Getting Back to Cooking

Getting back to cooking. I'm still not cooking in my new apartment, but will be soon. The stove's hooked up, the renovation is mostly done, and the fridge should be delivered soon.

Until then, I have Sunday Funday, Mark and PG's compound, a smoker, and Mark's kitchen.

Greco takes care of the swine. Julie was on potato salad, Alex on her curried couscous salad, and Ryan on round one of mac n' cheese.

I got my kitchen geek on with black-eyed peas, collard greens, bacon cheddar jalapeno cornbread, jalapeno cilantro slaw with buttermilk lime dressing, and two trays of mac and cheese.

I NEEDED to cook that much. Both for me and my soul and for the 30 or so people who showed up through the day.

So many plate combinations, so many tasty bits of pork. Greco had two crock pots full of shredded shoulder and hind-quarter goodness. And ribs on the grill.

He also had the legs, whole, put aside for later in his life (ummm, like today).

When I drove up the street at 2pm, I could literally smell the swine from hundreds of feet away, the bridge at the bottom of the hill is where I first noticed the porky-goodness.

People, I have developed pork-dar! I am the swine-y superhero we all knew was out there somewhere.

And my long layoff aparently has not resulted in cooking rust.

Ryan made the first batch of mac n' cheese, so I was just going to not make any, since we had so many other sides.

That was a poor decision, as it led to hungry pork-eaters looking at their watches asking when the damn mac n' cheese was going to be ready. Pearl demonstrates the popularity here, polishing off the last spoon-bites from my first batch.

I told Pearl I'd make her famous on YouTube, so here goes.

Beware readers, if you think someone is taking your picture today, that most of those cameras have a video function too.

Also beware this video is not PG. It's not awful, unless you hate see-food, but work-related volume control is advised.

Yes, I did go back in to the kitchen and make another batch of mac n' cheese. It was good too.

Jalapeno-Cilantro Slaw with Buttermilk-Lime Dressing

• 1/2 head green and red cabbage, shredded
• 1 1/2 jalapenos, sliced fine
• one red onion, quartered and sliced thin
• one bunch cilantro, rough chopped
• 5-6 carrots fine chopped matchstick style
• 2 cups mayonnaise
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 3 T red wine vinegar
• juice from 6 limes (about 3/4 cup)
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Chop and mix veg in a large bowl.
2. Whisk dressing ingredients in separate bowl.
3. Combine.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

• 1 pound large elbow macaroni
• 1/2 pound butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 4 cups pound sharp cheddar
• 4 cups asiago
• 2 cups parmesean
• 3-4 tablespoons seasoned breadcrumbs
• 4 cups milk or cream
• 3T dry mustard powder
• 1T black pepper

1. Cook the pasta according to the box in well salted water, draining about 1 minute early and placing in a 9x13 baking dish.
2. In a large pan, melt the butter, add the flour and stir for a minute, add the mustard powder, add in the scalded milk and stir until it begins to thicken. Add the cheese in about 2 cups at a time until each batch is incorporated. Add the pepper and stir through. Reserve 1/2 cup parmesean for the topping.
3. Pour the cheese sauce over the noodles and bake at 375 for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, spread the breadcrumbs and parmesean to the top and finish baking for about 10-15 minutes.