MAC and CHEESE

Macaroni and Cheese from the master: Bernard Kimball

30 servings 3 1-pound packages of macaroni or pasta shells
3 cans of evaporated milk
9 eggs
1 stick of butter cut up in chunks for the pasta, plus ½ stick to mix with the bread crumbs and Parmesan.
1 5# package of grated cheddar or a blend of cheeses.
1 cup of Parmesan cheese or to taste
3 cups of bread crumbs, panko or "normal"

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Mix your Parmesan and bread crumbs together and set aside.
Heat the stick of butter, together with the evaporated milk almost to a boil.
Beat your eggs; then beat in the hot milk/butter mixture in a slow, steady stream so the eggs don't scramble.
Cook your pasta, I really prefer mine to be a tad done past al dente. Drain it and set it aside. You want to work quickly because you will need all the hot ingredients hot for this to work properly; hot pasta helps melt the cheese.
Mix the cheese with the pasta.
Pour in the milk, butter and egg mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste and toss it lightly together. The cheese will have made it cool down enough to permit you to use your hands.
Mix your breadcrumb/Parmesan mixture with the extra half stick of melted butter and scatter it over the top of the pasta mixture.
Place your casserole in the oven and bake it for about an hour. Feel in the center to make sure it’s hot through. If it is not let it go until it is. Maybe another 30 minutes. If it’s beginning to brown (that’s beyond, cover it with a sheet of aluminum foil to make sure it doesn’t burn. Some brown along the sides if just fine. Do not overbake as it will dry completely out. If you need to hold this hot for a while simply cover with a sheet of plastic wrap and a piece of foil and set it aside, or if it’s likely to be more than an hour slide it in the oven at 180 degrees, covered.

Serve.

　

　

　


　

　

　

　

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE, OLD FASHIONED

This is a very old and uniquely Southern version of Strawberry shortcake. It is pure simplicity . It is a shortbread, the high fat to flour ratio making it very delicate.

1 ½ c. shortening-I use half butter and half lard
3 c. flour
1 egg
5 Tbsp. Water
1 tsp. Vinegar
Fresh Strawberries
Sugar to taste

Cut shortening and flour together until crumbly. Mix egg, water and vinegar together and add to flour mixture. Mix with fork and turn dourh out to floured board. Roll out and cut into rough 3-inch squares, or circles if you're feeling fancy. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the sheet like delicate cookies to cool, use pieces of foil or cookie sheets for cooling.






Mash half the strawberries to be used and sugar berries to taste. Layer crust and berries and served with top cream (as pictured) or whipped cream (more realistic these days).

GOOSEBERRY COBBLER

GOOSEBERRY COBBLER

4 c. gooseberries-frozen and canned will do
3/4 c. sugar
½ cup milk
1 tsp. Baking powder
3 Tbsp. Butter
1 c. flour
1/4 tsp. Salt
Topping:
3/4 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. Salt
1 Tbsp. Cornstarch
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1 c. boiling water

Place berries in a 9 x 13-inch dish. Mix next six ingredients into a batter and pour over gooseberries. It will be rather thick.
Mix dry topping ingredients and sprinkle over batter. Pour boiling water over all the dry topping. Bake 45 minutes at 375 degrees. Serve warm with ice cream.

YAKKA MEIN

YAKKA MEIN

1 (3 to 4 pound) stewing beef roast (chuck, chuck tender, round, rump)
4 to 5 quarts of beef stock
3 teaspoons Tony Chachere's seasoning
1 teaspoon of onion powder and garlic, powder
4 tablespoons of oil
salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
1 pound of spaghetti noodles
8 hard boiled eggs, peeled (or count one half egg per soup bowl)
1 green onion, sliced
Soy sauce, hot sauce, to taste

Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, optional
If you want to get really asian add some cilantro.

Fill a stockpot halfway with the stock and seasonings. Place the meat in a stockpot - the stock should cover the meat plus about an inch. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 3 hours, or until the meat is tender and begins to fall apart. Remove the beef from the broth and using forks, pull it apart and return the shredded beef to the broth. Add salt and pepper, taste and adjust seasonings. Hold the soup over low until needed.

Meanwhile, boil the eggs, cool and peel them; set aside. Cook the spaghetti noodles according to package directions.

To assemble the soup, place a serving of spaghetti noodles in the bottom of a bowl. Use a slotted spoon to extract a serving of the shredded beef and add that on top of the noodles. Add a boiled egg, either whole, halved lengthwise or cut into chunks. Spoon about 1-1/2 cups of the beef broth on top and sprinkle with sliced green onion. Add a few dashes of soy sauce, hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Some folks also like to also add a bit of ketchup to theirs.