Delicious Cake Futures

NPR: Sweet Memories Of A Snack Food Financial Scheme

I've been meaning to post this little parable about cake and the world economy. This sounds a little too good to be true, but, hey, it's a good story. Jody, you should look into this. I would totally buy cake futures!

Craig's Macaroni and Cheese

Well, I'm not sure who this Craig guy is, but his name is on the recipe, and it's a pretty good recipe. I love cheese, but I've always thought Macaroni and Cheese could be a bit bland at times. This one, though, is pretty good. It's got enough onions in it, so that it almost tastes like French Onion Soup.

8 ounces macaroni (or in this case cavatappi)
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/4 cup flour
1 1/3 cup milk
6 ounces mature cheddar, shredded (I mixed Dubliner and cheddar, since I only had 3 ounces of cheddar)
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
1 shredder (not really an ingredient, but I didn't actually own one.)

Cook pasta in boiling water.
Heat butter in pan and gently cook onion and garlic for 5 minutes.
Stir flour and milk into pan, and blend into onion and garlic.
Whisk to make into smooth sauce and bring to a boil.
Add 4 ounces of cheese and the mustard.
Heat gently for a couple of minutes.
Drain pasta, add to pan, and mix well.
Transfer to casserole dish.
Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.
Broil in onion for about five minutes until golden and bubbling.

Like I said, it was very tasty, and I have a whole lot left over for tomorrow night. Kudos, Craig!

Oven EpiCrisped Drumsticks

As you have seen, I've spent most of the day doing all things Epicure and this was the ultimate ending to it. The original recipe was in the Epicure Dining Alfresco cookbook (which unfortunately isn't around anymore).

12-16 chicken drumsticks
1 recipe prepared VE Caesar Dressing
3 cups crushed up Rice Krispies (the original recipe called for cornflakes and... you know)

Preheat the oven to 375F.
Coat drumsticks in dressing by shaking in a large plastic bag. Discard the leftover dressing. Dip chicken in crumbs to coat and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 40 minutes or until thermometer reads 170F.
Chill thoroughly (I ate mine hot though and it was still absolutely scrumptious. Meag ate hers cold later in the evening and said that it was really good then).

I also made the Potato Salad that I made before. The cut veggies went into Dion Tarragon dip (is it obvious that the Epicure order came in today and I finally had spices again?)

Epicure Caesar Dressing

This is just the workhorse dressing from the side of the bottle. Very rarely do I actually add the extra garlic to this recipe, although sometimes I do.

2 Tbsp VE Caesar Dressing Mix
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
2 crushed garlic cloves
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c milk
1/4 c parmesan cheese

Whisk it all together and serve. If you're doing it in advance, just don't add the parmesan until the last minute because it soaks up a lot of the liquid and you won't be able to pour it without adding more milk.

Apple Tuna Sandwich

No picture of this one but you'll have to take my word that it was really pretty. I've just started flipping through the Epicure A Healthier You kit and I've really wanted to try some of the recipes out of the cookbook included. This makes 4 sandwiches, I took two to Meag, I had one and there's enough for another sandwich in the fridge.

2 x 120g cans of tuna
1 apple, cored and diced
1/3 c low-fat plain yoghurt
1 Tbsp VE Guacamole Dip Mix
8 slices of whole-grain bread (I used rye)
lettuce

Fluff tuna with a fork in a medium mixing bowl. Add the apple, yoghurt and Guacamole Mix and stir it together. Divide it among the bread, add some lettuce and you're done.

I thought it could have used a little more yoghurt but the flavour was really good.

Peanut Butter Shake

I always get really excited about the possibilities of this recipe (I've tried different versions of it over the years) and, unfortunately, I'm always disappointed (sorry, Epicure). What I want is a creamy chocolate shake consistency with that banana base and the hint of peanut butter behind it all; what I get is banana milk with a strong peanut butter aftertaste and a faint chocolate smell. I still think it's got possibilities though so I'll keep you posted on the progress.

1 banana
2 c low-fat milk
1 c low-fat plain or vanilla yoghurt
2/3 c orange juice
2/3 c natural peanut butter
1 Tbsp VE Cocoa

lend it all until "smooth and frothy". Pour into glasses and serve immediately. This recipe is supposed to be for 6 servings but I think that splitting one banana between 6 people is ridiculous so I just called it 2 servings and took my lumps.