My wife's birthday was yesterday (Saturday) I went to the Penn State / Iowa game with my neighbor-friend and hung out with her bosses' boss, plus his underlings. I had a fantastic time.


She stayed home and had, essentialy, no birthday. She's a good woman (You already knew that, she puts up with me [palm] )

We are having a family dinner Tuesday. I'm cooking, and it's for 15.

I want your absolute best shot in the recipe department within the parameters provided, with the proviso that there can be absolutely no nuts involved (peanuts, etc. including oil- not you, lol)- or shellfish.

This will be very much appreciated. I have a tentative plan, but it would be awesome if you could show me how to alter it. I would, of course , report on the alteration and the results herein. I'm purposely not even telling you of my plan in order to not restrict your "free-wheeling" ideas...

I would personally want to start with a uniquely "Wisconsin" mac and cheese recipe...whattya got? (Iowa [in this instance and all others] is good also- e.g. - I know Wade can cook [grin1] )

I do have an awesome supermarket within two blocks, but I'm essentialy a simple fellow as a cook, ( I'm functional, and can follow direction plus, it [ the supermarket] has a lean towards the Jewish community, and in my my experience, that means "prefab"... nothing wrong with the food, but I want from "scratch"... it's a "thought that counts" thing...

Plus, I don't want any "foodie" bullshit, it's all nuanced, lol

Kev's right- I post in circumloctory fashion, lol... For me, it's a "stream of conciousness' Make any sense?

I used to think I was the bad ass around here. Until I met Wade.

So, I'll keep my mouth shut and let the expert chime in.

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Nice job stealing "circumlocutory" from me, Dave. 😳

I hope your wife has a wonderful birthday! She's a good woman.

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I thought that was Kev that went with it, but upon reflection, there was no way, lol Someday I'm going to teach you how to avoid words like this, but that is decades away, it'll probably be the only thing I can teach you...

Instead of bitchin, gimme your recipe, Non. You too, ZS. Something simple, yet profound, would be ultimately, profound. o:)

(I do appreciate the precise nature of your language, but the audience is approximately 5 here)

I don't know what the hell was going on with that home-schooling, but for planning purposes, I'd do your mom sight- unseen. (That's a major compliment, coupled with my major Marine irreverence- I know you habla, that's just wrong, but it's still a compliment, lol 😝 )

Okay, this is my best mac-n-cheese recipe. I pretty much stole it from a show on the food network ...working from memory and trying to scale for 15...

It sounds a lot more complicated than it is. As long as you get all the cheese grated/crumbled first, it's quite easy.

2 16-oz packages macaroni elbows (or whatever pasta you want to use; I'd probably use mini-penne)
1/2 pound bacon, diced.
1 large onion, diced.
1 stick butter plus a little extra
1/4 to 1/3 cup flour
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard.
4-5 cups whole milk
4 cups whipping cream (aka "heavy cream")
several sprigs fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
two bay leafs (optional)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon coarse ground pepper
Cheese:
Fontina: 2 1/2 cups.
Gruyere: 1 1/2 cups.
Sharp or extra sharp cheddar (think Vermont here, not Kraft): 1 1/2 cups
Blue (yes, this is essential; Danish or Maytag is fine): 1/2 cup.
Parmesan (fresh grated P. Reggiano is best, but anything other than the powdered kind):: 1 1/2 cups
Velvetta (yes, this is essential, too). 1 1/2 cups
Chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley.
Bread crumbs (optional)

Butter your baking dishes. Don't know what you have in this regard, but if I'm cooking for 15, I'd do it in two 9x13 dishes. Preheat oven to 450.

Cook macaroni and drain. Don't overcook, a little extra al dente is better than soggy. Then:
1.In big pot/dutch oven: saute bacon until crisp. Remove bacon and set aside. Drain most of grease as well (leave maybe a strong tablespoon).
2. Add onion and saute until softened. Add butter and melt. Whisk in flour until you have a light brown roux. Whisk in mustard.
3. Add milk and cream, slowly. Whisk constantly.
4. Add thyme, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Lower heat and simmer about 10-15 minutes. Stir often.
5. Reserve about 1/4 cup each of cheddar, fontina, gruyere, and parmesan Stir in rest of cheeses, crisp bacon, and parsley. Some would remove from heat entirely here, but it always takes me longer to get the cheese all melted where I like it, so I leave it on low heat for part of the stir-in.
6. Once all the cheese is mixed, stir in pasta.
7. Put it all in the baking dish(es). Mix together bread crumbs and reserved cheeses, sprinkle on top.
8. Bake about 15-25 minutes until bubbling/golden brown on top.

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Other possibilities for you.

1. Its out of season, but I'd see if I could get some lamb rib chops/rack of lamb, marinate them overnight in olive oil, worcestershire sauce, mint jelly, garlic powder, and a lot of fresh rosemary, and then grill them a minute or two on the grill. (Longer if you do them by the rack instead of by the individual chop.)
2. "Fire and ice" chili. Use 1/2 chunked pork, 1/2 ground sirloin. Fire: "hot" chili beans, green chilies, serranos and/or Jalapenos to your taste. Ice: chunked pineapple and a bit of the pineapple juice. Secret ingredient: a couple good glugs of tequila and some ancho chili powder as a substitute for about 1/2 of whatever you usually use for chili powder.
3. (real simple side): buy some fresh cucumbers. peel about 1/2 of the green skin off, leave the rest for color. Cut in slices about 1/2" thick. Sprinkle well with salt, coarse ground pepper, and a good amount of celery seed. Then sprinkle with either white vinegar or wine vinegar. If want it extra "tart", add more vinegar and let sit as long as you want.
4. (another simple side): Get some good tomatoes. Slice or chunk them as you wish. Add feta cheese, chopped green onions, basil, and balsamic vinegar. Can also add a bit of chopped green bell pepper. Make it extra special, use extra fresh basil.
5. (Another possible entree). Pork loin with bourbon cream sauce. Buy several pork tenderloin roasts (not the pre-marinated ones, though). Marinate a couple hours (or overnight) in worcestershire sauce, garlic, pepper, just a tad of brown sugar, and olive oil. Remove from fridge and bring to room temp. Remove from marinade, reserving marinade, and quickly sear all sides of the loin. (On high heat -- you want some smoke in your kitchen at this point!) Place in baking dish with about 1/4 cup of the marinade, cover, and bake at 375 for about 40 minutes or until internal temp is 135-140. About half way through, add 1/4 cup bourbon to the juice in the baking pan, recover, and return to oven.
5A (sauce for #5) Make about two tablespoons of thickening using equal amounts of corn starch and cold water. Set aside. While pork is cooking, add remaining marinade to drippings in sear pan, and heat. Add about 8 oz of low-salt veal or chicken stock, a tablespoon or so of brown sugar or honey, and at least 1/4 cup of bourbon. Bring almost to boil, then reduce heat to low/med-low and simmer until liquid is reduced by 2/3rds, stirring occasionally to keep from sticking. After removing pork from oven to "rest", stir in about a strong 1/4 cup of cream or half-and-half. Add thickening as necessary and increase heat until sauce bubbles and thickens.

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What is it with PackersHome people and shellfish, anyway? Gee....how do you live without shrimp, crab, lobster, oysters, clams, mussels? Argh.

(p.s., for those who like shellfish, you can kick up the mac and cheese recipe big time by adding lobster or crab. 🙂 )

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Oh, yes, and dessert.

I just tried this today -- I don't bake, but I owed my mother a dessert for her birthday.

Non-baker's tiramisu:

Ingredients.
Tablespoon of coffee (instant granules ok)
1/2 cup of boiling water
Enough ladyfingers to cover a 9 x13 baking pan two or three deep.
16 oz marscapone cheese
carton of whipping cream (pint)
sugar
cocoa powder
kahlua, 1/2 cup
vanilla extract.
1 can Rediwhip.

1. mix coffee, 1 tsp sugar, and boiling water and stir til dissolved (strain if using fresh grounds). Add kahlua
2. beat whipping cream. Add and mix in cheese, 1 Tsp vanilla, and 1 Tsp sugar.
3. Put layer of ladyfingers in pan. Drizzle liquid over them. Add layer of cream/whip cream mixture. Repeat until all ladyfingers and cream mixture are used. (Reserve liquid for cook's imbibing.)
4. Decorate with redi-whip. Sprinkle cocoa on top. Chill in refrigerator.

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Argh...and I forgot the most important part....


Give your wife a happy birthday and a hug from me!

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I am going with that, will cook it with precision to your specs, serve it, and report.