We spent our first evening in Fire Island last weekend and now the summer season has officially kicked off. Paul, Ryan, Bob, Joe, Ken, Marge (pronounced Mahge in a Boston accent) and I spent the weekend opening the new house, cooking and trading recipes. We stopped off at Costco to stock up on summer sundries and then raced our way to the ferry, just catching it with only minutes to spare.
The moment we got to the house Mahge and I started organizing the kitchen and getting things ready for the summer ahead. We also began preparing the meal for the evening, which was definitely a group effort to say the least. While at Costco we picked up some delicious New York Strip steaks and planned on serving them with scalloped potatoes (made by our friend Patrick), Mahge's Mac and Cheese and Roasted Red Peppers. For dessert we had a Lemon Pudding cake (made by Bob and Joe) that was amazingly delicious.
Mahge was so very kind to share her Mac and Cheese recipe with me. This is light on the preparation and heavy on the flavor (and of course the calories). Here is what you will need:
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 2 1/2 cups of milk
- 2 cups of cooked noodles - (Joe likes Creamettes and Bob like shells, but Mahge prefers the Elbow Macs)
- 10 oz of sharp cheddar cheese extra sharp Cabot Cheese
- 2 tsp dried mustard
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire
- 1 cup of diced ham (optional)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Melt the butter over medium heat in a sauce pan. Add the corn starch and stir with the butter to form a roux. Rouxs are usually made with flour, but this version will do just fine. Add the milk and stir until warm and the mixture begins to thicken. Add the cheese and allow it to melt and thicken even more.
Toss with the noodles, add the mustard, Worcestershire and ham. Taste and then add salt and pepper to your liking.
Serve and enjoy!
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