Cheese Sauce

Tips for making Cheese Sauce

Here are some tips I used to learn to make perfect cheese sauce, which always leads to perfect Mac n Cheese.

1. Starch, such as all-purpose flour, cornstarch, or potato flour will keep the cheese from curdling. If you use all purpose flour, add it to the mixture before the cheese; it needs to be cooked for a few minutes to remove the starchy taste.
2. The less you heat the cheese the better. When making soup, sauce or fondue, add the cheese last; then heat it only enough to melt the cheese. Often you can remove the pan from the burner and the residual heat will be enough to melt the cheese.
3. Shred, crumble or finely dice the cheese before melting it. Smaller pieces melt faster. (easier to do with cold cheese)
4. Allow the shredded cheese to come to room temperature before melting it and it will melt faster.
5. Reduced fat cheeses have different melting characteristics than regular cheeses. They take longer to melt and are not as smooth and creamy in texture. You will need a low temperature flame to melt reduced fat cheeses and they must be shredded or finely diced first.
6. And now for a tip I learned at the Melting Pot. A small amount of an acidic liquid will keep the cheese from getting stringy. You can use white wine or lemon juice. Just sprinkle a tablespoon of your acidic liquid over one cup of shredded cheese before melting it. Or use white wine as part of the sauce base.
Mac n Cheese is a crowd favorite and it is as impressive as a home baked cake. I am still perfecting my cheese combinations so I do not have a recipe yet. Why not post your favorite Mac n Cheese recipe for me to try. By the way, this dish serves well with a medium to light bodied red wine or a very crispy white selection.
Chateau-Ste-Michelle-Eroica-Riesling-2008 from www.wines.com is the wine we served with our Mac n Cheese dinner most recently. This white wine is the bottle to bring the hostess this season when you attend holiday parties. Wine Spectator gave this wine 94 points. In fact in each of the four reviews this wine did not score below 91 points.
Happy Holidays.

30 Minute Meals Mac & Cheese

30 Minute Meals - Macaroni and Cheese
This dish is so overlooked as a perfect meal. Much more popular than you would think, not easy to prepare without a good recipe but a real crowd pleaser, great Mac & Cheese
is a dish you want to know how to prepare! Here is my version, bon appetite.
This recipe feeds 6-8 adults, takes 15 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to finish. You will need a stove and an oven to make this dish and an oven proof casserole dish to finish.
Shopping list:
1. 1.5 pounds of elbow macaroni
2. 4 cups of grated cheese. I use a blend of three cheeses, Romano, Parmesan and Mozzarella. Mozzarella must account for at least 2 cups of the mixture so you get that creamy texture that makes Mac & Cheese so fine.
3. ½ cup of all purpose flour
4. 3 cups of chicken broth. ( I use Knoor)
5. Kosher salt and course ground black pepper.
6. 1 cup of plain bread crumbs
7. 2 tablespoons of melted butter
These are steps:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix the melted butter and breadcrumbs together and set aside.
3. Boil enough water to cook the pasta. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water for 6-7 minutes.
4. In a large mixing bowl combine the cheeses and flour. Mix thoroughly.
5. Heat the chicken broth almost to a boil and slowly and continuously stir in the cheese mixture until it is a smooth cheese sauce. This will take 5 minutes of constant stirring.
6. Drain the pasta.
7. Place the pasta and the cheese sauce in the casserole dish and stir to evenly distribute the cheese sauce.
8. Turn on your broiler.
9. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top.
10. Place under the broiler for 2 minutes or until the breadcrumbs are a golden brown color.
Serve this with Chianti. Chianti is a red table wine produced in Tuscany, Italy. Chianti dates back to the 13the century and was originally a white wine. Today most Chianti is a made from a blend of red grapes. The most popular grape in Chianti is Sangiovese. The Chianti producers of Italy cover a vast area of Tuscany. Chianti is the second most popular wine in Italy and a great bottle can cost as little as $12.00. Currently my favorite Chianti is Ruffino 2009. It is selling for under $11 per bottle. What I love about this bottle of wine is it only needs 20 minutes to breath and then it is perfect to drink.

30 Minute Meals Salmon Pasta Toss

Ever find yourself at the grocery store, too spent from the days activities, trying to be creative with dinner. Even the most inexperienced chef can go into the kitchen and WOW your dinner companions with this dish.

If I haven't said so before, I should have....if you intend to cook once a week, keep in your cupboard, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Fresh Garlic, Fresh Shallots, Dried Basil, Red Cooking Wine, White Cooking Wine, Kosher Salt and Black Pepper. In your refrigerator always have Butter and Parmesan Cheese.  Start a list today and call it Julie's Must Haves. Fell free to comment on things you want to add to Julie's Must Haves or email me at Mise en Scene your comments and questions.

This recipe serves four, takes 15 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes from start to finish. Your list of ingredients:

1. 8 ounces of linguini
2. 1 tablespoon of butter
3. 12 ounces of salmon fillet, skinless and cut into 1 inch cubes
4. 1 cup of sliced mushrooms
5. 12 asparagus spears cut into 1 inch pieces
6. 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic 
7. 1/4 cup of finely chopped fresh basil or 2 teaspoons of dried
8. 12 grape tomatoes
9. 2 green onions sliced using only the green part
10. 4 teaspoons of corn starch
11. 1 cup of chicken broth
12. 1/4 cup of shredded Parmesan Cheese

Here are your four quick steps to a delicious dinner.

1. Cook the pasta in salted water for 7-9 minutes. 
2. While the pasta is cooking, heat the butter in a 12 inch skillet over a medium heat. Cook the salmon pieces in the butter for 4-5 minutes. Fully cooked salmon will flake apart when you put a fork into the pieces of fish. Remove the salmon from the skillet. 
3. Increase the heat slightly and add the mushrooms, the garlic, and the asparagus to the skillet and cook and stir for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the tomato, the basil and the green onion and cook for 1 more minute.
4. In a cup stir the cornstarch into the chicken broth. Pour the broth over your vegetable mixture and stir for 1-2 minutes. Add in the salmon pieces, stir and turn off the heat. Toss it with the pasta and sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese.

If you like spicy foods you can add a finely shopped jalapeno pepper to the skillet when you are cooking the other vegetables.
I suggest you try a Columbia Valley Wine from Chateau St Michelle. Their Chardonnays from 2007 fetch 89 points for Wine Enthusiast. Bevmo carries it and sometimes offers these wines in their 5 cent sale.

You can enjoy some discounts from wines.com, just click here. Monthly wine clubs at Wine.com

Pinot Noir

Find the best deals on top rated wines under $20.
We are looking for suggestions on what dish to prepare with KJ Pinot Noir 2007

Click here to shop for this wine at Wines.com.
 http://www.wine.comv/V6/Kendall-Jackson-Vintners-Reserve-Pinot-Noir-2007/wine/101976/detail.aspx
The price per bottle is just under $20.00 and we plan to pair it with a meat dish, after some careful research into the tasting notes. Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator both gave this wine 86 points. Taken right from the http://www.wine.com site, these are the wine makers notes; "

winemaker's notes:

Black cherry and raspberry fruit with velvety tannins typically found in hillside grapes along the North Coast mingle with flavors of plum and spice from our bench land vineyards along the Central Coast. Oak aging adds hints of vanilla, nuances of toast and a soft, smoky finish.

http://www.wine.comv/V6/Kendall-Jackson-Vintners-Reserve-Pinot-Noir-2007/wine/101976/detail.aspx

I could not find any reviews on this wine.

Quick Spaghetti Sauce

This recipe has been my life saver for years. I have prepared this dish hundreds of times and every time it gets high marks for delicious. This is a simple tomato based pasta sauce with Spicy Italian Pork Sausage and Mild Turkey Sausage.

I am about to embark on perfecting this recipe. You see, Sunday, I prepared this dish for the 100,000th time. Only this time, I made a minor change to my recipe and the sauce finally was the sauce I always wanted it to be.  It was quick, delicious, did not taste overcooked, but it was thick and it clung to the linguine. This recipe is worth sharing.Keep in mind that this was a special birthday meal I was preparing so of course I wanted perfection.
 
A little background....
I had invited Anne Kelly to spend Sunday with me in celebration of her birthday. I had missed seeing her for her birthday. She graciously accepted. I invited her to spend the day Sunday with me. Even though I had work to do, I knew she would not be lonely at my place.  I was busy Saturday night with a wedding reception at Sangria in Hermosa Beach. www.sangriahermosa.com.
When I got home I found Miss Kelly resting comfortably on my couch surrounded by her Redondo Beach Fan Club.

On Sunday on my way back from the Beach House in Hermosa Beach I ran by the grocery store and picked up:

1. 1 large can of crushed tomato
2. 1 bunch of fresh basil (wash before you use)
3. 1 pound of Sweet Turkey Sausage
4. 1 pound of Spicy Pork Sausage
5. 2 medium shallots
6. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (this should always be in your cupboard if you cook)
7. 1 pound of pasta (get what you like)
8. Salt & pepper to taste (use only Kosher salt when you cook)

I forgot to get red cooking wine. You can not make great tomato based sauce without red wine.

1. Finely chopped the shallots and saute them in 1/4 cup of olive oil over a low flame.  
2.  Squeeze the meat out of the sausage casing into the pan and break the chunks of sausage into smaller pieces. Let the sausage brown. This takes about 5-7 minutes. 
3. Add in the can of crushed tomato, and 1/2 cup of thin sliced basil leaves. stir and let it get hot. 
4. When the sauce is bubbly add in 1/2 cup of Ruby Port (my new secret ingredient). Let the sauce cook for ten minutes.

1. Cook the pasta by following the directions on the package. 
2. Drain the pasta. 
3. Put it into a shallow bowl and toss it with your spoonfuls of the sauce until the pasta is covered in rich, thick tomato sauce. 
4. Garnish with fresh chopped basil and shredded Parmesan. By the way every cooking kitchen should have Parmesan cheese in the refrigerator and Extra Virgin Olive Oil in the cupboard.

 I would suggest that you serve this dish with a Castello di Monsanto Chianti Classico reasonable priced under $15 a bottle. This wine makes the Wine Enthusiast Buying Guide list. I like the pairing of Chianti with this  rich sauce because the fresh fruity quality that the Sangiovese grape adds is just what it needs to balance the spicy sausage flavor with the sweet basil.   This particular Chianti Classico is lighter than most. If you prefer a more concentrated and intense wine try Castelli del Grevepesa.

30 Minute Meals, Seafood Risotto

My kids, friends and roommates will frequently invite me to dine in so that I will contribute. They know I want to, because yes, I love to cook and I am good at it. I know what ingredients to keep in the house so that I can put together a quick meal. There is nothing more pleasant than sitting down to dinner with loved ones.

Just last night we decided after reading the table of contents from 30 Minute Italian by Fran Warde, that we wanted Seafood Risotto for dinner. Admittedly we wanted something special to celebrate the end of final exams and to welcome the holidays and time off. Seafood Risotto was enough out of ordinary to fill the bill.

A quick trip around my tiny kitchen revealed that we had all the necessary ingredients except butter (we use a lot of butter) and of course seafood. Seafood is best when purchased, cooked and eaten all in the same day. The original fast food!

This is not the recipe that was in the book. I used her recipe as a guide line. For Fran Warde’s exact recipe you can consult her book 30 minute Italian, page 46. This recipe serves four, takes 10 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook. I used a non-stick, five quart sauce pan to cook the risotto and a two quart sauce pan to heat the chicken stock. Prep includes getting your pans and your ingredients lined up and ready to use, heating your chicken stock, chopping the shallots, garlic and parsley, and cleaning the seafood.

Here is what you will need to prepare seafood risotto.
1. 4 cups of chicken stock
2. a good pinch of saffron threads
3. 8 tablespoons of butter, plus 2 tablespoons of butter
4. 2 tablespoons of olive oil
5. 2 average sized shallots
6. 1 clove of garlic
7. 10 ounces of Arborio Rice
8. 4 ounces of scallops 20/30 size
9. 4 ounces of shrimp 20/30 size, shell and head off
10. 4 ounces of crab (I use imitation crab)
11. 2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh parsley
12. ¼ of dry white wine
13. 4 ounces of grated Parmesan, plus 1 ounce
14. salt & pepper to taste
Here are your steps to perfect, pillowy Seafood Risotto.
1. Finely chop the shallots and garlic.
2. Heat the stock to a simmer in a medium sauce pan.
3. Wash the scallops
4. Wash the shrimp and remove the tail (if it still there)
5. Melt the butter and then add in the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Keep the heat medium low
6. Add in the finely chopped garlic and shallots and cook them in the butter for 5 minutes. Do not let them brown.
7. Stir in the rice and coat it thoroughly with the butter and shallot mix.
8. Cover the rice with stock and stir. As the stock is absorbed, add more.
9. Set a timer for 10 minutes and stir your rice frequently. The frequent stirring helps to evenly cook the rice.
10. After 10 minutes the rice about half cooked. Keep adding stock and stirring the risotto for another 10 minutes. I always use a timer.
11. Add the seafood and the last cup of stock. Do not stir the mixture. The stock will slowly heat and gently cook the seafood. Set your timer for 5 minutes and make sure the heat is medium low. After five minutes, stir the mixture gently.
12. When the seafood is cooked, turn off the heat and stir in 4 ounces of Parmesan.
13. Take the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and cut it into small pieces and place them in the serving dish.
14. Spoon the rice onto the butter into the serving dish. Add in salt & pepper to taste.
15. Gently stir in the parsley.
16. Sprinkle the risotto with extra ounce of Parmesan.
17. Serve this with a Pinot Grigio or a Sauvignon Blanc and a Caesar Salad.

Pesto alla Genovese

Pesto, or what is commonly called Pesto Genovese is one of the tastiest, easiest, and healthiest dishes you can serve. Preparing pesto takes about 15 minutes. This recipe makes a cup of sauce and that is what you need for one pound of pasta or 5 servings. Yes, a pound of pasta serves five.

Pesto is the classic Ligurian Sauce made with Basil (Liguria (pronounced [liˈgu(ː)rja]) is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and food. Wikipedia ) and it was considered somewhat exotic to my American friends a few years ago. Like all staples in the Italian refrigerator, Pesto is one of them. It is especially available in the summer when basil grows like weeds.

My grandmother made this with a mortar and pestle. I did as well once or twice. The best way to make Pesto is with a food processor.
You will need:

1. 2 cups of fresh basil leaves packed tightly
2. 1/3 cup of pignoli (pine nuts)
3. 1 large clove of garlic peeled
4. ¼ teaspoon of salt
5. ½ cup EVOO
6. 1/3 cup of Grated Parmesan

1. Put the basil, the nuts, the garlic and the salt into the food processor bowl. Let the single blade chop these ingredients for two pulses. Add the oil and blend it. Remove the mixture from the bowl and put it in a mixing bowl, fold in the cheese.
2. Cook the pasta in salted water. Remove and set aside ½ cup of pasta cooking water before you drain the cooked pasta. Note, always time your pasta. Check the package directions and minus 1 minute. Set your timer and check you pasta constantly after the timer is sounded, until the pasta is done to perfection. Perfect pasta is supposed to be cooked al dente and that is a matter of opinion. When the pasta is done to your satisfaction, drain it, toss it with the pesto and use that cooking water to thin out the suace if it is too thick and rich.
3. Serve with warm bread, a ceasar salad and a fruity Italian Wine such as Chianti or Valpolicella Classico. Valpolicella is a light quaffing wine, generally fermented in steel, kept in tanks, and then bottled in the spring, to be drunk on a daily basis. It tends to have a lively bouquet with floral notes and hints of cherry or berry fruits - this is definitely an aromatic wine. On the palate it is light, fruity, and with a pleasant touch of acidity that leaves a clean finish. Not much in the way of tannins. Should be served with first courses -- pasta with meat-based sauces and soups, or vegetable-based entrees. I love this wine, you should try one.