Cory's Mac N Cheese - Home Cooked Recipe #74

I was watching the Cooking Channel recently and Tia Mowry was cooking with her husband Cory.  He made this AMAZING looking mac n cheese and I just knew I had to make it.  I only made one swap from the original recipe, and that was to trade the cream of mushroom soup for cheddar soup (I use Campbell's condensed).  Also, I do not put olive oil in my pasta cooking water, but you can do that if it makes you happy. It came out soooooooo good... This will be my go-to mac n cheese recipe from now on.  You can find the original recipe HERE.  Trust me, it's a LOT of cheese but it is worth it.

Cory's Mac And Cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 stick butter
• 32 oz block cheddar cheese, cubed (you may have to get 4 8oz or 2 16oz)
• salt
• 1 egg
• 16 oz elbow macaroni
• 1 can condensed cheddar soup (or cream of mushroom)
• 1/2 can evaporated milk
• 6 oz sour cream
• 8 oz shredded cheddar
• 1 cup crumbled butter crackers (I used Ritz)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375.
Cook elbow macaroni according to package directions.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large pan over LOW heat.  Add cubed cheddar and stir constantly until cheese is melted and mixture is creamy.  Add egg.  Once pasta is finished cooking, stir cheese/butter/egg in to pasta.  Add in soup, milk, and sour cream.  Stir well.  Fold in half the butter crackers. Put half of pasta in a greased baking dish (9x13).  Sprinkle on half of the shredded cheddar.  Pour on remaining pasta.  Sprinkle with remaining cheddar and the rest of the butter crackers (I like to spray the top with a bit of cooking spray).  Bake for 40 minutes.
Enjoy!

Mom's Mac N Cheese - Home Cooked Recipe 32

One of my favorite dishes from my childhood is the macaroni and cheese my mom used to make. When I moved out on my own, it was one of the first recipes I asked her to send me. It is very simple to make, and I've gotten many compliments on it. As with almost every recipe I make, I have made a few small adjustments to suit my taste. Recipes are merely a guide, you should always adjust them to your own specific tastes.
Mom's Mac N Cheese
Ingredients:
16oz elbow macaroni
2 cans Campbell's Cheddar Cheese soup
Milk (fill 1 of the empty soup cans with milk)
16oz grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup breadcrumbs (my mom used regular breadcrumbs, I now like using panko breadcrumbs that I've crushed with a rolling pin)
1 small onion, finely diced
1 stick butter
1/2 tsp ground mustard
Salt & Pepper to taste (I like LOTS of pepper!)
Dash of cayenne
Dash of smoked paprika

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Cook elbow macaroni in salted, boiling water for 10 mins. You don't want to overcook your macaroni because it will continue cooking in the cheese sauce while baking. While macaroni is cooking, melt butter in large sauté pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. When onions are soft season with mustard, cayenne, paprika, salt, and pepper. Turn heat to low and then add both cans of soup and 1 can of milk. Whisk together well. Drain macaroni. Add back into pot. Stir in cheese soup mixture. Add half of grated cheddar and stir well. Grease baking dish (with butter or cooking spray). Pour macaroni into baking dish. Top with other half of grated cheddar. Mix breadcrumbs with 1 tablespoon of melted butter then sprinkle over cheese. Bake for 30 minutes.
Enjoy!

Food Truck Adventures 5 - Gastro Truck

The Gastro Truck in Orlando is a truck full of cheesy goodness!  In continuing my quest to eat at all of Orlando's food trucks, on Friday September 9, 2011 I visited the Gastro Truck.  Through their twitter account, @GastroTina, I heard that they would be parked at the Better Business Bureau office in Longwood, FL for lunch.  I didn't have a lunch plan, so I made that my lunch plan.
I arrived at the truck at 12:45pm.  I knew they'd be closing up at 1pm so I was just in time.  I had planned to order a Cuban Done Right for my companion, and a full order of the Mac & Cheese for myself.  However, they were out of the Mac & Cheese!  I was bummed, but realized this was my fault since I hadn't gotten there til the last minute.  I ordered the Cuban Done Right as planned, but in a panic, ordered a plain grilled cheese instead of ordering one of the other sandwiches. 
While waiting for my food to be cooked, I overheard a couple of people talking and one of them mentioned that the Cuban Done Right was the best Cuban sandwich they'd ever had.  I took this as a good sign that lunch would be worth the wait. 
When you order the grilled cheese, you have a choice of cheese and bread.  I chose to have my bread as brioche, and chose cheddar as my cheese.  It was a good grilled cheese.  Nothing special, but that was my own fault since I didn't give enough thought to making my sandwich more interesting.  The bread was delicious, and the cheddar had that sharp tang that I love.
The Cuban Done Right might be amazing because it has pork belly.  Or it could be the homemade pickles, or the delightful mojo mayo they put on it.  But let's be honest, with those ingredients and the addition of ham, muenster cheese, a brioche bun, plus a side of spicy honey mustard, the sandwich has all the makings to be a great lunch.
One of the cool things while I was waiting to get my food was that they had samples of their Apples & Biscoff.  Biscoff is a spread similar to peanut butter, but made with Biscoff cookies.  It was yummy.
The Gastro Truck also offers a Pork Belly Grilled Cheese (which I would have gotten had I not tripped myself up - I will get it next time!) as well as a sandwich they call Apple Harvest.  The Apple Harvest has apples, cheddar and honey.  But I'll talk about that more when I tell you about my trip to my second Food Truck Bazaar at the Oviedo Mall. 
Also, as a side note, I finally got to try the Mac & Cheese from the Gastro Truck at my second adventure to the Food Truck Bazaar.
The Mac & Cheese at Gastro Truck comes in two sizes, a full order and a half order.  This truck also carries desserts, the Apples & Biscoff being one, and S'mores Cookie Bars being the other.  Their beverage selection includes Pom-Berry Lemonade, Peach-Mango Tea, bottled water, and a variety of sodas (including cream soda, which I love!).  My Food Truck Bazaar companion ordered the Peach-Mango tea and we'll talk about that more later.
The prices at the Gastro Truck are fairly reasonable.  And the woman who was taking orders outside the truck was very nice, and thanked everyone by name for eating there.  The wait for the food to be done both times was a little longer than I normally like, but I've come to expect that at food trucks, especially at the bigger gatherings. 
For more information, definitely check out the Gastro Truck's website at http://www.gastro-truck.com/index.html.  And go eat there!!!  They show up at many of the food truck gatherings, and are usually out at least once a week for a lunch service.