Tag Archives: mac and cheese

Creative Cafeteria

10 Oct

Lori and I were meeting for lunch, and when Lori mentioned Cafeteria, I was more than excited.  It was on her list for a long time, and I had been craving their mac and cheese ever since being able to eat normally again.

Their virgin drinks sounded quite good, so I went with the Peach Palmer (an Arnold Palmer with lemonade and iced tea with the added bonus of Peach Puree) and Lori went with the Mint Iced Tea.

Of course, we started with the Mac Attack.  It’s a trio sampler of all their macs: Cheddar & Fontina, Smoked Gouda & Bacon, and Truffle Oil.  Last time I had it, I decided it was the best mac and cheese I’ve ever had.  This time was good, but I didn’t leave with the same thought.  (I think last time I remember more sharp cheese, but I’m not sure).  It was still fantastic, however.

There was a date salad on the menu that sounded GREAT, but I was craving something hearty and decided on the braised short rib sandwich.  When Lori was really debating the date salad I made the offer of splitting both the salad and the sandwich and saving room for their amazing sounding desserts.  Done! Go team!

The date salad was perfect.  All the flavors and the dressing (fig balsamic) were greater than the sum of its (outstanding) parts.  It had mission figs, shaved parm, and crispy prosciutto in a fig balsamic dressing.  Delish!

The braised short rib sandwich was pretty good.  The meat was delicious and beyond tender (a lot like pulled pork).  The bread, however, was just ehh.  I think I would have preferred something a bit crispier with the soft meat, however, it held up, so I guess I can’t complain too much.  The fries were decent (great flavor but could have been crispier).


Dessert was on the plan from the very beginning, so we decided to split two different plates.  (Two desserts are always better than one)

One was Apple Pie Raviolis with butter pecan ice cream and spun sugar swirls.  It was a beautiful plate and tasted delicious.  The butter pecan ice cream didn’t taste like butter pecan at all, and now looking at the menu online I think they gave us maple ice cream.  It was just okay.  Lori, even though it was the ice cream she was after, missed the ice cream under the swirls!  Whoops.  She didn’t miss much, however.  The raviolis were the stars of the dish.


The second dessert was a peanut butter cup with an oreo cookie bottom and peanut butter mousse in a chocolate shell.  It was topped with BACON peanut brittle.  Intriguing! 

The whole thing tasted amazing, however, the oreo cookie bottom had such a hard bottom that we had to use both hands and a lot of force to get our forks through.  I was really expecting it to go flying across the table or injure someone, however, we made it through. 

The bacon peanut brittle was fascinating.  It was quite sticky and was tough on the teeth, but the taste was surprisingly good.  Bacon seems to be a popular addition to desserts in trendy places, and I was surprised at how good it was.  Though not exactly something I’d seek out except for the novelty.


Overall, it was a very delicious meal.  I’ve been there once before and it was equally good (though the mac and cheese was even better).  They have some different and delicious dishes, and they must have a creative chef (and pastry chef) who is great with flavor combinations. 

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10

Lori’s full review is here.

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“Healthier” Mac and Cheese and Chicken Piccata

14 Jun

I absolutely love Macaroni and Cheese, however, I know that for the sake of my waistline I cannot eat it every day.  I am always on the look-out for a healthier version, so when I found a recipe for what claimed to be healthier and included butternut squash, I thought “why not?”

The first thing I noticed is that there was far too much liquid for the macaroni, so we poured in some of the cheesy/butternut squash mix to fill up the macaroni mixture and then decided to convert the rest to soup.  I added a bit more milk, rosemary, and mushrooms and cooked it down to the right texture.  I then added a swirl of this AMAZING basil olive oil I bought to the top.  The soup was incredible.

The macaroni and cheese was good, but the texture wasn’t amazing (though not as bad as I thought it would be) and the taste just wasn’t enough.  I’m also not sure how much healthier it could have been, but I guess it’s better than using a ton of heavy cream.

To pair with it, we also made a variation on chicken piccata that was quite tasty.

All were very easy to cook and there was a whole lot of food for just the two of us.  I’m sure it would make a good family meal.

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“Healthier” Mac and Cheese
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 23 min
8 servings

Ingredients

  • Cooking spray
  • 1 pound elbow macaroni
  • 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen pureed winter squash
  • 2 cups 1 percent lowfat milk
  • 4 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (about 1 1/3 cups)
  • 2 ounces Monterrey jack cheese, grated (about 2/3 cup) – we went with Gruyere instead
  • 1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon powdered mustard
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper – We eliminated this due to my allergy, which may be why it was a bit bland
  • 2 tablespoons unseasoned bread crumbs
  • 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook until tender but firm, about 5 to 8 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.

Meanwhile, place the frozen squash and milk into a large saucepan and cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally and breaking up the squash with a spoon until it is defrosted. Turn the heat up to medium and cook until the mixture is almost simmering, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the Cheddar, jack cheese, ricotta cheese, salt, mustard and cayenne pepper. Pour cheese mixture over the macaroni and stir to combine. Transfer the macaroni and cheese to the baking dish.

Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and oil in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the top of the macaroni and cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, then broil for 3 minutes so the top is crisp and nicely browned

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Chicken Picatta

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 – 2 pounds thinly pounded chicken breast
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 TB olive oil
  • 6 TB unsalted butter
  • 2 TB finely chopped shallots
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice – we eliminated this and it was still fine
  • 2 TB freshly chopped parsley leaves –also omitted with no noticable problem

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F
  2. Cut chicken breast crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces
  3. Season both sides of the meat with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour.  Shake off excess flour and set aside.
  4. In large saute pan over medium to medium to high heat, heat olive oil and 4 TB of butter.  Once hot, but not yet smoking, brown chicken quickly (about 1 minute on each side) and remove to an ovenproof platter.  Place in oven to keep warm. (We used a plate and a microwave… it worked)
  5. Reduce heat to low and add shallots to the pan.  Saute for 1-2 minutes or until they begin to turn translucent.
  6. Add wine and lemon juice to pan and simmer until slightly reduced, about 2 minutes.
  7. Add remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and whisk to combine.
  8. Season with salt and pepper to taste if necessary
  9. Pour sauce over chicken, sprinkle with parsley, and serve immediately

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