Yesterday a friend of mine mentioned he made macaroni and cheese last weekend, and it had lasted him all week for lunch and dinner. As sick as it may sound, it gave me a big ol' craving for the cheesy macaroni so I scoured the Internet for some recipes. Found a really good one that I changed slightly, keep reading for the most fantastic macaroni and cheese recipe ever. And some rambling about the Nike+iPod gadget just to show that I not only eat. I work out too. Sometimes.
Tried out a new technological gadget this evening, a Nike+iPod running tracker thingamajig. Fantastic coolness. Unfortunately the measurement of distance was completely botched when I reached Brixton Prison (there is certainly more than 0.87 kilometers from Waterloo Station to Brixton Prison, I would guess more ilke five) but the fact that something on my arm that I hardly feel is there can a) play my favorite music while running (basically always James Warren - Rubicon), b) in a husky female voice read back to me by the push of a button vital stats so I don't need to take my eyes off the road and c) collect these stats and send them to a free of charge web site for analysis and visual presentation is amazing.
(Click image for a bigger version.)
All this for a measly 20 pounds. Which, incidentally, is what the Nike-branded armstrap also will set you back. Hmm. How does that work? Really cool high tech crammed into a thing smaller than a two pound coin costs as much as a piece of fabric probably manufactured in a sweatshop in South East Asia... That's the power of branding at work for you.
Anyway. When I was done with the running I was in dire need of some hearthy, filling comfort food since I haven't been running for weeks and what does that trick better than macaroni and cheese? Nothing. So here goes.
SPICY MACARONI AND CHEESE (serves six... atleast)
Based on a recipe I found over at Epicurious.
Ingredients
2 medium onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 red chili, chopped (keep the seeds for more heat)
1 dl pickled gherkins, julienned
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp smoked paprika powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper (add more if you like...)
salt and black pepper for seasoning
butter for frying
0,5 dl of flour
2 dl of double cream
4-6 dl of milk
1 can of chopped tomatoes
0,5 kg of elbow macaroni
2-3 dl of grated / chopped Double Gloucester cheese
2 dl of grated mature cheddar cheese
2 dl of finely grated parmesan cheese (for topping)
2 dl fresh bread crumbs (for topping)
Method
Set oven to 375 degrees F / gas mark 5 / 220 degress C.
Cook the macaroni for about two thirds of the time on the package, they will boil to readiness in the oven. While cooking the macaroni, move on.
With some butter, fry the onions, chili, garlic and gherkins with the coriander and cumin in a large pan on medium heat until the onions are soft and almost translucent. Smells lovely already.
Lower the heat slightly, stir in the flour and fry for another three minutes while stirring. Add the cream and milk in a steady stream while continually whisking, bring to a boil and let simmer while you stir in the chopped tomatoes.
Simmer for a few minutes, add paprika powder, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper to taste.
Combine macaroni with the tomato and milk mixture in a large bowl, stir well. Add the Double Gloucester and the cheddar and mix it all together thoroughly. Transfer the mixture to a buttered shallow baking dish.
In a small bowl, mix the parmesan with the bread crumbs and spread on top of the mixture in the baking dish. Put in oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the top looks golden bubbly delicious and you can hear the mixture sizzling in the baking dish.
Serve with a salad. And ketchup. Yes, ketchup. It is comfort food dammit, and my recipe, I eat it the way I like. Which means lots of ketchup. What can I say, damaged Swede.
B mentioned that her dad always makes it with a bit of Colemans mustard powder added to the mix. Sounds fab, will have to try that next time I feel an urge for this incredibly fattening and unhealthy dish coming on. Which is about once every year or so, luckily...
