A dish like Macaroni and Cheese is good for beginners, as it introduces concepts like minced vegetables and thickening elements. Photo by Peggy Peattie. | Mac 'n' Cheese the Chef's Way
By Nina Garin
There are certain things a mom should know, like how to sew a button or fold a fitted sheet or cook a homemade dinner.
I can't do any of them.
It's no big deal to live with missing buttons and a perpetually messy linen closet. But now that I have two kids, I really have to do something about the cooking situation. Right now, my daughters -- Marina, who's 3, and 2-year-old Ella -- think all noodle soup comes in the shape of princesses and that chicken nuggets are supposed to look like tiny dinosaurs.
And I take full responsibility.
Growing up, I never had an interest in anything kitchen-related. Before we had children, my husband and I would go to restaurants almost every night. And when I did attempt to cook for the family, something went wrong -- last fall I tried making pan-fried steak and wound up in the ER with second-degree burns.
But taking kids to a restaurant is a chore once they figure out how to climb out of the highchair. And with the economy the way it is, we can no longer afford dining out more than once or twice a month.
So it's time to get serious. This is the year I learn to cook.
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AN EDUCATION
The first step, which I took last October, was to enroll in a class at Great News! Discount Cookware and Cooking School in Pacific Beach, Calif. Most of the lessons seemed too advanced for my level, but there was one that stood out: Mac 'n' Cheese 101. It's something my kids actually eat, and a major step involves boiling pasta. I could handle that.
But then Katherine Emmenegger, the executive chef at Great News! who taught the class, used a word I never heard before?
Roux? Um? What?
Over the course of the day, I learned that roux means a thickening agent and that you make it with flour and butter. That afternoon, I also discovered panko bread crumbs, white pepper, and that Mac and Cheese tastes better when you bake it.
I didn't know Emmenegger was also going to teach us how to make apple pie, but when she did, I realized I'd never before seen a pie get made from scratch, and it was fascinating. But come on, who needs to make a pie when Julian is only about an hour away?
And as is the case with many of the Great News! classes, my Mac 'n' Cheese 101 wasn't hands-on. Leaving me wondering if I'd be able to make a roux at home, especially with two preschoolers running around.
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THE HOME TEST
Usually, when my kids nap, I catch up on my (completely immature) love of CW TV shows. You know, "Gossip Girl," "The Vampire Diaries," "America's Next Top Model." I even watch the new "90210."
But I gave those up one Saturday afternoon to give homemade Mac and Cheese a try.
Before I even got to the roux part, I noticed I had to mince an onion ... that means little squares, right? How can you even make little squares when your eyes are watering so much? Small chunks was as good as it got.
After that, it went much better. My roux turned out, and my sauce was actually thickening. My cheese and macaroni were blending nicely. The panko crumbs for the topping were brown and toasted. Best of all, the house smelled warm and homey.
Success!
Or was it? My husband ate the dish, claiming it was the best Mac he ever had. Aw. But Marina and Ella took one look and wanted nothing to do with it. My yummy, baked version with roux and parsley topping didn't look like their usual Annie's microwaveable Mac.
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CALL FOR BACKUP
I'm fortunate to have a friend, Maacah Marah, who is an amazing cook.
Once, just for fun, she taught the adults in our play group how to make fresh spring rolls with a green curry paste from scratch. I ignored the lesson and volunteered to watch everyone's kids, instead.
Now she was going to teach me how to roast a chicken, even though I was still putting up a bit of a fight.
"Why can't you just pick one up from Costco?" I asked.
It was as if I suggested to feed our kids a bucket of extra crispy KFC.
"No, no, no, we don't do that," she said.
She came over with a raw chicken, two lemons, garlic and a bag of broccoli. This time, my husband and brother-in-law were on kid-watching duty, leaving me no way out of this.
And believe me, I wanted out as soon as I realized we had to stick our hands inside the chicken and take out its insides and then stuff lemons and garlic cloves in its place.
Ew. Ew. Ew.
We washed the chicken, and salted it, and did the guts thing. Well, mostly Maacah did. She also made a super easy side dish to go along with it: broccoli florets, salt and olive oil that baked in the oven next to the chicken.
Because she's a perfectionist, Maacah flipped the chicken two or three times during the cooking process, though people have since told me you don't actually have to flip it and it still comes out fine.
But the chicken we made that night was beautiful, all lemony and garlicky and moist. And this time, my kids actually ate it. Even the broccoli.
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ON MY OWN
After two kitchen successes, I built up enough confidence to try recipes on my own.
I bought a cookbook, "The Toddler Cafe." Some recipes, like the black bean and banana puff pastry, did not go over so well. Have you tried working with puff pastry? But other dishes, like Panko-crusted chicken tenders, were total hits.
I've also been buying cooking magazines (Cooking Light is great; Every Day With Rachael Ray ... not so much) and have upgraded my kitchen gadgets. Now I have a fancy apple slicer, an apple corer, measuring spoons and a flour sifter.
On this journey, I have also discovered that I like baking, and my daughters do, too. They help me mix ingredients together, but mostly they run their fingers through the flour that falls on the table and eat it.
With my newfound love of baking, I decided to make an apple pie for a big family get-together.
I gave up my afternoon of "Gossip Girl" to make the pie crust, putting two sticks (two sticks!) of butter, flour, sugar and salt in the food processor with just enough water to make it bind. I divided it into two discs and put them in the fridge to chill until the next day.
I kept thinking about the dough and how it maybe was too thick or too bland and, because we made our yearly trek to Julian that weekend, I bought a backup pie in case my own didn't turn out.
It wasn't easy to roll the dough, even though I did the trick where you wrap it in plastic wrap so it won't stick to the table. The dough cracked in certain spots and was thicker in others, but it fit in the brand new pie dish I bought.
Slicing the apples was tedious, especially since Marina and Ella kept sneaking off with pieces, but easy enough.
Finally, I placed the second piece of dough on top of the sugary, buttery apple mix. But it wasn't pretty. It was uneven and clumpy, and Marina said it looked nothing like the gooseberry pie Snow White made for Grumpy.
Even when I took the pie out of the oven, it wasn't any prettier, but did it ever smell good.
I took it to my grandmother's house, along with the Julian pie -- you know, just in case.
After convincing my family that I really, truly had made it from scratch, we cut into it. The crust was a bit thick, but flaky and delicious. The apples were perfectly soft and sweet. No one touched the Julian pie.
And it got me thinking, if I can make a pie, me, the girl who didn't know the difference between baking powder and baking soda, well, I may just turn into a proper mom before this year is through.
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TRADITIONAL CHEESY MAC
4 to 6 servings
CHEESE SAUCE
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1�4 cup minced yellow onion
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 quart (4 cups) chilled whole milk
Salt and white pepper, to taste
Nutmeg, to taste
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded, sharp cheddar cheese, room temperature
1�4 cup (2 ounces) shredded parmesan cheese
PASTA
8 ounces elbow macaroni with ridges, cooked and drained according to package directions
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1�2 cup panko bread crumbs
1 pinch paprika
1�4 cup (2 ounces) shredded parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley leaves
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
For the sauce: In a saucepan, over medium heat, melt the butter, add the onions, and saute for two to three minutes. Add the flour, and reduce heat to medium low, cook stirring constantly to form a light roux.
Stirring with a wire whisk, add the milk and seasonings; simmer gently until the sauce is thick and smooth.
Remove the pan from heat and cool slightly. Add the cheeses and mix with wire whisk until cheese has melted and sauce is creamy.
For the pasta: Place pasta in large mixing bowl.
In a saute pan over medium heat, melt the butter, add the panko crumbs and toast to brown. Transfer from the heat, cool, and add the paprika, parmesan cheese and parsley.
Combine the pasta and cheese sauce. Place in an 8-by-11 buttered baking dish, top with the crumbs, and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
-- From Katherine Emmenegger, Great News! Cooking School
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Nina Garin writes about food for The San Diego Union-Tribune.
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COPYRIGHT 2010 THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS SYNDICATE INC.
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