Spicy Southwest Mac and Cheese

On March 14, 2018March 14, 2018 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Arizona, Recipes11 Comments

One of the meals that we ate when we were in Scottsdale, Arizona, was a spicy mac and cheese with sausage and red peppers. It was a nice change of pace from traditional mac and cheese, so we decided to try and replicate the recipe ourselves. Making homemade macaroni and cheese isn’t very difficult and tastes better than anything that you can get out of a box, but we rarely take the time to do it. Fortunately, it is easy to find seasoned varieties of sausage in the grocery store these days, so we didn’t have to go to the trouble of making our own sausage. We found a nice Cajun spiced andouille sausage that paired nicely with the chipotle chili. One nice thing about a recipe like this is that you can easily modify it to feed a larger crowd or reduce it for a meal for one or two. We decided to cook ours in individual crock bowls, but cooking it in a casserole dish would certainly be ideal as well. You can also use different types of pasta for the dish, but we used a Cellentani noodle as it has ridges to help hold the cheese. This is definitely a recipe that we would do again in the future.

Picante Macaroni and Cheese with Sausage in Scottsdale

INGREDIENTS

4 cups of Cellentani Noodles (or elbow macaroni)
2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
4 cups Milk
1 Red Pepper – sliced into strips
2 Links of Andouille Sausage – cut into bite size pieces
1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tbsp Garlic Powder
2 tbsp Chipotle Chili Powder (or to taste)
1 tsp Dry Mustard
2 tbsp All-Purpose Flour
3 1/2 cups Four Cheese Blend
1/2 cup Panko Bread Crumbs
Salt and Pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Cook the pasta according to the directions, drain and set aside. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil, red pepper, and sausage. Even though the sausage is already cooked, frying it will caramelize it and add more flavor. Cook the sausage and pepper for about 5 to 7 minutes until the sausage is browned and the pepper is soft. In a large sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat and then whisk in the flour to make a roux. Be sure not to let the roux start to brown. Heat 2 cups of the milk in a microwave for 90 seconds and then slowly whisk it into the roux, making sure to whisk out any lumps. Turn the heat up to medium-high. Microwave the rest of the milk for 90 seconds and then whisk that into the rest of the milk mixture. Add the chipotle powder, mustard, garlic powder, salt and pepper, ensuring to mix thoroughly. Add 3 cups of the cheese, whisking until it is smooth and creamy. Stir in the pasta, sausage, and peppers until the pasta is completely coated with the cheese sauce. Spoon 1/4 of the pasta into 4 oven proof bowls that have been sprayed with a non-stick spray (or transfer to a medium casserole dish). Top with the remaining cheese and bread crumbs and bake in an oven at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Serves 4.

Pasta, Sausage, Peppers, and Cheese Sauce

Individual Serving before Topping with Cheese and Bread Crumbs

Chicken Schnitzel with Mushroom Gravy

On March 7, 2018 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Germany, Recipes8 Comments

We definitely had a variety of schnitzels while we were living in Germany. One of the first ones that we had was considered a Hunter’s Schnitzel, so we decided to do a version of that for ourselves. Generally speaking, schnitzel is very easy to make and can be done with pork, chicken, or veal. The most important thing for making a good schnitzel is to pound the meat out to be about one-quarter inches thick and ensuring that the entire meat cutlet is the same thickness. Although you can buy a mallet to pound out the meat, we have found that if you wrap the meat in plastic wrap and the hit it with the flat side of a heavy skillet, it works even better to get it to a consistent thickness. The real flavor comes from the sauce, so we decided to make a hearty gravy to accompany the schnitzel. Although we used button mushrooms, you could certainly do a variety of your favorite mushrooms.

INGREDIENTS

4 Chicken Breasts
2 eggs
1/4 cup Whole Milk
1 cup + 4 tbsp All-Purpose Flour
1 cup Breadcrumbs
8 tbsp Unsalted Butter
1 tsp Paprika
4 cups Beef Stock
1 lb Mushrooms – sliced
1 small Shallot – chopped
1 tbsp Garlic Powder
4 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat and then add the mushrooms and shallot. Cook until the mushrooms are slightly browned and the onion is soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and remove the mushrooms and onions to drain on a paper towel. Leave any remaining butter in the skillet. In a large sauce pan, melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter over medium heat and whisk in 4 tablespoons of flour in order to create a roux. Do not let the flour start to brown. Heat the beef stock in another pan or in a microwave until luke warm. Slowly add the beef stock to the sauce pan stirring constantly. Heat over medium-high heat, continuing to stir. Add the mushrooms, onion, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Once the gravy has thickened, reduce the heat to low and continue to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. In three separate bowls or shallow plates you will place the ingredients for dredging the chicken, which has already been pounded to about a 1/4 inch thickness. In the first bowl, mix the cup of flour with salt, pepper, and paprika. In the second bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. In the third bowl, add the breadcrumbs. Add the olive oil to the large skillet and heat to medium-high. Using one hand, dredge both sides of the chicken through the flour and then dredge through the eggs, and finally place in the breadcrumbs. Using your other hand, dredge the chicken until well-coated with breadcrumbs and place in the skillet. Using separate hands will keep the breadcrumbs from getting too messy from the eggs and flour. Cook the chicken in the skillet for about 5 minutes per side until evenly browned. Since the chicken is so thin, it doesn’t take long to cook and over-cooking will make the chicken dry and tough. Place the chicken on a plate to serve and then cover with the mushroom gravy.

Our Finished Chicken Schnitzel with Mushroom Gravy

Salmon Oscar

On February 28, 2018 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Recipes, Virginia9 Comments

During our trip to Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, we had a very delicious meal that the restaurant called Salmon Chesapeake. It was salmon topped with lump crab meat with a cream sauce. For our attempt to replicate this meal, we went with a cross between a Veal Oscar and a stuffed flounder. We love Hollandaise sauce with salmon, so we decided to use that as our sauce, which worked out really well. This isn’t a complicated recipe at all, but it looks and tastes wonderful, so it is a perfect dish for entertaining. We ate it as a weeknight dinner with some asparagus, which made for a perfect combination. We used a packaged powder mix to make our Hollandaise sauce, but you can certainly make it from scratch if you prefer.

Salmon Chesapeake in Alexandria, Virginia

INGREDIENTS

4 Salmon Filets – 4 oz each
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Lemon
1/8 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 lb Lump Crab Meat – cleaned of all shells
1 cup Panko Breadcrumbs
2 tbsp Mayonnaise
1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 Clove Garlic – minced
1/4 Green Pepper – finely chopped
1 Egg
1 1/2 tbsp Spicy Mustard
Salt and Pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Rub the salmon with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Zest the lemon over the salmon and then drizzle with the juice of half of the lemon. Place the salmon, skin-side down, onto a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil sprayed with a non-stick spray. Beat the egg in a small bowl with a fork or whisk. In a large mixing bowl, combine the crab, mayonnaise, mustard, breadcrumbs, egg, green pepper, garlic, and the juice from the other half of the lemon and mix until well blended. Transfer to the crab mixture to a small casserole dish that has been sprayed with a non-stick spray. Place the salmon and the crab mixture into the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. If necessary, put the salmon on a higher rack than the crab mixture. Cook the Hollandaise sauce according to the directions. Remove the salmon and crab mixture from the oven and begin to plate. Spoon 1/4 of the crab mixture on top of each salmon filet and then drizzle with the Hollandaise sauce. Serves four.