Cook's Illustrated: Macaroni&Cheese and Strawberry Shortcake

[cappuccino]

Mmmm, yummy dinner menu don't you think so? I actually made them a week ago but considering I'm overdue to post about them so here's the thread along with the links to the relevant recipes.

Macaroni & Cheese with ham minus peas

This recipe was absolutely delicious, creamy with plenty of hearty cheese flavors! I picked recipe that includes ham and peas but I couldn't envision a macaroni and cheese dish with peas so I left it out. I just wanted the ham part only.

It's really easy to make though a bit messy, I recommend that you use a saucepot that's larger than the one you'd normally use because the amount of the ingredients at the beginning is deceiving. I promise you, the size of the end product of the recipe will balloon before you know it.

The bread topping and cheeses are absolutely essential to making macaroni & cheese really...well taste like a perfect macaroni & cheese. Monterey Jack cheese's responsible for giving M&C creaminess while cheddar carries most of that yummyilicious popping cheese flavors. Feel free to splurge on the cheddar, that's what I did. I put in at least 12 ounces as opposed to the 8 ounces called for in the recipe. I used Cracker Barrel sharp cheddar and Kraft Monterey Jack for the dish.

The recipe didn't call for but while I was pouring the pasta and cheese sauce into the baking pan, I layered it with grated cheddar, I just put in one layer of the pasta, then the cheese, then rest of the pasta, and finally I grated more cheese on the top before putting on the bread topping.

It was faaaaaaaaabulous I can tell you that. I was starving when I finally brought it out of the oven, this pan of gooey, creamy, cheesy, breadsy heaven incarnated.


Strawberry shortcake

I had two boxes of strawberries in the fridge slowly getting overripe so I was how to eat all of them...ahhh strawberry shortcakes! By coincidence when I logged onto Cook's Illustrated website, they were running a daily special of a strawberry shortcake recipe. Perf!

It was very straightforward, took me only a hour to do it. The resulting shortcakes were so perfect, I'm never ever buying those superstore shortcakes. In contrast to the freshly bakes cakes, the superstore types were spongy, dry, and bland. After I'd assembled the shortcake with the strawberries and whipped cream on a cute retro dish, it looked like it came straight out of a gourmet cooking magazine. It was that perfect I tell ya!


I'm now hungry...I have one more piece of leftover macaroni & cheese in the fridge, I'm off to eat it all

[Crumb]

mmm...cheeeeesssse...

[RevDahlia]

CI's macaroni and cheese is indeed amazing.

[Legs]

Thanks for sharing that, Cappuccino ~ both dishes sound wonderful.