Comfort food in time of need

Comfort food - what does that mean to you?  To me - it brings thoughts of favorite foods I have enjoyed in my lifetime.  Reuben sandwiches, grilled cheese sandwiches, roasted tomato soup, minestrone soup, chanterelle risotto, grilled salmon, homemade pizza, kung pao veggies, oh I could go on… but it is safe to say that for me, cooking food and eating the food I have prepared provides solace for my heart, many times the process helps settle me, and for sure - and always it is made with love. 

I am posting a dish today that brought comfort to me last week.  For last week, without getting into the gory details (but wanting to provide an explanation as to the lapse in postings) while out walking with Tara (dog) on one of my daily morning meditational treks, I came across one of life’s tragedies’ that we are not always exposed to.  For there in the path, out in the desert, I found a young man, who had taken his life.  If that sounds dramatic or ridiculous, I can 100 % assure you that it is true and it was over the top shocking.  I am still recovering from it.  

That said, upon returning home, talking with “sister” Lindy, I decided to take her suggestion and set about making one of my most favorite, but complicated dishes (based on use of pots/pans).  The following recipe has been so named Heart Attack Mac based on the very rich and sumptuous ingredients (not your standard Mac/Cheese dish).

 “Heart attack” Mac & Cheese

serves 8  - but last time I made a “half” batch and it still provided leftovers

5 T butter / softened

1 -2 large shallots

** ½ pound of chantrelle mushrooms (optional)

Sea salt to taste

1 pound pasta of your choice

(I used a brown rice penne pasta from Trader Joe’s)

4 cups pepper infused Béchamel sauce (recipe below)

8 oz. sharp white cheddar (grated)

8 oz. sharp yellow cheddar (grated)

8 oz.  Parmesan – Reggiano or Asiago (grated) and divided into 2 portions

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon of dry mustard

½ teaspoon of hot sauce (I use Mae Ploy chili sauce)

1/ 2 cup of fresh dried bread crumbs

Béchamel Sauce

Step one - infuse the milk -

Pour milk in sauce pan add three large dried ancho chilies, 2 -3 cloves of fresh garlic and 3 bay leaves

Bring to ALMOST boil – but not quite (it will bubble around the edges) turn to low heat and simmer for an hour and then turn off (the longer it infuses the better) this can be adjusted to your desire of “heat” in terms of ancho chilies

Can also be done ahead of time, but do bring to room temp for the sauce

Once the milk has been infused to your tastes proceed as follows with the remaining ingredients:

6 tablespoons of butter

2 – 3 cloves of minced garlic

1/3 cup of flour (I used spelt/ and sifted it)

4 cups of infused milk (recipe called for whole but can be tweaked) and should be room temp

½ teaspoon of sea salt

In a heavy medium sized sauce pan, melt the butter over low heat.  Add the garlic in and cook 1 – 2 minutes taking care to not brown.   Whisk in the flour.  Cook, whisking often, taking care to not let the flour get brown, this takes about 4 – 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in hot milk.  Whisk in the salt and nutmeg.

Return the saucepan to medium heat and bring to a low simmer.  Cook, stirring constantly until the sauce has thickened; this should take at least 10 minutes.   There should be no lumps, but if there are, using a strainer, push the sauce through it removing all lumps. This sauce can be used warm or cooled.  If cooling, cover with plastic wrap pressed onto the surface and refrigerate for up to 1 day.  Return to room temperature before using.

Mac /Cheese prep:

Mince the shallot and slice mushrooms into desired size, sauté lightly in 1 – 2 tablespoons of olive oil. If additional moisture is required, splash a bit of white wine when cooking.  Set aside.

Cook pasta, drain and place in a buttered 3 quart baking dish

 (I used a 10 inch deep dish pie pan)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

Stir cheeses into the completed Béchamel sauce

Reserve 1 cup of Parmesan blend for later use

Add in the cayenne, mustard and hot chile sauce; gently fold in the chantrelles etc

Pour the sauce over the pasta in the baking dish.

(Note – if desired you can tightly cover at this point, and refrigerate up to 24 hours)

In a small bowl blend together the bread crumbs + remaining cup of Parmesan blend cheeses. 

Sprinkle over the pasta and sauce

Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes

(if the mac/cheese has been refrigerated cook for approximately 45 minutes)

Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.   Serve hot…. This is great with a spinach salad! 

Additional notes***this dish can be frozen in tightly wrapped plastic packages and kept up to one month in the freezer,

As Julia said "Bon Appetit!" and enjoy!

Perhaps the most important message of this posting to me is ....is to always remember to tell the people you love - how much you love them and how important they are to you in your life.