Category Archives: pastas, nuts, and grains

Apr 10 2 comments
pastas, nuts, and grains, the picnic series

Lori’s Sesame Pasta Salad

Long time blog readers will remember my Aunt Lori.  She won the first (and only) recipe contest we held for Biscuits and Such’s first blogoversary.  Full disclosure: it was a blind judging (and I was not a judge).  Her coca-cola cake wowed everyone.  Aunt Lori is the wife of my father’s only brother, my Uncle Kevin, and the mother of my two hilarious cousins, Charlie and Anna.  The “other Rosemonds” (as they are commonly referred to in our house) are some of the closest family members we have.  Aunt Lori and Uncle Kevin have always been there, listening, supporting, and loving us.  They’re the best kind of family to have.

This recipe is from the 1986 Durham Junior League’s cookbook Even More Special.  And I have to say, for a recipe as old as I am, it was completely spot on.  I’m not always a fan of pasta salads that are heavily mayo-based, they can often feel too heavy and inappropriate for spring and summer outings.  This, in comparison, was perfect.  It was light, refreshing, flavorful, and completely packed with fresh vegetables.  I love a pasta dish that can feel healthy and heavenly at the same time.  I will be adding this one to my picnic repertoire, you can count on that.

Anna cannon-balling it at the Rosemond family Reunion, 2009

Charlie, Anna, & Petey

From Left: Aunt Lori, my mom, Cathy, and Aunt Jill

Dance Festival Favorite Pasta Salad
Adapted from the 1986 Durham Junior League Cookbook Even More Special

1 pound fusili or twisted pasta, cooked

4 tbsp fiery toasted sesame oil

4 chicken breasts

1/8 cup sesame seeds

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup sesame oil

1/3 cup rice wine vinegar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 bunch green onions, sliced

1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1 cup sprouts

1/2 red onion, diced

6 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped

Cook your chicken in 2 tbsp fiery sesame oil.  Chop and set aside.

Toast sesame seeds in 1 tbsp fiery sesame oil.  Set aside.

Boil your pasta in salted water with 1 tbsp fiery sesame oil.  Drain and rinse with cold water.

Toss chicken, pasta, and sesame seeds in canola oil, sesame oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper.  Chill for 6 hours.

Prepare and stir in the vegetables before serving.

 

Oct 12 2 comments
beans, slaws, quiches, mashers, and casseroles, pastas, nuts, and grains

Deluxe Mac & Cheese

I’m going to start this post by apologizing.  I have no process photos to offer.  This weekend was a hot mess.  Our building’s hot water heater broke Friday and so all weekend I was well… dirty.  And grumpy.  Sunday we were planning on going to Northern Virginia to meet our new niece Amelie and see her (always wonderful) big sister Meredith and their parents, Megan and John.  Because we were dirty (and unkempt) I scheduled haircuts in Takoma Park with our favorite hair stylist and planned on getting shampooed and trimmed on our way south.  Sunday morning was a whirlwind of cooking and baking for the new parents and their family- enchilada casserole, eggplant lasagna, crispy marshmallow bars, and this amazing bacon-laden mac and cheese.  Needless to say between the cooking and the inability to properly wash the dishes I was using, I didn’t take any pictures.  I’m sorry.

photo by John Turcotte

This is Amelie.  She’s adorable and sweet and makes very, very cute faces.  We absolutely love being Aunt and Uncle to her big sister and we can only imagine that Amelie will be as much of a delight as Meredith.  Welcome to the family, little one!

photo by John Turcotte

Deluxe Mac & Cheese

1 lb macaroni or shells

1 lb bacon

1 tbsp butter

3 shallots

3 cups porcini mushrooms

2 cloves garlic

1 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 cup extra sharp white cheddar cheese

1/2 cup gruyère cheese

3 cups milk

2 tbsp flour

1 cup heavy cream

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp salt

1/2 stick butter

Boil macaroni.  Set aside.  Cook bacon.  Set aside.  Slice shallots and mushrooms, mince garlic.

Remove all but 2 tbsp bacon grease from the pan.  Add 1 tbsp butter.  Add shallots and mushrooms to pan.  Cook over medium low heat until caramelized.  Remove.  Add mushrooms to the pan and, if necessary, a touch more butter.  While those are cooking, grate your cheese and chop your bacon.

Remove the mushrooms from the pan when browned.  Stir together mushrooms, shallots, garlic, and chopped bacon.

In a medium pot heat milk and cream.  Be careful that it doesn’t get too hot, the milk could curdle.  When it is hot, set aside.

In the same pot, melt 1/2 stick of butter.  Whisk in flour and continue whisking to prevent clumps.  Stir the milk mixture back in and add 3/4 of the grated cheese.  Stir until cheese has melted.  Remove from heat and add lemon juice, paprika, and salt.  Stir the bacon mixture into the pasta.  Place in a casserole dish.  Ladle the cream mixture over the pasta.  Stir once to make sure it is evenly coated.  Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.  Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

May 02 7 comments
cookies, cakes, tortes and cupcakes, pastas, nuts, and grains

Dark Chocolate Coconut Granola Bars

Despite the fact that a large portion of my time (and energy) is dedicated to the art of food, I’m not always a good eater.  And although I’m dedicated to putting a healthy and well balanced meal on the table every evening (except for days when I fry something, or when we order Chinese because my head hurts), I don’t always carry that policy through for the other meals of the day.  The thing is that unless I’m eating breakfast and lunch at home, I usually forget to consider them.  I don’t consider them at the grocery store, I don’t consider them the night before, and I absolutely don’t consider them as I’m running out the door in the morning, heavily processed low fat granola bar in hand.

I know, it’s awful.  Two bad-for-me-granola-bars does not a healthy lunch make.  The thing is, I pretty much always hate sandwiches and buying snacks means cutting other grocery bill corners, and I’d rather eat local organic kale for dinner one night, you know?  Unfortunately (for the kale), Dan does not share my opinion, and has loudly expressed that it is his job to take care of me and that I’m making it very hard for him by not eating properly.  And because it’s a recession and I don’t want him to lose his job, I’ve decided to try harder.  I’m a great employer, obviously.

And I really have been trying harder.  Making exciting bread so that sandwiches are delicious and not boring.  Making flatbread and hummus to snack on throughout the day.  Remembering to grab a ramp biscuit out of the freezer before I start getting dressed in the morning.  Baby steps to maturity, you could say.  Today, I took it up a notch by trying to replicate my favorite (but oh so expensive) granola bar, the Kashi Dark Chocolate Coconut.  It’s exactly what it sounds like, and heavenly.  They are delicious, fairly good for you, easy, and I know I’ll go out of my way to grab one tomorrow morning.

Dark Chocolate Coconut Granola Bars

2 cups oats

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup coconut

1/4 cup wheat germ

1/2 cup honey

1/3 cup brown sugar

Pinch of salt

2 cups dark chocolate

4 tbsp coconut, for topping

Spread oats, walnuts, and 1/4 cup coconut on a baking sheet.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

While that is in the oven, melt brown sugar and honey on the stove.  When the sugar is melted, throw in salt and set aside.

Mix together, honey mixture, oat mixture, and wheat germ in a large bowl.  Line a baking pan with parchment or aluminum foil and spread the granola out.  I like the granola pretty thin, but you can make it as thick as you’d like.

Bake at 300 for 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp.

Once the granola has cooled, melt the chocolate in a double boiler.  Break the granola apart into rectangles or chunks, and dip each piece in the chocolate.  Sprinkle with coconut and set aside so the chocolate can set.

Jan 28 10 comments
beans, slaws, quiches, mashers, and casseroles, pastas, nuts, and grains

Macaroni & Cheese

For the past two days I’ve been holed up in my apartment, sick.  Yesterday I took in way more Criminal Minds/Gilmore Girls than is probably healthy (though they may cancel each other out) and got winded chasing down the UPS man who was trying to drive off without delivering our new computer.  That’s right, ladies & gents, this recipe is coming at you from our brand new 27″ iMac, dubbed Admiral Adama.  And yes, we named our beautiful new computer after Edward James Olmos’ character on Battlestar Galactica.  We’re nerds.  We’re also planning on naming our puppy Starbuck.

Anyway I am incapable of just being home sick because I always feel I should be doing something.  So I made macaroni and cheese.  Because I didn’t feel good and I wanted the creamy, sweet and spicy goodness that homemade macaroni and cheese can be.  Plus, once the computer was delivered I decided to wait for Dan to get here to set it up so taking pictures of cooking and fantasizing about them on the giant HD screen was as close to feeling good as I could get.  And, naturally, promptly after sticking the dish in the oven I collapsed on the couch, exhausted.

Homemade macaroni and cheese is a pretty simple meal.  Not nearly as simple as opening a packet of powdered cheese and dumping it straight into boiled pasta, but you know, easy compared to making your own bread or some of the other things I encourage you to do here on a regular basis.  In fact, I would venture a guess that the majority of you could pull this off on a weeknight.  Or you could make it ahead and freeze it.  What I’m trying to say is that I made it while dying of the flu* so it shouldn’t be a problem for you to pull off anytime.  Just some shredding, boiling, combining, and baking.

I’m going to go ahead and admit that editing these photos was way more of a pleasure than cooking, or even eating, this dish.  I mean, this computer (and it’s giant screen) has had me making a stream of exclamations that sounds more like a “that’s what she said” joke than anything else.  But I can’t help myself, I’m totally enamored and expect to fall further in love once Dan and I have figured out the logistics of sharing a computer.  That, naturally, will be the hard part.

This could be because I’m almost as much of a computer nerd as I am a food geek.  In fact, sitting in front of it’s giant screen right now and thinking how much more I like this than editing on the couch with my 15″ MacBook, I’d venture to say that really only pie could beat this feeling right now.  Anyway, back to my disjointed and rambling post.  This recipe is, as I said, easy.  But also delicious by all mac n’ cheese standards.  It’s creamy, filling, sweet and a little spicy, with just the right ratio of gooey inner cheese to crunchy outer cheese.  I use spices such as paprika and nutmeg to give it a different flavor profile, but feel free to tweak it to your wants and needs.  It’s great for curling up in front of the tv and watching your favorite bad shows, perfect for this time of year when your body is TIRED OF THE COLD but they’re forecasting snow.

*I may not be literally dying.  It just feels like it. {drama queen} Also, if you look closely at the last picture, you’ll see Edward J. Olmos on the far right of the screen.

Macaroni & Cheese

1 lb penne pasta

1 1/2 cups white cheddar cheese

1 cup extra sharp yellow cheddar cheese

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

4 tbsp flour

4 cups milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 small lemon, juiced

1/2 stick butter

Shred all of your cheese.  Measure out all your spices.

In a sauce pan, heat milk & cream over low/medium heat.  If the pan gets too hot, the milk will curdle.

In another pan, melt butter.  Whisk in flour, making sure there are no clumps.  Slowly whisk in warm milk mixture.  Remove from heat and add 3/4 of all the cheeses and the spices.  Continue to stir until cheese has melted and formed a sauce.  The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.  Stir in the lemon juice

Boil your pasta 3-4 minutes until slightly cooked but still very firm.  Preheat your oven to 350.

Drain your pasta and pour into casserole dish.  Pour cheese sauce over and stir slightly to coat.  Top with the remaining cheese, spread evenly over the top.  Bake for 35 minutes, or until the pasta is tender and the cheese has a nice brown crust.

Jul 05 2 comments
appetizers, pastas, nuts, and grains

Cayenne Candied Pecans


pecans1

One of the hardest foods for me to resist at fairs, carnivals, and outdoor concerts is candied nuts.  The smell of them lure me in and I can’t say no.  My favorite nut, the pecan, is also my favorite candied nut.  I like it when nuts are not just sweet when candied, but also spicy, so when I make them at home, I mix in a little cayenne to give it a kick.

pecans5

Candied pecans are a malleable food because they can be served alone as a snack or used as a topping in salads, on top of soups, or with a little vanilla ice cream.  They have a shelf life of a few weeks, so you can make a batch and then dole them out as needed, which is something I always appreciate.  They’re like the bacon bits of sweet toppings.

pecans3

Candying nuts is pretty easy.  You want to moisten the nuts so that the sugar and spice can stick, so you dip them in frothed egg whites first, and then in the dry mix.  For my dry mix I used brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, cayenne, red pepper, and nutmeg.  My main flavor makers were cayenne and cinnamon, but I added the other flavors to make a complete taste.  After I baked them I tossed them again in more sugar and spice and then let them cool.  This makes sure that there is a crusty sugar layer on the outside.  The spice is subtle and the overall experience is wonderful- crunchy, chewy, sweet, and spicy.

pecans2

Cayenne Candied Pecans

2 egg whites

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup pecans

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 tbsp cayenne

1 tbsp cinnamon

Dash of red pepper

Dash of nutmeg

Use a whisk, mixer, or immersion blender to froth your egg whites.  Add vanilla extract.  Add the pecans and coat entirely.

In a separate bowl, mix white sugar and spices.  Split in half and set one half inside.  To the other half add brown sugar.  Dip the pecans in the brown sugar mix and place on a wax paper covered baking sheet.

Bake your pecans in a 350 oven for 20 minutes.

When they’re done, toss them in the remaining sugar mix and place them on a rack to cool.