Inauguration Weekend Cooking

I had a very long weekend due to MLK day and Inauguration day being back to back. And with the cold weather, I was not about to venture out to 10' windchill temps to go be part of all the crowds in DC when I can watch everything on t.v. and be warm. So that left me with a weekend full of cooking! To continue on with the Quest for the Best Mac and Cheese, I have a 4.5 yummer! Mac and Two Cheeses with Carmelized Shallots. Delicious! It was supposed to serve 6....I think it may have served me 4 times.....I just couldn't stop going for more! All the flavors melded into this combination of texture and taste, it was wonderful.

• 3 tbsp butter, plus more for baking dish
• 3 cups slice large shallots (about 6)
• 8 oz small elbow macaroni (2 cups)
• 1 1/4 cups half and half
• 2 1/2 tsps hot sauce ( i used less and thought it was spicy enough)
• 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese (8 oz)
• 1 1/2 tbsp flour
• 2/3 cups crumbled goat cheese

Bring water to a boil. Butter a 9x9 baking dish. Melt 3 tbsp butter in a skilet over medium heat. Add shallots, add some salt and pepperand stir. Cover and cook 5 minutes, stirrin often. Reduce heat a bit. Continue cooking until shallots are deep brown, stirring often for another 6 minutes.

When macaroi is done, drain well and reserve the pot. In , pot,bring half and half and hot sauce to a simmer over medium heat. Toss cheddar and flour together in a bowl and then add to the half and half. Whisk until sauce is smooth and returns to simmer, about 2 minutes. Mix in the pasta. Season with and s&p if needed.

Spread pasta mixture in buttered dish. Top with shallots, then goat cheese and sprinkle with pepper. Bake until heated, about 15 minutes.


For dessert, I made some Cream Cheese Squares. It used Pillsbury Crescent Roles, so of course I wanted to try it. These were good, but the dough didn't act like it was supposed to. In the picture from Food & Family, the crust was flaky and the cream cheese wasn't so thick layered. I had given the recipe to my co-worker too, and hers didn't come out very well either, but still tasty. From my picture, you can see the dough was pretty dense and bready, not the texture I was going for. We had a consensus that we would try this one again, but get the flaky biscuit dough instead. 3 yums.

• 2 cans (8 oz each) refridgerated crescent dinner roles ( I recommend using the flaky biscuit cans)
• 2 packages of cream cheese (8 oz each) (but I recommend using less)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 3/4 cup sugar, divided
• 2 tbsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350'. Unroll 1 of the can of the dough. Press onto bottom of a greased 13x9 inch bakigng dish to form a crust, pressing the seams together. Beat the cream cheese, vanilla and egg and 1/2 cup of the sugar with electric mixer until well blended. Spread onto crust.

Unroll the other can of dough onto a large sheet of waxed paper and pat it out to form a 13x9 rectangle, again pressing the seams together. Invert over the cream cheese mixture to form a crust and get rid of the paper.

Bake 30-35 minutes until golden brown. Combine the remaining sugar and the cinnamon and sprinkle on top before cutting.