House Special Mac N' Cheese with Broccoli

One Perfect Bite was featured in the Sunday Brunch Segment of Amuse Bouche, the blog associated with the magazine Where Women Cook. It you're interested, the feature can be seen here.




From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This recipe was written for a competition that's disappeared from the radar. When the economy went south, some cooking contests were discontinued and the prize structures of others were drastically changed. A lot of us have recipes sitting in limbo as a result. This is one of my captives. The dish is a favorite of Bob's and he asked me to make it for dinner one night this week. I honestly had forgotten how good it is, but when I made it tonight I knew I'd have to share the recipe with you. It would be a perfect dish for Meatless Monday. It really is not hard to do and if you like macaroni and cheese with a twist, I really think you'll enjoy this. The dish is a combination of two old favorites, one is a cheesy broccoli soup and the other, of course, is a creamy mac n' cheese. While it bakes in the oven and forms a crust, this remains a creamy, rather than dry, mac n' cheese. That will be off putting to some, but I hope most of you will take a look at the recipe and give it a try. This is very straight forward dish and I have no cautions regarding its construction. If you like macaroni, cheese and broccoli, you're in for a taste treat. Here's the recipe for my house macaroni special.

House Special Mac N' Cheese with Broccoli...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1/2 cup finely diced carrot
1/4 cup flour
3 cups milk, divided use
1 pound fresh broccoli florets cut into small pieces
1 cup heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
8 ounces Colby cheese, shredded
4 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
8 ounces small elbow macaroni
Topping
3 tablespoons panko bread crumbs
6 tablespoons grated cheddar cheese

Directions:
1) Add water to a large pot and set to boil. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a large gratin dish (9 x 13-inch) or 6 individual casserole dishes. Set aside.
2) Melt butter in a large saucepan set over medium heat. Add onions and carrots and saute until vegetables are tender, about 5 to 6 minutes.
3) Meanwhile, bring 2 cups milk to a simmer. Add broccoli and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Break broccoli into small pieces with a spoon.
4) Add flour to carrot and onion mixture and cook for 2 minutes without allowing it to brown. Slowly whisk in reserved 1 cup milk. Whisk in cream. Add milk and broccoli to sauce. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
5) Add garlic powder, salt, pepper and both cheeses to sauce and stir until cheese has melted. Reduce heat and keep warm.
6) Add macaroni to boiling water and cook until just tender. Drain and add to sauce mixture. Transfer to gratin dish or individual casseroles. Top with breadcrumbs and cheese.
7) Bake until bubbling and cheese is melted, about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately. Yield: 6 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Stove Top Mac and Cheese - I'll Have What She's Having
Crock-Pot Mac N'Cheese - Cookistry
Spinach Macaroni and Cheese - The Recipe Girl
Baked Macaroni and Pimento Cheese - Drick's Rambling Cafe
Beefed Up Mac and Cheese - Real Mom Kitchen
Baked Macaroni and Cheese - The Galley Kitchen
Three Cheese Baked Macaroni - Culinary in the Country
Parmesan Macaroni and Cheese - Coconut and Lime
Bacon, Macaroni and Cheese - Our Life in the Kitchen
Green Chili Macaroni and Cheese - Vino Luci Style
Crab Mac and Cheese - Closet Cooking
Truffle Macaroni and Cheese - Life's Ambrosia
Pumpkin Macaroni and Cheese - Squirrel Bakes
Truffled Mac N' Cheese - One Perfect Bite
Game Day Chili Mac Skillet - One Perfect Bite
Goat Herder's Mac N' Cheese - One Perfect Bite

This post is being lined to Meatless Monday's at My Sweet and Savory

Chilled Spring Pea Soup with Garlic Cream and Bacon

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This lovely soup was originally created by Daniel Boulud, but has been made more kitchen friendly by recipe developers at Food and Wine magazine. They have labeled it a staff favorite. Their simplified version of the soup can be made in less that an hour, and those of you who entertain will be pleased to know it can be made up to 48 hours before serving. I've made modest changes to the recipe and added a cup of whole milk and half a lemon to the ingredient list. I found the pureed soup to be very thick and fell back on French technique to lighten and brighten it. While I used milk, additional chicken stock could also be used. Like all chilled soups, this one will need more salt than you might suspect. Start with a teaspoon of kosher salt and move forward in small increments until it tastes right to you. While I suspect the pros use white pepper, I've found a 1/4 teaspoon of the black stuff works perfectly well. The garlic cream is what makes this soup really special. While it is used as a garnish, it adds surprising flavor and color contrast to the soup. This is a lovely soup and I plan to serve it as a first course for our Easter feast. It will bring a perfect touch of spring to my table. Without further ado, here's the recipe.

Chilled Spring Pea Soup with Garlic Cream and Bacon...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, courtesy of of Daniel Boulud and Food and Wine magazine

Ingredients:
8 slices of bacon
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 celery ribs, thinly sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 leek, white and tender green parts only, thinly sliced
5 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
Two 4-inch rosemary sprigs
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
1/2 pound sugar snap peas, thinly sliced
Two 10-ounce boxes frozen baby peas
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 cup whole milk
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup heavy cream
1 clove, minced


Directions:
1) In a medium soup pot, cook bacon over moderate heat until browned and crisp, about 6 minutes. Transfer bacon to a plate. Pour off the fat in pot.
2) In same pot, heat olive oil. Add celery, onion and leek and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned, about 7 minutes. Add chicken stock, 4 slices of cooked bacon, 1 rosemary sprig and a pinch each of salt and white pepper. Simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 15 minutes. Discard bacon and rosemary. Using a slotted spoon, transfer vegetables to a blender.
3) Meanwhile, bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add sugar snaps and cook for 3 minutes. Add frozen baby peas and parsley and cook just until heated through, about 1 minute; drain. Add sugar snaps, baby peas and parsley to blender and puree until smooth, adding a few tablespoons of broth to loosen mixture. Transfer soup and remaining broth to a large bowl set in a larger bowl of ice water to cool. Add lemon juice . If soup is too thick, thin with milk until desired consistency is reached.
4) In a small saucepan, bring heavy cream, garlic and remaining rosemary sprig to a boil. Simmer over low heat until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Strain garlic cream into a bowl and let cool.
5) Ladle the chilled pea soup into bowls and drizzle with garlic cream. Crumble remaining 4 slices of bacon into each bowl and serve. Yield: 6 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Chilled Lemon Cucumber and Fresh Pea Soup - Tartelette
Fresh Pea Soup - The Local Cook
Lemon Minted Fresh Pea Soup - Sticks Forks Fingers
Cafe Boulud's Chilled Fresh Pea Soup - Lindaraxa
Fresh Pea and Fennel Soup with Mint - Patty's Food
Fast and Fresh Pea Soup - The Cooking Photographer
Fresh Green Pea Soup - Sea Salt with Food
Easy Peasy Pea and Mint Soup - A Foodie Lives Here
Spring Pea Soup - Tiny Urban Kitchen
Fresh Pea Soup with Parmesan Croutons - The Simple Skillet

Zuppa di Finocchio - Creamy Fennel Soup

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I'm still able to buy fennel very cheaply. Last weekend I bought several large bulbs to try an idea I'd been mulling over. I wanted to make a creamy fennel soup that had an unmistakably anise flavor, but had the same grainy texture as a properly made potato soup. How hard could it be? I set to work and did the requisite dicing and slicing and had my pot on the stove in 30 minutes. In addition to fennel, the pot contain a large potato to help with thickening, some celery and, most importantly, finely ground caraway seeds to boost the anise flavor. I let the contents of the pot simmer for about an hour, then pureed the contents of the pot using an immersion blender. I thinned the soup with light cream, garnished it with fennel fronds and served it warm with seeded rye croutons. It was really good and I'll definitely be making it again. I gave it an Italian name to give it more panache. I thought some of you might enjoy the recipe. Here's how it's made.

Zuppa di Finocchio - Creamy Fennel Soup...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 large fennel bulbs, trimmed, cored and coarsely chopped
1 (8 to 12-oz.) large Idaho potato, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 large celery stalk, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/2 to 1 teaspoon teaspoon pulverized caraway seeds
4 cups low-sodium Chicken broth
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup light cream
Garnish: fennel fronds

Directions:
1) Heat olive oil in a large (4 to 5-quart) pan. Add fennel, potato, celery, and garlic. Cover pan, reduce heat, and sweat vegetables until soft but not brown, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add pulverized caraway seed, chicken broth, bay leaf and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer, partially covered, for 50 minutes. Remove bay leaf
2) Puree soup with an immersion blender. Strain soup if desired. Ladle into bowls and garnish with fennel fronds. Serve with seeded rye croutons. Yield: 5 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Mussels in Fennel Cream Sauce - Blissful Bites
Fennel, Olive and Orange Salad - The Creative Pot
Fennel Roasted Carrots - Handle the Heat
Apple Fennel Salad - Jenny Learns to Cook
Bouillabaise de Poulet - One Perfect Bite
Raw Beet and Fennel Salad - For the Love of Food