Dan Bites

The other day Yuki requested macaroni and cheese. I thought that was weird because that’s not her favorite dish as a main, she prefers it as a side. Then she went on about how she misses her parents gratin. I have to agree, they make delicious gratin, especially with oysters. So, I found a recipe on Food and Wine’s website by Jeremy Fox that looked interesting using a carrot and cheddar sauce. It looked to me more like a side, so I put my own twist on it to make it a more fulfilling main.

The ingredients I used were 1 Valencia orange, 3 ounces medium cheddar cheese, 1/4 onion, 9 ounces serpentini pasta, a sprig of rosemary from my back porch, 3/4 pound carrots (turned out to be 2.5 carrots), and 3/4 pound ground turkey thigh.

I pretty much followed Jeremy Fox’s recipe in the beginning. I sliced the carrots and simmered them for a half hour with the zest and juice from the orange as well as 1/4 cup of water. Then I discarded the zest and puree’d the carrots into a smooth paste. During that time I boiled the pasta until it was al dente, then reserved 1 cup of the boiling liquid and drained the pasta. Then I added my own touch.

I diced the onion and sautéed it in olive oil for about 4 minutes and then added the turkey meat. I broke the turkey meat up as it cooked through, about 6 or 7 minutes. Once it was cooked through I got back to the recipe on hand and added the pasta, the reserved cup of water, and the carrot puree. I mixed it all together and let it thicken for about 5 minutes. I added 3/4’s of the cheese after grating it and mixed it in well. Then I seasoned it with salt, white pepper, and the rosemary. Once everything was well mixed I poured it into my glass baking dish.

I topped it with the rest of the cheese and then some panko. That all went into a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes and was left to rest for about 5 minutes before I cut it up and served it.

While the macaroni was cooking we made a side to go with it. I cleaned 3 ears of corn and chopped them into 2 inch pieces. I tossed them into boiling water and let them par-cook for about 3 minutes. Then I drained them and cut the kernels from the core.

In a heated pot Yuki melted some butter and added two minced garlic cloves. After a minute she added the corn and some halved haricots vert. She sautéed it all together for about 7 minutes and seasoned with salt and pepper.

I also made up a simple salad. Torn iceberg lettuce, sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumber, and shiitake vinaigrette.