Enchiladas

I very recently discovered my local Latino grocery store. We've lived in this city for 3 years now... 3 years of completely missing out on a fantastic opportunity to try all kinds of deliciousness that I didn't think I could find anywhere near here! Instead of mourning everything I've been missing, I celebrated my new opportunity by making enchiladas.

I've actually made this recipe before. Way back when my husband, my best friend, and my dog were the only people who knew about Playing House. But I have to share it again, because a) it's too delicious to be hiding all the way back there in the archives and b) this picture is so much more appetizing!

You can find the enchilada recipe here.

Some loot from my new favorite shopping spot. The tortillas were still warm when I brought them home to make enchiladas. See? The bag's even steamy...

Daring Bakers: Peanut Butter Nanaimo Bars

The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca.

I had a life-altering experience a few months ago when I made Nanaimo Bars for the first time. Not only has it been infinitely the most popular post of all time on Playing House, it's far and away one of my (and my friends') favorite sweets I've made.



So you can imagine my thrill when I saw that one of the sweetest bloggers I know, Lauren of Celiac Teen, chose Nanaimo Bars from her native Canada as this month's Daring Bakers challenge. The twist, since Nanaimo Bars are a no-bake treat: Lauren challenged us to make the graham cracker crumbs using grahams made from scratch, and she encouraged us to try the gluten-free route!



I have to admit something that I'm not really proud of. I've had a long-standing bias against the deliciousness of alternative ways of cooking-- gluten-free, veganism, etc... I happily support others who cook and eat alternatively, I just for some reason couldn't wrap my head around how something could possibly be as good if it wasn't made using the tried-and-true, time-tested staple ingredients.

Well, Lauren, my friend, you've certainly put me in my place. Since I respect Lauren so much, I wanted to give the gluten-free version a try, and I'm so, so glad I did. I feel humbled to admit that I liked the gluten-free grahams far better than the traditional kind made with wheat flour.



I adapted the original Nanaimo Bar recipe into bars of peanut butter awesomeness by making the following changes:

*Bottom layer: used peanuts instead of almonds, substituted 1/2 cup of Heath toffee bits for 1/2 cup of the coconut
*Middle layer: beat a tablespoon of creamy peanut butter into the custard
*Top layer: swirled melted peanut butter chips in with the chocolate

Thanks Lauren, for one of my favorite DB challenges to date. You've been a fabulous hostess!

For the recipe (and a good time in general), head over to Lauren's blog, Celiac Teen.

Beanless Chili

I already shared most of the story of this chili last week.



In a nutshell, I randomly got a strong craving for chili (and no, what you might be thinking about me craving random foods so often is indeed not the case!). Since I don't enjoy beans, and beanless chili recipes are relatively difficult to come by, I asked my friends. Bonnie came to the rescue, sending me a recipe that she had created herself.

I absolutely loved it and would happily make it again, but Andy thought that it was reminiscent of the bolognese sauce I made recently and that it was "missing something." When I reminded him that it was, indeed, missing a key ingredient (he's a bean fan), he still wasn't quite satisfied. The great thing about this recipe is that it's so customizable that you can tweak it to your tastes really easily, so next time I'll try to make it a bit heartier for him. Hope you feel free to play with it too. Thanks for sharing, Bonnie!

Beanless Chili
Adapted from Bonnie
Printable Recipe

1 jalapeno, seeds and ribs removed, minced
1 large onion, diced
1 pound ground beef, chicken, turkey or a mixture
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tblsp chili powder
Hot sauce to taste
1 can tomato sauce (the unseasoned, plain, just cooked tomatoes kind)
1 can tomato paste
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes
1 bottle of beer, not dark
1 tsp garlic powder
2 cloves tbsp minced garlic
1-1 1/2 tbsp kosher salt to taste

1. Saute the onion and jalapenos in a bit of butter, oil, or cooking spray.

2. Brown the meat with a little salt and pepper.

3. Add meat, onions and jalapenos into a dutch oven or crock pot. Add remaining ingredients and stir well. Simmer in dutch oven for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally, or in crock pot on on low for 8 hours or high for 4.

Chile Cheese Corn Muffins

One cold and blustery day recently, I randomly decided that I wanted to make chili. That might sound like an ordinary thought to many of you, but it struck me completely out of left field. I don't like beans, I've never made chili, and it's never really been a part of my life, so I was caught a bit off guard. Life has taught me that when I have a strong impulse, I'm usually on the right track, so I went for it.



But this post isn't about chili.

As I was thinking about how I was going to make a beanless chili (more on that soon), I happened to see Maggie's post on Blue Corn Muffins with Chile and Cheese. Not only did they sound like the perfect complement to the chili, but I happened to have all the ingredients on hand.

I get a lot of joy out of making food in unexpected colors (blue muffins? yes please), so I was bummed that I only had yellow cornmeal, but it tasted so good that in the end I didn't care. They may look a little plain, but they really are anything but. These reheat really well, too. 12 muffins may or may not have disappeared over the course of about 12 hours. Thanks for sharing, Maggie!

Chile Cheese Corn Muffins
Adapted from The Freckled Citizen, originally from The Santa Fe School of Cooking Cookbook
Makes 12 muffins
Printable Recipe

1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
5 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk (milk may be substituted)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup blue or yellow cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking power
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 cup grated Monterey Jack, cheddar, or Mexican blend cheese
3/4 cup roasted, peeled, diced green chile or 1 small can diced green chile

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease muffin tins well or insert paper liners.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth.
3. In another bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and buttermilk. Slowly mix wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
5. Stir in the corn, cheese, chiles and mix well. Spoon the batter evenly into muffin tins. Bake about 25 minutes, until just firm. Serve warm with butter.

Dulce de Leche Cupcakes

I was perusing my recipe index the other day and decided that the cupcake section was too chocolate-heavy. Not that there's anything wrong with chocolate, but I'm an equal-opportunity cupcake lover. So off I went to find a non-chocolate, non-fruity cupcake flavor.



Dulce de leche has been on my radar for a long time (plus it's all the rage right now), but I've always been hesitant to go through the high-risk process of making it at home. It involves boiling a can of sweetened condensed milk, bad news for accident-prone little me.

So I decided to spend the extra dollar and buy a can at my local Latino grocery store (I later spotted it in the ethnic foods section at Safeway if you're not lucky enough to live near a Latino grocer). That dollar was completely worth it. Rich, moist brown-sugary cake, topped with a rich dulce de leche buttercream and drizzled with a bit of straight-up melted dulce de leche. These are equally worthy of a special occasion or a work lunch on a random Tuesday. ¡Buen provecho!

Dulce de Leche Cupcakes
Printable Recipe
Adapted from justJENN Recipes
Makes 12 cupcakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a standard 12-cup muffin pan or insert paper liners.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the sugars and butter. Add the eggs and vanilla until combined. Alternate the flour mixture with the milk until you get a smooth batter. Spoon into the muffin pan wells equally, about 2/3 full.

4. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a testter comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Dulce de Leche Buttercream
Adapted from Joy the Baker

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
3 Tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
pinch of salt
3/4 cup dulce de leche

Cream together softened butter and powdered sugar on low using an electric mixer. Add cream, salt, and vanilla and beat on medium speed until smooth and no lumps appear. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the prepared dulce de leche and beat to incorporate. Frost cooled cupcakes using a knife or a pastry bag and tip.

Spaghetti Bolognese

Remember my new toy, the pasta extruder? I'm back to share another shape with you. This time, classic spaghetti. Not the most original choice given all the shapes at my fingertips, but it was the best match for the real star of the show here-- bolognese sauce.



I've wanted to make bolognese for a long time, but the long simmering time makes it an impossibility most days. The opportunity finally came on our trip to Port Townsend over the holidays. Nothing but time and a cozy day at our cabin in the woods to help the sauce along.



As I usually do with new techniques, I chose the Cook's Illustrated recipe, this time from my online subscription to their archives. I chose the all-beef version, and it was divine. While of course the sauce was excellent, it was the combination of the sauce from scratch and the fresh homemade pasta that made this one of my favorite recent meals.

Completely unrelated to spaghetti sauce: there's an entertaining website making the rounds of the blogosphere. It's called formspring.me, and you can use it to ask me an anonymous question-- about food, about me, about whatever-- ask here and I'll happily answer! Have fun!

Beef Bolognese
Adapted from Cook's Illustrated
Printable Recipe

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons minced onion
2 tablespoons minced carrot
2 tablespoons minced celery
3/4 pound ground beef chuck
table salt
1 cup whole milk
1 cup dry white wine
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes

1. Heat butter in large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium heat; add onion, carrot, and celery and sautè until softened but not browned, about 6 minutes. Add ground meat and 1/2 teaspoon salt; crumble meat with edge of wooden spoon to break apart into tiny pieces. Cook, continuing to crumble meat, just until it loses its raw color but has not yet browned, about 3 minutes.

2. Add milk and bring to simmer; continue to simmer until milk evaporates and only clear fat remains, 10 to 15 minutes. Add wine and bring to simmer; continue to simmer until wine evaporates, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Add tomatoes and their juice and bring to simmer; reduce heat to low so that sauce continues to simmer just barely, with an occasional bubble or two at the surface, until liquid has evaporated, about 3 hours. Adjust seasonings with extra salt to taste and serve. (Can be refrigerated in an airtight container for several days or frozen for several months. Warm over low heat before serving.)

Mini Oreo Cheesecakes

This was the first recipe that caught my eye when I bought Martha Stewart's Cupcakes. I'm a sucker for anything Oreo, anything mini, and lately, anything cheesecake.



If you're a sucker for these things too, or you want to win the heart of someone who is, these are your new best friend. The recipe is just a simple cheesecake batter poured over a whole Oreo cookie sitting in the well of a cupcake tin. I made these for a New Year's Eve party, and they were a huge hit. What's not to love?

Mini Oreo Cheesecakes
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes
Printable Recipe
Makes 30

42 Oreos (~1 package), 30 left whole, and 12 coarsely chopped
2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
Pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners or grease well with non-stick baking spray. Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each cup.

2. With an electric mixer on medium high speed, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Gradually add sugar, and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla.

3. Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time, beating to combine and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in sour cream and salt. Stir in chopped cookies by hand.

4. Divide batter evenly among cookie-lined cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours (or up to overnight). Remove from tins just before serving.

Daring Cooks: Beef & Tofu Satay

The January 2010 DC challenge was hosted by Cuppy of Cuppylicious and she chose a delicious Thai-inspired recipe for Pork Satay from the book 1000 Recipes by Martha Day.

I've been doing a lot of raving about Thai food lately. Add one more recipe to the pile! We don't eat pork, and I've made and loved chicken satay in the past, so the obvious choice for this month's challenge was beef. We had some tofu left over and a vegetarian friend joining us for dinner, so I made tofu satay as well.



I chose the "long" version of the marinade, but it couldn't have been easier: I just threw a few ingredients in the food processor and spun it around. I also made the peanut sauce recipe that Cuppy provided us with. It was delicious, and much milder (in a good way) than my other go-to peanut sauce recipe.



While we definitely enjoyed this recipe (just like every other Thai-inspired cooking adventure), I wouldn't necessarily say it was a true challenge for me. Not sure if that means my skills have improved that much (whoa!) or that this Daring recipe was just a basic technique designed to show us some new tricks. Still, I always appreciate a chance to try a new version of something I've made before. I don't often get the chance to make the same thing twice, and it was fun to compare this to the satay I've made in the past. For the recipe, head on over to The Daring Kitchen. Thanks to Cuppy for your gracious hostess-ing!

German Chocolate Cupcakes

German Chocolate Cake is my dearest Uncle Michael's favorite dessert ever. So when we took a little road trip to see him over the holidays, I knew what I had to do.



I used a recipe from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes, but filled them from a hole on top instead of slicing horizontally and filling them layer-cake style like Martha does. To make the hole, I used a new trick I learned in my cake decorating class. Dig the wide end of a large metal decorating tip into the center of the cupcake. Voila, big hole! And a donut-hole-like snack to boot. I like the injection method too, but this way is infinitely better for chunky frosting like this Coconut Pecan yumminess.



These were a bit over-the-top sweet, but not in a bad way. Even if you don't normally seek out coconut-y things, it's pretty much impossible not to love these. The base chocolate cupcake recipe is moist and really versatile too, if you don't believe me or aren't in the mood for opening your mind to German Chocolate bliss.

By the way, did you know that German Chocolate cake isn't from Germany at all? The recipe was submitted to a newspaper by a homemaker in Dallas in 1957. It used Baker's brand "German's Sweet Chocolate" as an ingredient (source), and the name was born.

German Chocolate Cupcakes
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes
Makes 24 cupcakes
Printable Recipe

Chocolate Cupcakes
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for tins
2 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted, plus more for tins
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
5 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush standard muffin tins with butter; dust with cake flour, tapping out excess, or spray generously with nonstick baking spray. Whisk together cake flour, baking soda, and salt.

2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and beating until combined after each. Beat in chocolate until combined.

3. Divide batter evenly among prepared cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10 minutes. Run a small offset spatula or knife around the edges to loosen; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored up to 3 days at room temperature in airtight containers.

4. To finish, make a hole in the top of each cupcake with a spoon or wide end of metal decorative icing tip. Fill hole with frosting and spread more on top.

Coconut Pecan Frosting
3 large egg yolks
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
1 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and brought to room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 2/3 cups (7 ounces) sweetened flaked coconut
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped

1. Combine egg yolks, evaporated milk, and brown sugar in a saucepan. Add butter, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick, about 10 minutes. Pour through a fine sieve into a bowl.

2. Stir in vanilla, salt, coconut, and pecans. Let cool completely. Frosting can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 day; bring to room temperature before using.

Pad See Ew

As unabashed lovers of Thai food, we often find ourselves eating out to get a fix. 90% of the time, Pad See Ew is one the dishes that winds up on our table.



Pad See Ew (pronounced Pad See Yoo), is a Thai rice noodle dish with soy sauce, broccoli, scrambled egg, and some kind of protein. I was curious what kind of magic might happen if I tried to make it myself, so I did just that.

The result was astonishingly good. I've tried to replicate a few restaurant favorites recently, and this was without a doubt the best one so far. If you're a Thai food fanatic like me, you'll love this. I made mine with tofu, but you can use beef, chicken, or shrimp instead. Just add the protein a few seconds after the garlic, stir-fry until cooked through, and proceed with the recipe. I also added bamboo shoots, since I really like them, but I don't think they're traditionally an ingredient in this dish, so feel free to leave them out if you'd like.

Pad See Ew
Adapted from Jam's guest post at Rasa Malaysia
Printable Recipe
Serves 6-8

1 lb. wide rice noodles
1/2 lb. firm tofu, pressed, cut into cubes, browned in vegetable oil in a skillet, and drained on paper towels
4 tsp. light soy sauce
3 Tbsp black soy sauce, dark soy sauce, or thick soy sauce
1 large head broccoli, cut into florets
1/4 cup thinly sliced bamboo shoots (optional)
3-4 Tbs. vegetable oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 tsp. sugar, to taste
3 large eggs at room temperature
1/4 tsp. ground white pepper (optional)
Chili sauce/hot sauce for serving

1. Soak flat rice noodles in very hot water in a large bowl for an hour, replacing the water with fresh hot water 2-3 times as needed.

2. Heat oil in a deep pan or a wok. Sauté the minced garlic in the oil for a few seconds until fragrant, then add the tofu. Stir until the tofu is heated through, then toss in the noodles along with black soy sauce and light soy sauce.

3. Stir and spread out over heated surface of the wok. Sauté and flip the noodles for 3-4 minutes, then add the vegetables. Stir and spread mixture over the surface and allow pan-frying for a minute, keep folding in vegetables.

4. Sprinkle with sugar to taste. Stir and mix well.

5. Push the noodles up along the sides of the wok to make a well in the middle. Crack in the eggs and scramble lightly. When the eggs are cooked through, break into smaller chunks and toss in with noodles. Sprinkle with white pepper, if using and toss. Transfer to a serving dish and serve warm with chili sauce on the side.

Giveaway Winner! The Joy of Cooking

Thank you so much to everyone who entered the giveaway for a copy of The Joy of Cooking.



A big congrats to the winner, commenter #10, Grace of A Southern Grace!


Grace, send your address to playinghouseamy {at} gmail.com and I'll drop it in the mail for you!

I have a few more of these giveaways planned, so if you didn't win this time, be sure to check back often. Thanks again, it was great to hear from you all. Have a sweet weekend!

Hugs,
Amy I.

CEiMB: Sweet Potato Peanut Soup

It's Thursday, which means it's time for Craving Ellie in my Belly! This week's Ellie Krieger recipe is Sweet Potato Peanut Soup, hosted by Mary at Popsicles and Sandy Feet. Ellie calls it something a little different, but I've been enjoying renaming her recipes for no good reason, so bear with me.



So, about the soup. We adored it! It was the first chance I had to use my new birthday-present immersion blender (thanks Mom!). I'm hooked on my new appliance; I just want to go around collecting chopped up food to puree... is that weird? This was also the first time I've cooked with these types of flavors all together in one dish. The texture was great, but next time I'll use chunky peanut butter, I think that bit of roughness would make it perfect.

I topped the soup with a dollop of sour cream (don't waste your time piping it like I did, it sinks anyways), some green onions, and a sprinkle of crushed peanuts (quick and easy tip: buy whole peanuts, put them in a ziplock bag, and go to town smashing them with a meat tenderizer). We both agreed that the sour cream was key, so I highly recommend adding it even though it's not in the original recipe.

By the way, did you see the heart-meltingly adorable heart spoon in the picture up there? It was a birthday present from my friend Mary. Look at the handle!



Sweet Potato Peanut Soup
Adapted from Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave
Printable Recipe

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced (about 1 cup)
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced (about 1 cup)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
1 teaspoon peeled and grated fresh ginger
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed (2 cups)
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with their juices
2/3 cup creamy natural peanut butter
2 teaspoons honey
1/2 cup chopped scallion greens (about 3 scallions)
1/2 cup sour cream (optional)
1/4 cup crushed peanuts (optional)

1. Heat the oil in a large soup pot over a medium-high heat. Add the onions, bell pepper and carrots and cook, stirring until the vegetables soften, about 5 minutes. Add the cayenne, black pepper, garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute more. Stir in the sweet potato, broth, and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

2. Puree the soup in the pot using an immersion blender or in a regular blender in 2 batches and return the soup to the pot. Add the peanut butter and honey and stir, over low heat, until the peanut butter melts. Serve warm, garnished with the scallions.

Please see this post for tips on safely pureeing hot liquids in a blender.

Wilton Cake Decorating Course 1

I obviously love to bake. I'm pretty steadily mastering the art of making delicious-tasting desserts, but have been incredibly slow on the uptake with paying proper attention to delicious-looking food as well.

On a whim, I signed up for the Wilton Cake Decorating Class last month. The Wilton curriculum is a series of 4 4-week courses, and I just completed the first, called Discover Cake Decorating. It's held at my local Michael's craft store, and I leave there every Monday night covered in frosting, hand aching, and smiling ear-to-ear.

These classes are held throughout the U.S. and internationally, so I thought I'd give a little rundown of my thoughts in case you're interested in signing up. Overall, I loved the class, and have actually already started Course 2, Flowers and Borders. Our instructor, Carolyn, has been fabulous, and she's especially great at not making me feel lame when I'm doing something ridiculous (couplers and I don't really get along), which seems to happen quite often.

My only real issue with the class is the frosting they have us practice with. The main ingredient is vegetable shortening, which makes the frosting incredibly messy and greasy, and I strongly prefer not to eat it. There's a saving grace there, because I don't like it at all, I don't snack while I'm practicing, which my body thanks me for. I also find it difficult to work with, though, even at the different consistencies they teach us how to make. I'm a chronic rule-follower, so I continued to make it and bring it to class instead of trying a different recipe, knowing that I'd have freedom outside of class to practice with more delicious frosting.

Other than that, I loved everything about the class, and it's been making my Mondays a lot more bearable. I still have a lot to learn, but that's what makes it fun.

Week 1, Lecture: No hands-on, just a demonstration and lots of fun shopping! I bought the biggest kit they sell because I know I'll use it forever, but you're free to pick and choose which supplies you buy.



Week 2: Rainbow cake! Not to be confused with my original masterpiece rainbow cake. I made this the week of my birthday. There was a picture in the textbook for that week that showed how to make a cake that says "Happy Birthday Amy." Not even kidding.



Week 3: Cupcakes and Roses. I decided to make a mess with color too. Obviously.









Week 4, Finale: Carolyn let us do whatever we wanted, but I stuck pretty close to the textbook cake (see Week 1 photo above), since it used techniques I wanted to practice more. The inside was 2 layers of red velvet filled with left over coconut-pecan frosting from my German Chocolate Cupcakes.



*Reminder* Leave a comment on this post by Friday, January 8th for a chance to win a copy of the classic cookbook The Joy of Cooking!

Giveaway! The Joy of Cooking

Thanks to a generous family member, I am now the proud owner of an entire shelf's worth of new cookbooks. This dear relative of mine never cooks, but has somehow amassed about a dozen cookbooks over the years, which he kindly shipped to me last week.

Naturally, I'm in heaven, and there's good news for you too! A few that he sent me were repeats of cookbooks that I already own, so I'm having a giveaway to pass them on to you. Just know that they're not brand spankin' new, but if it has been used, it was used lightly and with love.

The first book that I'm sharing with you is the classic The Joy of Cooking.


If you'd like to know more about the book, I'd highly recommend checking out the Amazon page. It's full of fun facts like trivia, a historical timeline of the book, and celebrity reviews.

To enter: Leave a comment on this post by noon Pacific Time on Friday, January 8th. You can say anything, tell me who you are, where you're from, what you like to cook, how you found Playing House, or just say hi! I'll pick a random winner on Friday night.

Macaroni & Cheese

Thanks to some gift cards left over from our wedding that I came across recently (best unexpected bonus ever), I have a new toy: The KitchenAid Mixer Pasta Press Attachment.



When I was a kid, I adored the Play-Doh extruder where you push down on the lever and make different shapes come out depending on which plate you used. In the last few weeks, I've learned that pasta dough is Play-Doh for adults, and I'm in a complete wonderland.

This mixer attachment makes 6 shapes: large macaroni, small macaroni, fusili, rigatoni, bucatini, and spaghetti. Yes, I have the 6 shapes memorized and tell almost everyone I meet. Over the holidays, we traveled to my family's cabin in Port Townsend, Washington (my favorite place in the world). Along with our luggage and the dog in the car came Little Blue, my trusty KitchenAid mixer, and my new attachment.



Almost every night for dinner while we were there, I made a different shape of pasta with a different sauce. The whole process is fairly labor intensive, but it's totally worth it if you're willing to put in some effort. I'm never buying pasta again!



Macaroni & cheese was quite apropos for our cozy cabin on the water. I ate it curled up on the couch, watching the sun set over the ocean and listening to the fire crackle. Like every other Cook's Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen recipe I've ever tried, this one was a huge winner.



I halved the recipe to get the quantities below; feel free to double it and bake in a 9x13 broiler-safe dish to serve a crowd.

Macaroni & Cheese
Adapted from Cook's Illustrated
Printable Recipe
Serves 4-6

Bread Crumb Topping
3 slices white sandwich bread (good-quality, about 3 ounces), torn into rough pieces
1.5 tablespoons unsalted butter (cold), cut into 3 pieces

Pasta and Cheese
1/2 pound elbow macaroni
1/2 tablespoon table salt
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoons powdered mustard
Dash cayenne pepper, plus more to taste (optional)
2 1/2 cups milk (whole, low-fat, or skim)
4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese , shredded (1 cup)
4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese , shredded (1 cup)
1/2 teaspoon table salt

1. For the bread crumbs: Pulse bread and butter in food processor until crumbs are no larger than 1/8 inch, ten to fifteen 1-second pulses. Set aside.

2. For the pasta and cheese: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat broiler. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in Dutch oven over high heat. Add macaroni and 1/2 tablespoon salt; cook until pasta is tender. Drain pasta and set aside in colander.

3. In now-empty Dutch oven, heat butter over medium-high heat until foaming. Add flour, mustard, and cayenne (if using) and whisk well to combine. Continue whisking until mixture becomes fragrant and deepens in color, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk; bring mixture to boil, whisking constantly (mixture must reach full boil to fully thicken). Reduce heat to medium and simmer, whisking occasionally, until thickened to consistency of heavy cream, about 5 minutes. Off heat, whisk in cheeses and 1/2 teaspoon salt until cheeses are fully melted. Add pasta and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is steaming and heated through, about 6 minutes.

4. Transfer mixture to broiler-safe 8x8-inch baking dish and sprinkle evenly with bread crumbs. Broil until crumbs are deep golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes, rotating pan if necessary for even browning. Cool about 5 minutes, then serve.