Another Lemon Goat Cheese Cheesecake

I made this recipe again for a dinner party last night, and it was better than ever. This time, I made the crust out of gingersnaps (two cups crushed up and 4 T melted butter). I also added another cream cheese package because I used a bigger (9") springform pan. (So, 12 ounces of goat cheese and 16 ounces of cream cheese.) It was very fluffy and delicious. The cat was obsessed with trying to get some for herself.

Fancy Nachos

Trying to use up food from the fridge, I made pretentious fancy nachos with:

• homemade corn chips
• bourbon-tomatillo black beans
• goat Brie
• white cheddar
• roasted red peppers
• cilantro
• chives

I made the corn chips by cutting up corn tortillas and frying them in a small amount of peanut oil.

I made the beans by opening a can of black beans and cooking them down with some Herdez green salsa and 1/8 cup of bourbon. No kidding.

I compiled the whole thing and baked it for 10 minutes or so.

No meat here...maybe something like leftover roasted duck or homemade wild boar sausage might have been silly enough to match the rest of the dish.

Winter Summer Pasta

It's mid-December, so all our garden herbs are dead except mint and parsley...so I made pasta with mint and parsley. I do what I can to feel alive during the winter.

Cook very slowly in a big pan until light gold:

• 3 or more cloves garlic, sliced
• Several T olive oil

Add:

• some vermouth
• a can of diced tomatoes
• red chile flakes
  

Cook slowly until flavors blend, but don't let tomatoes get that cooked flavor -- maybe 12 minutes?

Add:

• 1/3 cup ricotta
• a handful of chopped fresh mint
• a handful of chopped fresh parsley
• lots of pepper
• salt

The ricotta should be just enough to make the sauce a little thicker and richer -- it shouldn't be a cream sauce.

Don't put on as much Parmesan cheese as Lawson did above.

Asadero Cheese

I bought some Mexican asadero cheese a few days ago, and it's surprisingly like Velveeta, or Kraft Singles. It's advertised as a "melting" cheese, as in nachos. It's white, melty, and salty. I prefer the crumbly cotija. I used the asadero in quesdaillas for breakfast this morning, and included it in tonight's Mexican macaroni.

With the Mexican macaroni we had green beans and a salad of avocado, tomatoes, fresh jalapenos, and green onion.

Double-Decker Tuna Brie Melts

I used a few cans of solid white albacore to make a simple tuna salad: touch of mayo, tablespoon of minced fresh parsley, lemon juice, lots of black pepper. I put some of it in between whole wheat bread bread, which I then sauteed in a pan with a tiny bit of butter and olive oil.

Then I piled the rest of the tuna salad on top of the sandwiches, slapped some slices of cheap grocery store Brie on top, and broiled the sandwiches in the toaster oven.

We ate the sandwiches with carrot sticks, fresh mirasol chiles, and Yuengling. The meal reminded me of a childhood lunch fancied up and served for adult dinner.

Cotija

Just a little note about how much we love the Mexican cheese cotija. It's kind of salty like Parmesan, but much fresher--crumbly and wonderful. A big wedge from the neighborhood Mexican grocery store costs $4.

This morning for breakfast we had quesadillas with fresh green chiles and cotija.

Mountain Macaroni

Unlike the last time we went to the mountains, we brought food this weekend and cooked it.

It was a fairly eventful trip: our friends Ken and Melanie and their baby came. When we got up to the house Friday night the power had been off for several days, long enough for all the food in the freezers and fridges to spoil and for various horrendous goos and oozes to leak out all over the kitchen floor. We started up the generator, and the power company restored the power a few short hours after Lawson called them, and we avoided opening the fridge all night. The next day Mel and I cleaned it out, which involved throwing out a lot of economy sized tubs of mayonnaise and frozen shrimp and rancid orange juice concentrate. Also some odoriferous baby back ribs. Yuck.

Otherwise we were fine: we hiked, we drank, we pulled ticks off the dog.

Lawson smoked some ribs. They were salty and delicious. I steamed some okra. Lawson made a salad of Vidalia onions, red bell pepper, cucumbers, lemon, olive oil, and blue cheese.

And I made Southern macaroni and cheese, the baked kind.

I've had plenty of variations, eaten it at potlucks and holidays and barbecue joints, but I never knew much about it. Melanie explained to me that there are a few major schools of mac and cheese preference: the egg school and the creamy school. Lawson's family is the former, as is Ken's. Mel's family is split, with Mel in the creamy camp. I tend to like creamier kinds, I guess, especially because prior to moving down here I considered "macaroni and cheese" a synonym for "Kraft dinner." But I understand the appeal of egg.

I've made lame mac and cheeses in the past by following various recipes, so this time I decided not to use one, and I was very happy. I made a pretty good hybrid of the two styles unintentionally. I'm almost embarrassed to write it down, Mom...it is calorific redneck hiking food, that's for sure.

Mountain Macaroni

Cook about 12 oz. macaroni until not quite al dente.

Meanwhile, saute in olive oil until soft:
- one small fresh onion, diced
- one small fresh red chile or bell pepper (I used a mild Anaheim), diced

Remove to a bowl. Mix in:
- 1 cup half and half
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
- several T mayonnaise
- salt and pepper to taste
- 12 oz (1.5 smallish blocks) sharp cheddar, cut into cubes

Mix all together with the pasta; pour into big casserole dish; bake at 350 degrees for about half an hour.