Busy Bakery and Cheesy Bread

Wow! I can’t believe it’s been almost a month since I last posted! Sorry for all of those who anxiously await updates! I know most of you also follow me on Facebook, so you know I’m still alive! HA!

We finally opened the store on August 4. We were originally going to open on August 1, but that got delayed and then in the afternoon of August 3 we were told we’d be opening the next day! What a flurry of activity that created…talk about a bit of stress! But, we survived (barely!) and are now starting to find our footing and get into a routine. Of course, since it has been Ramadan, we have only been open in the evenings. I’m sure once Ramadan is over and we’re open all day we’ll have a bit more adjusting to do again.

The cupcakes have been well received and my staff is adorable. We have lots to learn together about the changes in concept, adjusting to that as well as serving Arabic customers along with the customers that are from all over the world. I’m still adjusting to the structure within the company at large, but also trying to focus on what is best for the store and getting the job done the best way possible. Not always easy, but I’m hoping in the end it will all be worth the personal and professional struggles.

Personally, not much has been going on since I feel like I am either at the store or sleeping…the life of a manager at a new store right?! I did get my temporary license, so I am renting a car a white Nissan Sunny!). That has been such a life-changing event…for the better. Being able to go wherever I want whenever I want without paying for and waiting for a taxi has been great. Of course, this doesn’t mean I’ve ventured too far. The malls/grocery stores still seem to be the places I find myself most often, but I’ve also ventured to the Souq as well. The Souq is an open-air market of sorts. It has a ton of local merchants that sell everything…candy, pets, fabric, jewelry, etc. It also has several restaurants that serve a variety of cuisines.

Camel at the top, Mixed Grill Kebabs and Rice on my plate

One night, a few of us went to dinner at Tajine…the Moroccan restaurant. Most of the food seemed to be standard fare, what you would expect at a Moroccan restaurant such as kebabs, rice and chicken. Much to our surprise, there was also baby camel listed on the menu. We were all intrigued, yet no one wanted to commit to eating it as their main entrée…so we decided to share it and each get our own other entrée as well. I must say, it was a lot better than expected. It was a bit stringy, in a pork or beef roast cooked in a crock-pot kind of way, and it had a gamey or unusual taste to it. No, it didn’t taste like chicken…HA! It was good, but not something I would probably eat often. It had a bit of fat to it as well, which seemed out of place in this land of kebabs. I ended up sticking to my mixed grill entrée mostly and sharing some of the fat from the camel with a stray cat that we named Scavi (short for scavenger). Scavi was my best friend for most of the meal after I fed it just a little bit! This made me miss my boy, Marvin.

Scavi, the Scavenger Cat

After dinner we wandered around the Souq and discovered that if anyone thinks there is a shortage of fabric in the world, we’ve found the hidden stash. Fabrics of all colors and textures seemed to flow from every store in one section of the market. (My mom’s fabric dreams come true…really!) As we wandered further we found the “pet” section and were immediately greeted by these chicks that had been dyed…so sad...we noted that PETA would go crazy in this area. The colored chicks were only a precursor to the dyed birds and bunnies. Luckily, they don’t dye the dogs and cats. We also found the jewelry section of the Souq and the candy section…all good things for this girl though I didn’t actually buy much.

Poor baby chicks :(

They really don't know when to stop dying their pets. :(

One thing I have noticed here is the lack of bread as we know it in the US. Sure they have their naan and rolls seem to be served with dinner a lot, but traditional bread doesn’t seem to be a big staple here as it is in the US. I’m wondering if once we move accommodations (exciting news, I hope!), and we have a stove/oven that really works properly, if I’ll be able to make some of the breads I’ve made in the past. With that thought, I started thinking of one of the breads that mom and I made when I was in California: Chunky Cheesy Bread.

Chunky Cheesy Bread Loaf 

Anyone who knows my eating habits well will tell you that I adore cheese….of just about any kind. I also really enjoy fresh breads, so this recipe was a must try. It was also fairly easy. Mom and I each made a loaf out of the dough and both used slightly different techniques, but both turned out great. It certainly was best warm, but it made for good sandwich bread with salami the next day as well. The recipe comes from the same cookbook I blogged about last post, A Passion for Baking by Marcy Goldman. I’m telling you again, it’s a great book! Give this a try if you want to have cheesy bread goodness in your home!

See how the cheese goes all through the bread...Yumm!

The Recipe: Chunky Cheesy Bread
Source: A Passion for Baking by Marcy Goldman

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups warm water (100-110 degrees)
2 tablespoons rapid-rise yeast
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
2 large eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
5 to 6 cups bread flour

Chunky Cheese Part
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
2 scant cups cubed Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons olive oil or melted butter
1 teaspoon seasoned salt or garlic salt
Sesame seeds

Generously grease two 8x4-inch or two 9x5-inch loaf pans. (This is important to prevent bread from sticking to pan.)

In a mixer bowl, hand-whisk water and yeast together and let stand 2 to 3 minutes to dissolve yeast. Briskly whisk in sugar, salt, mustard, eggs, oil, butter, and half of bread flour and mix. Begin kneading with dough hook on lowest speed 5 to 8 minutes, adding more flour as necessary to make a soft, elastic dough. Form into a ball in mixing bowl, spray lightly with a large clear plastic bag. Let dough rise 30 minutes.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface and gently deflate. Divide dough in half. Press each half into an oval and distribute 1 cup shredded cheese over each. Press in cheese and roll up each section into a jellyroll.

Using a dough cutter or sharp knife, cut each jellyroll into thick slices and then in half—basically odd-sized chunks of dough. Arrange chunks of dough in loafpans. Scatter cubed Cheddar cheese over chunks of dough, drizzle with oil or butter, and scatter on seasoned salt or garlic salt (any gourmet herb mix will also do) and sesame seeds.

Place loaves on a baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise 30-45 minutes until quite puffy.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake until well browned and sizzling and cheese is melted, about 30-45 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing and serving. Serve warm or as a sandwich base.

With Love,
Christina

Random Thoughts, Photos and Recipe: Outstanding French Country Bread

So, as this adventure in Qatar continues, I have some random thoughts about being here, working here and such.

The Beautiful Beach of the Persian Gulf

I’ve gone on and on about how beautiful the water/beaches are here. Yes, the water is turquoise blue, the sand almost white, and the water is warm and salty as you would expect. The views of the water are surprising at times with the absolute beauty. There is also the opulence of some of the places we’ve been. The crystal chandeliers, the gold leaf trim or speck in the walkways. The towers of the downtown Doha area are so interesting and reach to the sky with such a beauty in the way that they seem to defy gravity and involve such ingenuity.

But, right alongside of all that beauty is poverty. The men who work on the towers to build them so beautifully sleep in shacks that don’t have air conditioning or running water. They work in the heat of the day and sometimes into the heat of the night to meet the deadlines set by those who sit in plush offices. The workers only make on average $300 Qatari Riyals a month…that is the equivalent of about $82 US Dollars. They send most of that home to their family in their country of origin. It is sad to see the heartache and tiredness in their eyes. You know they live in such awful conditions yet have such a love for their family that this hard life seems like the best option for them. As they lay specks of gold into the walkways, they simply dream of providing a better life for their family back home. I suppose that, in and of itself, is beautiful, yet heartbreaking at the same time.

Towers Area of Downtown Doha

Another thing that boggles me sometimes is the way that the “locals” feel so entitled. I’ve been told many, many times when working to open the bakery to remember that you can’t tell a customer “no” when they ask for something. They say to remember that if you tell them “no” that they could complain to higher management to get what they want or simply just never set foot into the store again. Can you imagine? I mean, I understand making a request and being disappointed that the store doesn’t offer it (heck, I’ve been lots of places here that don’t serve iced tea, a staple for me in the States!), but to complain to the point of going to higher management because we don’t serve the flavor of juice you want? It’s a challenge to remember that I’m not dealing with the American way of thinking and the way of doing business. The Arab world apparently does not like to confront people directly nor call people out when they are just plain wrong or telling mistruths (note I didn’t say lies…that would be rude!). This creates a culture of a lot of double-talk and going around people to get what you want. The He-said, she-said game is quite maddening at times.

Camel Crossing

They also have a lot of “tomorrows” here. I’ll do it tomorrow can mean that they will actually do it the next day, or it could mean a week (or more!) from now. For this “say what you mean, mean what you say” gal, that is difficult to handle. I always try to explain why something is delayed if I can’t meet a deadline, not just “Oh, I’m working on it, I’ll do it tomorrow.”

Let's think about that tomorrow!

On a happier note, the pubs and clubs here are quite fun! One of the few forms of entertainment that I have indulged in is going out at night to dance and let my hair down so to speak. The places I have gone are normally crowded with a lot of international people…a slice of the United Nations! Most people are very fun and are there to just have a good time. I’ve met some interesting people who are always interested (and some surprised) that I’m from the United States. It seems that not many Americans find their way over here for an extended period of time. I also think it’s great that English is so often spoken and understood by the internationals. I wish I knew at least one other language, as it seems everyone here knows several (yes, I know, that high school Spanish class didn’t quite stick with me all these years later).

Shiny Happy American Gals!

The photo below makes me laugh. It was taken the night that Lindsay and I decided to have Taco Tuesday! We had gone to the store and purchased everything we (thought we) needed to make a great taco night. We started to make dinner and got interrupted by the villa maintenance people who were there to fix our washing machine. After three weeks without the machine we weren’t about to turn them away. Well, three hours later, we were able to finish cooking our meal!! This is when we also discovered that we had a bottle opener, but not a can opener. I wasn’t about to let that fact keep us from our beans, so I started to dig into the can…besides being dangerous, it actually worked out great…we got our beans and had super yummy tacos…just a bit later than expected. We call this photo a testament to American ingenuity…I didn’t get a photo of the strainer we made from an aluminum tray, but we credited that same ingenuity for that invention as well. Oh, and for those that are curious, we bought a can opener and proper strainer the next time we were at the store. Heehee!

American ingenuity at it's finest!

Now for a random recipe. The recipe below was taken from a cookbook by Marcy Goldman called “A Passion for Baking”. This bread recipe was one that my mom and I made while I was in CA waiting to start this Qatari adventure. It looks like it requires a lot, but most of the time is spent waiting for the bread to rise and do its thing. I must say, this bread tastes SO good. If I had the means here, I would try to make this bread every week and use it in place of the stuff we buy at the store. Worth every second of waiting…give it a try (We made one big loaf, but later thought it would have been better as two smaller loaves). The whole cookbook has several recipes that we tried and loved…and several that we just didn’t around to making but look so yummy. I’d recommend the cookbook as well as this bread!!

Outstanding French Country Bread

Recipe: Outstanding French Country Bread
Source: A Passion for Baking by Marcy Goldman

Sponge Starter (8-16 hours ahead)
1 1/2 cups warm water (100-110 degrees)
1/4 teaspoon rapid-rise yeast
1 1/2 cups, approximately, bread flour

Dough
All of sponge starter
1 1/2 cups warm water (100-110 degrees)
1/2 teaspoon rapid-rise yeast
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 3/4 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
4 to 6 cups bread flour

For Sponge Starter, in a small bowl, stir together water and yeast and let yeast dissolve by briskly whisking.

With a whisk or wooden spoon, stir in bread flour to make a thick mixture. It should be like a gloppy pudding. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap (leaving a small air space); let stand at room temperature 8-16 hours.

Stack two baking sheets together and line top sheet with two sheets of parchment paper. If your oven and baking sheets cannot accommodate two breads, prepare another set of sheets to bake second bread (or make one large bread).

To make the bread, stir down starter to deflate it. Spoon it into mixer bowl. Hand-whisk in 1 1/2 cups warm water (100-110 degrees), yeast, oil, salt, sugar, and most of flour. Stir to make a messy mass and then loosely cover bowl and let until dough is smooth and resilient but not tough and bouncy. Remove dough hook and lightly spray dough with nonstick cooking spray. Cover entire mixer and bowl with a large clear plastic bag. Let rise 90 minutes to 2 1/2 hours until dough has doubled.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface and gently deflate. Divide dough in half (or keep it as one large bread); form into two balls.

Gently place balls of dough, seam sides down, on prepared baking sheets. Spray dough with nonstick cooking spray. Cover baking sheets loosely with large clear plastic bag. Let dough rise until puffy (and 50% larger in volume).

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Slash loaves with a sharp knife before baking. Spritz with water and dust with flour. (If dough deflates with you slash it, it rose too much but might recover with oven heat.)

Atomize oven with a few squirts of water and place baking sheets on lower oven rack. Spray oven interior every 5 minutes for the first 15 minutes (Do not spray oven lightbulb!). When 20 minutes remain, reduce heat to 425 degrees to finish baking. Loaf should be well browned after a total of 25-35 minutes. Cool well on a wire rack before slicing. To store, keep in a loosely sealed plastic bag (which softens crust but keeps bread moist) or in a brown paper bag lightly sealed.

With Love,
Christina

3 Weeks Down, 101 To Go…and a Recipe for Strawberry Summer Cake

Happy Independence Day Americans! July 4th has always been one of my favorite holidays. As Americans we give ourselves permission to get outside in the sunshine, go to the pool, lake or other body of water, wear our swimsuits all weekend, have summer foods such as hot dogs and homemade ice cream all while enjoying time with friends and family. To top it all off, we watch the grand fireworks displays and go “Ohhh, ahhh, so pretty!” Good stuff all around.

This July 4th, since I’m living in a foreign land, I wasn’t sure how this holiday would be celebrated, if at all. Lindsay and I had tossed about the idea of hosting a party with all-American foods, but that seemed to fizzle a bit since we really didn’t get a good head start on the planning. As the weekend approached, we ended up making plans to go out to a nightclub one night and then to spend the night on the beach the next night.

The nightclub was fun, but really, not very July 4th inspired. People here dance and drink too much just like they do in America, but there are also all kinds of social rules that make things a bit more interesting. Not to mention the fact that since most of the people don’t seem to speak really great English, when you’re yelling over the music it’s twice as hard to have a decent conversation…things get lost in translation or just aren’t understood at all.

Personally, I was looking forward to the beach. I was anticipating swimming in the warm waters of the Persian Gulf in the dark, laying under the stars on my new beach towel and just having a good time with my new friends. We did all that, and it was a great night, but the real treat came when someone down the beach from us shot off some fireworks. Yes, this American girl who seems to miss home a bit too much at times, got to see fireworks for July 4th weekend. Granted, it was only 5-6 fireworks, shot one at a time, but it made me so content and happy to know that even in this land, far away, I was able to experience a bit of an American tradition. To know that not everything would be have to be sacrificed for this experience, that there would be glimpses of home even in the desert, made me a bit giddy inside. I watched each one wide-eyed with a huge grin on my face.

In honor of the weekend and home, I’m posting a recipe that I made while I was home in California, waiting for this adventure to begin. It’s a super yummy Strawberry Summer Cake from Smitten Kitchen. I made this one day after going to the farmer’s market with my mom. We bought the sweetest, early season strawberries! I adore strawberries and I didn’t want any of them to go to waste, so after I ate some, covered some in chocolate and still had some leftover I searched for a recipe that would let the strawberries shine. Smitten Kitchen has never disappointed me, so I went with her recipe.

The results were great! The cake was light and moist, yet let the warm strawberries shine as the star. It was best when slightly warm and topped with a dollop of whipped cream. But who am I kidding, it was also great direct from the pan the next day too. It would be a great pot-luck recipe because it can be made ahead of time, uses “normal” ingredients, keeps really well and is easy to serve (not messy).

Give this one a try…If fruit wasn’t so expensive here and our oven wasn’t on the fritz, I may have just tried to make this one for the beach…then again, our peaches and grapes from Tunisia were pretty good all on their own.

Strawberry Summer Cake

A slice of Strawberry Summer Cake

Enjoy the holiday my American friends!

Recipe: Strawberry Summer Cake
Source: Smitten Kitchen

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for pie plate
1 1/2 cups (188 grams) all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 cup (200 grams) plus 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup (118 ml) milk
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
1 pound (450 grams) strawberries, hulled and halved

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 10-inch pie pan or 9-inch deep-dish pie pan (what I used). I did not test this with a standard 9-inch pie plate but looking at the margin of space leftover in my deep-dish pan after baking the cake, I suspect you’d be safe. This cake would also work in a 9- or 10-inch springform or cake pan. The 10-inch would make a thinner cake than pictured.

Whisk flour or flours, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, beat butter and 1 cup sugar until pale and fluffy with an electric mixer, about 3 minutes. Mix in egg, milk and vanilla until just combined. Add dry mixture gradually, mixing until just smooth.

Pour into prepared pie plate. Arrange strawberries, cut side down, on top of batter, as closely as possible in a single layer (though I had to overlap a few to get them all in). Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons sugar over berries.

Bake cake for 10 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 325°F and bake cake until golden brown and a tester comes out free of wet batter, about 50 minutes to 60 minutes. (Gooey strawberries on the tester are a given.) Let cool in pan on a rack. Cut into wedges. Serve with lightly whipped cream.

With Love,
Christina

Quick Photo Post from Qatar

Here are some photos of my first two weeks in Qatar! We have been busy doing things to get ready for the store opening as well as just getting our bearings on where things are. Highlights so far have been the tasting for the Sheikh, meeting a ton of people from all over the world and experiencing some different cultures. I'll try to write more soon...but the internet isn't always reliable!

Aspire Park...the home of the Asian Games and future home of the World Cup 2022!

Our store!

The air-conditioned bird towers...really, they are air-conditioned inside!

This is how we displayed our cupcakes for the Sheikh!

My bedroom with touches of home

My entrance area and vanity area (you can also see into the bathroom!)

My bathroom

My built in stairmaster...that would be 50 marble steps up to my bedroom.

Our kitchen/laundry room

The beach at Katara looking towards the InterContinental Hotel

A decorative fishing boat at the Katara beach

The ampitheatre at Katara

My morning and afternoon treat...brought to me each day without asking.

Our first "regional" meal. We went to Mamig at Katara. It is a Lebanese restuaruant.

With Love,

Christina

Qatar Adventure Begins!

Welcome to reading Shaking N Baking from Doha, Qatar! I arrived on Saturday, June 11in the early evening after a 20 hour travel adventure from California!

The flight from Washington, DC to Doha was on Qatar Airways and I must say….WOW! Qatar Air really knows how to have their passengers travel in style (even us economy travelers). The seats are spacious, food was good, included a mid-flight service of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream even! I was trying to adjust to Doha time so I stayed awake for the entire 12 hour flight and caught up on several movies (4 to be exact!). The flight attendants were cute young men that were incredibly polite and more like waiters in a high-class restaurant with their customer service attitude. The guy that was waiting on my section of the plane even took time to chat with me about the dinner selections, my reasons for traveling and our new store…even promised to visit because “there aren’t really any good cupcakes in Doha now.”

The culture was immediately noticed upon stepping off the plane. The men in thobes and women in abayas were everywhere in the airport. Going through immigrations was a breeze. I found it a bit funny that the woman processing my visa asked me about having a husband three times…asking me if I was traveling with my husband (no, just me), when he would be joining me (I don’t have a husband), and then telling me that I should have brought my husband with me (I would have if I had one!). This exchange was quite a “Welcome to Qatar, you’re a woman” experience, yet in a sweet way.

We (meaning Lindsay and I) found the people that were waiting for us at the airport after gathering our luggage and just a bit of a wait (our plane was a bit early)…and being oogled at by the male drivers waiting for others. We both felt a little uncomfortable with all the stares, but tried not to let it affect our excitement. The people that brought us to our villa are all very sweet and kind people….fast friends!

We were shown our new home, and assigned our rooms. I’m on the top/third floor. 50 marble steps lead to my room….built in stair-master! I’m also on the same level as our rooftop terrace. It’s quite nice and our villa, while not as good in some things (the internet connection is poor), is great in others. The best news so far has been that the air conditioner in our villa works great! It runs almost 24 hours a day! I’m still adjusting and trying to figure out where I want to put everything and how everything works. (What is that hose next to the toilet and how does it work!?)

After a bit of a slight panic about my carry-on luggage (being left in our driver’s car, but fairly quickly returned), we unpacked a bit but then went to bed. I had heard my first Muslim call to prayer, breathed my first dust-filled breaths and exclaimed with joy just how blessed I am to be here in Doha.

More soon…including some photos!

With Love,
Christina

Classic Goodie: Seven Layer Magic Bars

There was a time in my life that I worked with church youth groups and was asked to not watch rated-R movies since our youth could not watch them and they typically expose us to themes that are not the best for our minds. This time period produced some great movies that people often will reference in conversation. People are shocked that I have not seen some of these “classics.”

Awhile back, a good friend sent me an odd text message that turned out to be just such a reference to a movie that I had not seen. He was surprised that I didn’t understand the reference and when I told him why he suggested that we start to meet up and “catch me up” on some of these classics. The deal was that I would bake with him (teach him how to make some of the classic goodies) and then we would watch a classic movie.

This turned into a weekly treat for both of us as we worked our way through goodies and movies. We made chocolate chip cookies twice and then we made these seven-layer magic bars. I’d never made them before, but the recipe looked very easy, and it was even on the can of sweetened condensed milk!

The bars are made by simply layering the ingredients into a pan and baking. We took the easy way and ground the graham crackers in my food processor and using pre-chopped nuts. This recipe felt very semi-homemade to me. Not much true baking skill is required. It would be a great recipe to quickly pull together to take to a potluck or party. The only downside for me is that it includes coconut. Had I been making it for myself, I would have probably omitted it and said six-layers were enough…but since these were a childhood favorite for my friend, we stuck to the recipe and he took home all of the leftovers!

He said that they were perfectly delicious and just as he remembered having as a child….so I call that a success! Give them a try!

Oh, by the way, we watched Shawshank Redemption, Silence of the Lambs and The Green Mile. So, what movies are on your classic “must-see” list? Let me know in the comments!

Recipe: Seven-Layer Magic Bars
Source: Eagle Brand

Ingredients
Non-Stick Cooking Spray
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 (14 oz.) can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 cup (6 oz.) butterscotch-flavored chips
1 cup (6 oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped nuts

Instructions
HEAT oven 350°F. Spray 13 x 9-inch baking pan with no-stick cooking spray.

COMBINE graham cracker crumbs and butter; mix well. Press crumb mixture firmly into bottom of
prepared pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with remaining ingredients; press down firmly with fork.

BAKE 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Loosen from sides of pan while still warm; cool on wire rack. Cut into bars or diamonds.

For perfectly cut cookie bars, line entire pan with foil, extending foil over edge of pan. Coat lightly with no-stick cooking spray. After bars have baked and cooled, lift up by edges of foil to remove from pan. Cut into individual bars.

With Love,
Christina

Comfort Food: Mac ‘n Cheese

I think most of us have a food from our childhood that we would consider a comfort food. For me chocolate chip cookies, mom’s meatloaf with mashed potatoes and the cheap pot pies seem to rank towards to top of my list. One food though really seems to always evoke a childlike comfort more than any other…Mac ‘n Cheese.

Growing up a latch-key kid there weren’t many things that my sister and I could cook alone during the summers or after school. We ate a lot of snack food and things that simply required us to boil water. Hot dogs were great, but mac ‘n cheese was my preferred choice. To this day, seeing the blue box of Kraft takes me back to those summer days lounging in front of the tv (Is it no wonder the battle of the bulge hit me as a kid?!)

With all of the changes going on in my life right now (Qatar has been delayed...maybe up to 2 months!), I started to crave comfort foods. I decided that instead of turning to the ever reliable blue box of Kraft, I would try to expand the comfort food horizon and see if I could find a new version of the delightful pasta and cheese treat. With the recent food truck craze in DC it wasn’t too hard to find one that served mac ‘n cheese. CapMac (http://www.capmacdc.com/) is a mac ‘n cheese lover’s dreams come true. They serve several kinds of macaroni covered in cheese or other sauces, but my taste buds delighted in what they call “Balls Out.” It is their version of mac ‘n cheese with chicken meatballs garnished with crushed Cheez-its. Nirvana! It was so creamy and filling, certainly satisfies the comfort food craving. The only downside is the cost…eating from a DC food truck isn’t cheap! So my quest continued.

I decided that it couldn’t be that difficult to make mac ‘n cheese from scratch at home, and thought I'd try to bake it rather than do a stovetop version. I searched the internet and found the recipe below. It came together easily and was tasty. It’s not perfect…It wasn’t as creamy as I’d hoped for, but I’m sure it could be adapted just a bit to be pure perfection. I liked that this recipe didn’t try to get too fancy. There are a ton of recipes out there that add all kinds of things to the basic mac ‘n cheese. Heck, I was tempted to try adding in some crispy bacon, but wanted to find a good basic recipe before I started to experiment.

Give this one a try. It hit the spot and was just as easy as making mac ‘n cheese from the blue box. It was also easy to reheat and eat as leftovers for a few days.

By the way, what are your comfort foods? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Recipe: Mac ‘n Cheese
From: Very Best Baking

Ingredients
1 2/3 cups (about 7 oz.) dry small elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 can (12 fl. oz.) evaporated milk
1 cup water
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided

Directions
PREHEAT oven to 375° F. Grease 2-quart casserole dish.

COMBINE cornstarch, salt, mustard and pepper in medium saucepan. Stir in evaporated milk, water, and butter. Cook over medium-heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in 1½ cups cheese until melted. Add macaroni; mix well. Pour into prepared casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.

BAKE for 20 to 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and light brown.

With Love,
Christina