My girlfriend took one bite of these and said, “this tastes like Mac ‘n Cheese”. Voila, the Mac ‘n Cheese cracker was born.
I had been wanting to make more savory snacks and this was a really great place to start.
What I love most about this recipe is that these can be made in big batches, baked right away or frozen for future use, making last minute entertaining, either in our own home or at others, easy and stress free.
A brief summary of what summer represents:
S’mores, baked in a pan. Go figure. I found a FANTASTIC recipe for a s’mores bar. Although the action of putting the marshmallow on the stick, setting it over the campfire, burning it up is all fun and games, these bars, baked in the oven can’t be beat. I whipped up these, last minute, for a party that Eli was going to.
When we first moved to Southern California, we thought we were in pretty good shape; turns out that “pretty good shape” is a relative phrase. Even the guy bagging our groceries knows his body fat percentage. In fact, the popular gym chain, 24 Hour Fitness (yes, they are open 24 hours a day), originated here. That pretty much says it all.
After a killer leg workout at the gym this past Sunday, we wanted to treat ourselves to a mega-carb meal. Since I had a butternut squash saved and had just purchased some fresh rosemary, I decided to make butternut squash risotto.
I prefer fresh rosemary to dried because its soft needles are much more redolent and its flavor is brighter. In this butternut squash risotto, it heightens the flavor of the squash and balances the pungent blue cheese.
I know some people don’t make risotto because it takes too long and the continuous stirring is tedious. Well, I’ll let you in on a secret: I’ve been making risotto for years, and I don’t stir it continuously.
Comfort food – the words alone bring comfort. It may be macaroni and cheese, chicken and dumplings, meat and three or simply lovin’ from the oven. Whatever your comfort food is, there is something about the wintertime that makes us long for, yearn for and crave it! Maybe we’re inside too much away from the sun’s warmth or need to sooth winter blues or even just feel like nesting in our own abodes that make this time of year the time for comfort food. These foods feed our souls as well as bellies and help us make it through another long winter.
This winter has been mild, pleasant, and, I might say, quite enjoyable for this Farmer. I must confess, it is my second favorite season – I love seeing the lines of the limbs against the winter blue sky, the rye grass beneath the gray pecan groves, the deep shadows of thick pinelands, and the general thought of a time for rest before the high buzz of the coming vernal equinox.
Speaking of the latter, spring-like temps have abounded this winter in my neck of the woods, my appetite, though, still turns towards the foodstuffs of cold winter days. Chilies, soups, stews (this dish notwithstanding) have been on my plate and on all those, too, who have supped with me this season. I love making a big pot or pan of something that will feed me for days as well as my staff, family and friends – when you make this dish, all three will surely be in tow!
Every year about this time, Mimi and Granddaddy traipse up through
Georgia’s mountains to find some of the Peach State’s greatest
fruits–apples! Each autumn, the Peach State yields bushels and bushels
of apples and my grandparents seem to always
bring many of those bushels back to our now empty peach country.
“Whatever will we do with all these apples? “ Mimi always inquires; yet
her queries are always quelled once she gets to cooking and baking
with the bounty from their mountain travels.
First comes Gingergold, Jonaold, and of course, Gala, with some of this Farmer’s favorites such as Pink Lady and Fuji rounding out the season. This first trip to the North Georgia Mountains brought us the former apple varieties and the apple baking season has commenced! Another trip to Highlands or even further in North Carolina will bring my grand people back with more apples and I know that we’ll be apple-rich for the season. We have already had pies, some applesauce and, with much fanfare and glee, Mimi’s Apple Cake.