"Seduction"

Before I get to the main purpose of this post, I'll start by saying that as my birthday was earlier this month, I knew I was going to have cake (and good thing too, as I had been craving cake for quite awhile). My friends threw me an awesome party, and one of the best things was that my friend K made me my birthday cake. Now, don't get me wrong. I love a good bakery cake. I even love the cake mix cakes. But I was secretly hoping that someone might bake me a good old fashioned cake. And damn, was I not disappointed.



Chocolate cake with a mocha buttercream. I was in heaven. It was awesome. And I even got to take the rest home, where I proceeded to finish the rest of it the next day (uh oh, secret's out!). But it was awesome. and one of the best things about it was that someone made it for me. Writing about it is making me want it again.



But because my birthday falls right before Valentine's Day, I usually get inundated with all things pink, hearts, etc. Normally, most years, Valentine's Day is just another day, in this case, Sunday. I had seen a recipe that I had been really itching to try though, and just never got to it. For Christmas I had given my sister a cookbook called "Casserole Crazy", and liked what I saw in it so much that I wound up buying myself a copy too (I have a bunch of new breakfast casseroles I want to try, but that will have to wait until I a}have a brunch gathering or b}give myself enough of an opportunity to have a breakfast casserole all week for breakfast). Not long after I got the cookbook, I was flipping through it, and found a section devoted entirely to mac and cheese (YES!). One of the recipes was entitled "Seduction", and I knew I had to try it. Five different kinds of cheese. Corn. Tomatoes. Sounded heavenly.

Valentine's Day seemed to be a perfect opportunity for such a dish (even if really I was just giving myself an excuse to make a really rich meal). So I went to the store Sunday afternoon, got all of the ingredients, and went to work. Damn if that cheese sauce didn't give me a workout. It wasn't really creamy like most cheese sauces I've done before. This wasn't soupy. At all. Instead it stuck to the pasta like, well, like sticking to your ribs. It was quite difficult to put together and not fall out of the pan. But I perservered, and wound up making a dish that was quite good and that I was quite a fan of. Maybe not quite as much as my current mac and cheese favorite, mac and cheese lorraine, but still, a definite sell. I added spinach to it as well, which gave it even more color. Because I'm a huge fan of bacon, I also think that this would go quite well in this dish but decided not to try it this time. That'll be something for the next go-round.



One word of note: although this is very good fresh, it is not quite as good leftover-the casserole gets very tough to scoop out of the dish (I actually bent a spoon trying to get some for myself over the next few days) and it is very heavy. But this is definitely the kind of mac and cheese you can make your own. Add some cheeses, take others out, add a different vegetable or some bacon or pancetta. Have fun with it.



Seduction (mac and corn 2.0) (from Casserole Crazy: Hot Stuff for Your Oven, by Emily Farris)

INGREDIENTS

o 1 large white onion
o 2 cloves garlic (I used a spoonful of minced garlic)
o 1 pound Cavatelli (I went with whole wheat spirals-I figured I'd try to be a little health-conscious)
o 1/2 pound sharp cheddar, cubed or shredded
o 1/2 pound white cheddar, cubed or shredded
o 1/2 pound Gruyere, cubed or shredded
o 1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, cubed
o 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
o 1 bag (10 oz) frozen sweet corn
o 2 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced
o 1/4 cup olive oil
o 1/2 cup milk
o salt, pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º.

2. boil the pasta until al dente, drain and set aside.

3. In a large pot, over medium heat sauté the garlic and onion in 2-3 tbsp of olive oil. When the onions begin to brown, reduce the heat to low, add milk, and stir. Add both cheddars and Gruyere while continuing to stir. When the cheeses begin to melt, and it will take a while for this to work out well-feel free to add more milk to thin it out if you need to-add the pasta while continuing to stir. Once everything is well coated, add half of the Parmesan (1/4 cup) and stir. (Special Note: I forgot the parmesan, but there was so much other stuff in there I never even noticed). Add corn while continuing to stir (it should go in frozen). Salt and pepper to taste. Add mozzarella and stir. At this point, feel free to add whatever else you want (I added a box of defrosted chopped spinach this time, and next time will add some bacon or something like it).

4. When thoroughly mixed, transfer to a 2 3/4 qt buttered or greased casserole dish and bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes or until bubbly.

5. Remove from oven and cover with sliced tomatoes and the rest of the Parmesan cheese. (Again, I never added it and it made no difference whatsoever).

6. Bake for about 15 more minutes.

Enjoy!