Day 21: A Recipe

Erick: Bulgogi

I’m sure everyone is expecting to just kind of gloss over my “recipe” and head straight for Court’s, but that would be a mistake.

Begin by pre-heating your oven to 400 Degrees. Open the Tombstone pizza from it’s plastic packaging, place it on a pizza-crisper and put it in the oven. Enjoy.

Haha, just kidding.

Here’s my real recipe. A Korean barbecued beef dish I make called “Bulgogi”.

Erick’ Bulgogi

1 lb. lean beef, sliced thin across grain (go with a flank steak)
2 T sugar
4 T soy sauce
2 T Sesame Oil
1 tsp ground sesame seeds
4 T chopped green onion
1/2 – 3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 – 3/4 tsp black pepper

Combins sugar, soy sauce, oil, onion and spices.  Add beef slices and let stand at least 15 minutes (I usually marinade it for an hour).  It’s best when you grill it over charcoal, but you can broil or pan fry it too. If you do the grill or oven broil, put the beef on bamboo skewers. Serve hot with rice (very important). Makes 4 servings (depending on the crowd I usually double the recipe).

Enjoy!

Courtney: Baked Mac n’ Chcese

Make this now. I really don’t mean to be bossy, but seriously, do it.

I love a lot dishes, but one thing I never, ever tire of is Baked Macaroni and Cheese. It’s inexpensive, an easy peasy crowd favorite, and it’s three main ingredients are noodles, cheese and butter. You just can’t go wrong.

I love that beautiful blue box of goodness just as much as the next guy, but it doesn’t even compare to this. I mean, look at it. Yum.

Because of the obvious popularity, there are thousands of variations out there. I’ve made the dish with 20 different kinds of cheese, different noodles, a variety of seasonings, and various preparation methods.

But here’s my advice when it comes to Mac n’ Cheese — the simpler = the better.

Enjoy friends.

Court’s Mac n’ Cheese
adapted from: Ina Garten, Tyler Florence, the Pioneer Woman, Alton Brown and the Joy of Cooking cookbook.

1 lb. box of Elbow Macaroni
¼ cup (1/2 Stick Or 4 Tablespoons) Butter 🙂
¼ cup Flour
2-½ cups Whole Milk (you can do whatever milk you want, but I think whole is better)
2 teaspoons (heaping) Dry Mustard, More If Desired
1 pound Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Grated
1 teaspoons Salt, More To Taste
½ teaspoons Ground Black Pepper

Topping:
3 Tablespoons Butter
1 cup breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente. You want it a little undercooked cause you’re gonna stick it in the oven to cook more, and you don’t want mushy macaroni.

While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and dry mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it’s free of lumps, and don’t let it burn. Stir in the milk. Simmer for ten minutes.

Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Make sure it gets all melty and beautiful. Season with salt and pepper. DO NOT UNDERSALT. Taste the sauce here, if you need more salt or pepper, throw it in. Fold in the macaroni.

Now, you can serve it here if you want and it’ll be delish, but I like mine with a nice little cheesy crust. If you do too — continue.

Pour macaroni and cheese into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.

For the topping, 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.