Comfort Macaroni and Cheese

I received this delicious recipe from my dear cousin Liz, who honestly- is one of the most trustworthy mothers there is. I would only make a change as to add more varieties of cheese, to give the flavor a little more of a kick.

Ingredients

1/2 pound elbow macaroni
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon powdered mustard
3 cups milk
1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 large egg
12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh black pepper
Topping:
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup panko bread crumbs
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the bay leaf.

Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.

Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.

(I halved this recipe for my family of three, and we STILL have plenty of leftovers..)

Strawberry Lemonade

This is my inagural post and it couldn't be better timed. We all know its HOT out there, especially for me, cause I live in the south y'all. So what could be better than some FRESH, TART, SWEET, REFRESHING, Strawberry Lemonade? Yes please.

LEMONADE

1 3/4 cups white sugar
8 cups water
1 1/2 cups lemon juice
1 cup of smashed strawberries (or blueberries, raspberries, or even peaches...be creative)

Directions

1. Microwave 1 cup of water and the sugar to dissolve, add ice to cool and then move to step 2

2.Remove seeds from lemon juice, but leave pulp. In pitcher, stir together chilled syrup, lemon juice and remaining 7 cups water.

..More like "What's for Dessert!"

This is certainly something to imitate. But the truth of the matter, is that whatever concoction you end up with- the ingredients are ALL delightful and what your left with is certain to taste good. But as Serendipity is one of my favorite restaurants, and it is summer- a time for frosty treats, I thought this was a good one.

Ingredients:

Frrrozen Hot Chocolate

• 6 pieces (1/2-ounce) chocolate , a variety of your favorites
• 2 teaspoons store-bought hot chocolate mix
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 3 cups ice
• Whipped cream
• Chocolate shavings

Directions:

Chop the chocolate into small pieces. Place it in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Stir occasionally until melted. Add the hot chocolate mix and sugar. Stir until completely melted. Remove from heat and slowly add ½ cup of milk until smooth. Cool to room temperature.

In a blender, place the remaining cup of milk, the room-temperature chocolate mixture and the ice. Blend on high speed until smooth and the consistency of a frozen daiquiri. Pour into a giant goblet and top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.