Cheesy Dijon Macaroni

Cheese.

If the battle told of in the classic tale of Helen of Troy was not fought for a beautiful woman, it might have been fought for cheese. Just saying. In addition to cheese tasting amazing, it is full of essential calcium and great proteins, giving us just another reason to include this staple in our daily diet - with moderation of course!

I happen to be moving into a apartment across town, and I've been looking for ways to clear out all of the food I have sitting in my fridge. As I let my creative culinary juices flow the first thing I could think to do was to infuse some macaroni with the copious amounts of cheese I happen to have lying around. This is not your auntie's potluck mac-and-cheese, my friends. It's a flavor-packed rendition of the original and a fusion of more than a couple recipes and commenter  suggestions. But really, its the comforting macaroni and cheese we all love to eat in all of its gooey, cheesy glory. Read on for something kind of like a recipe.

Southern Living claims you can whip up a stellar mac and cheese in "three easy steps."I did use a variation of these steps, but don't call constantly whisking butter, flour, then milk, then spices, then cheese in a large skillet over a preheating oven "easy!" I don't mean to scare you off, the results are well worth it! But be prepared to sweat a little. Go ahead and click on that link for a easy cheesy mac prep guide. Note that you will need to cook and drain noodles according to instructions prior to dumping them in the cheese mixture and getting it happy in the oven. Also, the spices listed include salt, pepper, and optional red pepper. I added a little salt, pepper, cajun pepper, 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard, and 1/2 teaspoon thyme. I also poured in whatever cheese I had on hand which was sharp cheddar, a shaved parmesan mix, the parmesan u shake out of a can, and a little Colby & Monterey jack mix.

And there you have it: my fancy-sounding Cheesy Dijon Macaroni! Onwards, friends, and create awesome cheesy creations of your own!

With Cheesy Love,

Ki

Homemade Stuffed-Crust Pizza

Hello foodies! It's been a while since my last post because I've been super busy with my recent graduation and a trip to Singapore this week! I'll be there for three weeks and I promise to report back with a lot of saliva-inducing photos of all the delicious Asian fusion food I am soo ready to eat!! Until then, I will leave you with this American twist on an Italian classic - stuffed crust pizza.

This isn't my first foray into the pizza-making arena. I've been making my own pizza using all sorts of ingredients and toppings, with the foundation of my favorite Trader Joe's pre-made dough. But a few weeks ago my friend suggested creating a pizza creation with a stuffed crust - what a genius idea!! Here's a fairly simply set of directions on how to do it, but if you'd like to stick to a traditional style pizza just skip the stuffing and pile on your own mix of toppings!

Here's What You'll Need:

Pre-made Pizza dough (16 oz - I used Trader Joe's!) You can also make your own if you're ambitious.
Flour (for rolling the pizza dough onto)
8 oz Mozzarella Cheese - add or subtract to preference
1/8 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup Pasta or Pizza sauce
Toppings - Whatever you want! I used:
        Andouille sausage
        Pepperoni
        Green Peppers
        Garlic
String Cheese for the stuffed crust - I used Colby Jack

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Prepare the dough according to package directions. Sprinkle flour on your working surface. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a circular pizza pie. For the stuffed crust you will want to roll your dough as evenly as you can so that the pie will support the heavy crust.

Lightly grease the baking sheet/pizza stone you will bake your pizza on and lay the crust onto it. This will make it easier than piling your unbaked pizza high and then having to transport it to the baking sheet.
Here is the part where pictures come in really handy. Take the cheese sticks and line them up around the circumference on your pizza pie. Take the outside edge of the dough and pull it over the cheese stick, closing the seal with a fork and pressing with your fingers.

Do this until you have gone around the whole pizza.
Next, you can finally top up your pizza with sauce, cheese, and all your toppings!

Bake it for about 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted, sauce is bubbly and crust is browned.

Viola!!! You now have delizioso pizza!! My roommate said she was having a love affair with this pizza, that's how good it was. Try it for yourself and enjoy!!