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Friday, January 5, 2018

Buffalo Mac and Cheese and Happy Birthday To Us!!

Today was a cold one... as in 0-zero degrees cold.
Brrr....
I'm not sure what the windchill was...
I just know it was 
so, so cold... painfully cold.

I would not have 
ventured out so early today...
except...it's the first Friday of January!!  
...It's Fox19 recipe day!!!

I had two
fabulous recipe segments to do
for our local Fox19
this morning....two
new recipes for you!!


I love that 
Fox19 has me visit
 the first Friday
every month...
It's so much fun to 
plan the recipes...

This month, I thought we
should do comfort food.
It just feels cozy...
Because it's cold... 
and because winter feels like the 
perfect time for comfort food.

Here I am, 
the first week
of January... 
when everyone else is resolving to eat better....
promising to exercise more...
...I'm over here peddling
cozy comfort foods... cake and pasta... (ha)

Here's the thing... 
everything in moderation...
everything... 
exercise...and yes, even pasta.

Did someone say cake??


Yes... ??

We need to celebrate this year!!
All the fabulous and amazing 
days that are headed our way...
--all the 2018 birthdays,
anniversaries... accomplishments,
first days and retirements...
... the graduation days and
all the just-because days...
everything in-between.

With all the celebrating...we need a cake that's
 up to the task... and
luckily I'm sharing with you the recipe for an
award-winning buttery yellow cake... 
and an old fashioned cooked frosting.

For these chilly January days... 
a Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese...
(I'm sorry in advance about the damage this 
recipe might cause to your resolution.)

This mac and cheese...
it was 
well loved 
today in the studio. LOVED.
They ate it all.  
Every last bit of it...



Did I mention 
Blue Ribbon Kitchen 
is having a birthday...??
A blog-aversery...
a blog anniversary...hmm.

Certainly, a day to celebrate.

This January 9th...
in just a few short days... 
this little blog will be 
officially four years-old.

I can hardly believe it...

I do have some thoughts on this milestone,
and a snazzy birthday 
post is in the works...

Let's celebrate!!

From Today's Show:
Sources:
 Tall white candles- Hobby Lobby-candle aisle
Happy Birthday Cake Banner, plates,- Hobby Lobby party aisle
Ruffled Cake Stand- Pier One
Mini Cake Stand-Target One Spot
Silver Cupcake Holders, Pastel Sprinkles-Hobby Lobby-Baking aisle
Pastel Candles-Target
Mason Jar-Michael's/Walmart
White Casseroles-French White by Coringware
All cloth napkins-Pier One




Here are the recipes:

Blue Ribbon Birthday Cake
Karri Perry: Blue Ribbon Kitchen

Ingredients:

DRY:

2 ¼ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 ¾ cups sugar


1 stick of unsalted butter- softened

WET:
2 tsp vanilla extract
¼  tsp almond extract-not a drop more.
2 large eggs
1 cup milk (2% or whole)
1/3 cup vegetable oil 


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set racks in middle position.

Grease two 9-inch cake pans, line with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a medium bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a small bowl whisk milk, eggs, almond and vanilla extracts, and vegetable oil.

In a large bowl beat softened butter on medium for 1 minute until light and fluffy.

Scrape down sides, add dry ingredients. Mix for one minute to combine. Mixture will resemble wet sand, with some lumps.

Stream in the whisked, wet ingredients with the mixer on low. Add half of the liquid, as the batter comes together; add the second half of the liquid.

Mix batter until just combined.

Pour batter equally into two prepared pans. Bake at 350 on the middle rack for 30-35 minutes or until cakes are set and a toothpick comes out cleanly.

Let cakes rest 5 minutes. Loosen edges gently with a paring knife, invert onto cooling racks and remove parchment paper to release steam while still very warm. Let cakes cool completely before frosting.

OLD FASHIONED FLOUR FROSTING
Ingredients:
1 Cup granulated sugar
½ tsp salt
3 Tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla
2 sticks softened butter (1 cup)
1 cup confectioner’s sugar

DIRECTIONS:
In a sauce pan off of the heat, add the sugar, salt and flour.  Whisk to combine.
Slowly add the milk.  Stir well.
On medium heat, stirring constantly, cook until mixture it just begins to boil. Turn off heat, stir in vanilla and transfer cooked mixture to a heat-safe bowl to cool to lukewarm.
After ten-fifteen minutes (or when mixture has cooled), whip the softened butter and confectioner’s sugar together on medium until light and fluffy.  Slowly add the (now lukewarm-but not hot) cooked flour mixture to the whipped butter/confectioner’s sugar.
Continue to mix on high until the frosting is light and fluffy.
**Other flavoring may be used to change frosting.  To color frosting add a small amount of gel food coloring.

For the cake today: I filled the center with a seedless red raspbesrry jam, I added honey and orange zest to thin it out...
You can add any filling, lemon curd, chocolate ganache... anything.  Change the frosting too.. I love a yellow cake with chocolate frosting... so good!!



Buffalo Mac and Cheese and 

Traditional Mac and Cheese Recipes:


Traditional Mac and Cheese
Blue Ribbon Kitchen


1 lb. box of elbow or other dried pasta noodle. 
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 cup heavy cream
1 ½ cup 2% milk
1 jar Kraft Old English Cheese
2 cups divided shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups divided shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Buttered cracker crumbs for topping

Cook pasta according to package directions adding 2-3 minutes extra until noodles are very soft. Drain and set aside.

In a large saucepan over medium heat melt butter. Add flour and stir for 30-40 seconds to cook flour.

Slowly add heavy cream/milk, stirring constantly to create a smooth sauce. As mixture thickens, add more cream and milk.   
Add Old English Cheese and melt into the sauce. 
Add 1 cup each of the shredded cheeses, stirring constantly adding an additional 1/4 cup of milk to loosen the sauce if needed. 
When sauce is combined and bubbly, stir in the seasonings and the Dijon mustard. Turn off heat.

Mix the drained, soft-cooked macaroni noodles into the cheese sauce. Pour half of the cheesy macaroni into a 9x13 buttered casserole dish. Cover the first half of the macaroni in cheese sauce with ¾ of the remaining shredded cheeses. Finish by adding the rest of the cheesy macaroni to the casserole dish. Top with the last of the shredded cheese. Spread buttered cracker crumbs on top. Bake the casserole in a 350 degree oven for 35-45 minutes, or until cheese is melted, lightly browned and bubbling. Serve.

Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
Blue Ribbon Kitchen

1 lb. box of elbow or other dried pasta noodle. 
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 cup heavy cream
1 ½ cup 2% milk
1 jar Kraft Old English
2 cups divided shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups divided shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 to 1/2 cup Frank’s Buffalo Sauce-  With wings, make this dish as spicy as you like by adding more or less buffalo sauce.  A word of caution: A little goes a long way with the sauce... Start with ¼ cup of the wing sauce and add more to taste.  A great option: Provide a small bottle of buffalo sauce on the side for those who might want to add more.
1-2 cups cooked shredded chicken
1/2 cup diced celery
Sliced green onions for garnish

Cook dried noodles according to package directions, adding  2-3 minutes extra until noodles are very soft. Drain and set aside.

In a large saucepan over medium heat melt butter. Add flour and stir for 30-40 seconds to cook flour.

Slowly add heavy cream/milk, stirring constantly to create a smooth sauce. As mixture thickens, add more cream and milk. 
Add Old English Cheese and melt into the sauce. 
Add 1 cup each of cheddar and Monterey Jack shredded cheeses, stirring constantly adding an additional 1/4 cup of milk to loosen the sauce if needed.
When sauce is combined and bubbly, stir in the seasonings, Dijon mustard, and buffalo sauce.  Start with ¼ cup of buffalo sauce and add more to suit your taste.
Add the diced celery and the shredded cooked chicken to the sauce. Turn off heat.

Mix the drained, soft-cooked macaroni noodles into the cheese/chicken sauce. Pour half of the cheesy macaroni into a 9x13 buttered casserole dish. Cover the first half of the macaroni and cheese sauce with3/4 of the remaining shredded cheeses. Finish by adding the rest of the cheesy macaroni to the casserole dish. Top with the last of the shredded cheese. Bake the casserole in a 350 degree oven for 35-45 minutes, or until cheese is melted, lightly browned and bubbling. 
Sprinkle with sliced green onions just before serving.




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