food blog half the time anyway, i might as well make it its own category. also, it should alleviate some of the "i need to get your recipe for that!" requests.

so apparently i blog mainly about food and books.

somehow, this doesn't surprise me.

anyway. on to the food.

mac'n'cheese

1 1/2 cups uncooked macaroni or elbow noodles
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup shredded cheese - to get the kraft-boxed mac'n'cheese colour, use orange cheddar, but any cheese will do. blending is also a possibility.
1/2 T butter
1 t oil
1 1/2 T white flour
shortening

preheat the oven to 350F and grease with shortening (or butter) an oven-safe dish with a lid

1. boil water and add the noodles.

2. over medium heat, melt the butter.

3. whisking rapidly, combine the flour and oil with the melted butter to make a roux (the oil allows it to withstand slightly higher heat than butter alone).

4. continue whisking the roux until it has reached a rich golden colour. do not let the roux burn or darken too far.

5. whisk the milk into the roux.

6. keep whisking the milk while the pasta continues to cook. lower the heat and do not let the milk scald.

7. when the pasta has reached about the al dente stage, remove it from the stove and drain it.

8. go back to whisking the milk. it should be thickening by this time. whisk in the shredded cheese.

9. you should have a very thick cheese sauce at this point. dump the noodles into the greased dish and pour the cheese sauce on top. stir to combine.

10. bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes up to an hour.

num.

finishing steps include crumbling crackers or bbq-flavoured potato chips on top of the surface. you can also add tuna, cooked chicken, or hot dogs before putting it in the oven.