Category: entertaining

When it comes to mac-n-cheese, I confess I don’t make it with milk and flour. My go-to macaroni and cheese recipe is based on an old Southern Living recipe that uses cream of celery soup, but I often mix it up to make it my own. I also switch it up based on what I may have on hand. For instance, I have used plain yogurt instead of sour cream. Still, the original recipe is delicious. It pairs well with any meat dish, such as steaks, pork loin or pork chops, or sausage. I’ve also served it with venison steaks. It’s great as a side for a cookout and is also a nice match for BBQ. Start with this and consider your own variations.

“Jack in the Macaroni Bake”

Southern Living, February 1994

Ingredients:

• 2 quarts water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 8 oz. of elbow macaroni
• 2 tablespoons or margarine
• 1/4 cub chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped sweet red pepper
• 2 cups (8 oz.) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of celery soup
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• chili powder

Original Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook macaroni according to directions, drain, rinse and set aside. On stovetop, melt butter in Dutch over, add diced onion and pepper. Saute over medium heat until tender. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese, sour cream and soup. Fold in cooked macaroni. Spoon into a greased 2 quart casserole. Sprinkle with chili powder. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

My basic version means substituting with the following:

• 1 tablespoon butter paired with 1 tablespoon olive oil
• add a diced jalapeno (small) with the diced red bell pepper
• you can switch out the cream of celery with cream of mushroom
• you can use plain yogurt instead of sour cream
• I prefer paprika and Cajun seasoning to chili powder, and I like to sprinkle them in a criss-cross fashion for a spice latticework across the top of the casserole

This mac & cheese is classic comfort food. It keeps well in the fridge, but won’t likely last past a second night. I really love it with sweet onion and jalapeno. As for variations, try not to exceed the measurements for the onion and pepper because the base — soup, cheese and sour cream — needs to hold together and any excess with the other ingredients could interfer with that binding with the pasta. I did manage to fold in a little bit of chopped, sauteed kale.

The classic Jake in the Macaroni bake with a bit of kale interlaced with the pasta.

You can make with other short pastas, such as penne, but I am finding that elbow macaroni might just work the best.

This is a stable of my cooking repertoire and a really great centerpiece for entertaining. It’s great for serving to family or anyone you want to feel like family in your home.

Enjoy! Cheers,

The Sage Leopard

My notes transcribed from a Southern Living magazine at my grandmother’s home.

I rushed to answer the front door with my hair rolled up in curlers. My friend greeted me wearing white gloves, a straw hat and a bright dress with a petticoat. She graciously handed me a hostess gift, a miniature rose plant. I was actually ready for the party in my hair rollers because it was a Steel Magnolias theme party and I looked like I might just be sitting at Truvy’s beauty parlor. The movie was playing on the living room TV and all the guests knew all the lines.

The party welcome sign read, “if you don’t have anything nice to say, come sit by me,” a line by Clairee in Steel Magnolias. The green hat resembles the one Drum wore while shooting birds before Shelby’s wedding.

As for the food, we do have boudin in the freezer from a recent trip through Louisiana, but I am not a Cajun cook and felt I’m not ready for that challenge. Opting to stay in the South for the menu planning, I pulled out my copy of the Best of the Best from Georgia Cookbook. I came up with this game plan:

• Chicken Savannah – breaded chicken breast baked with new potatoes, mushrooms and artichokes with a cream sauce

  Prepping the mushroom cream sauce for the Chicken Savannah.

• Vidalia Sweet Onion Appetizer – chopped Vidalia onion dip baked in a pie dish with shredded Swiss cheese and a little mayonnaise. Baked until bubbly and served with Ritz crackers.
• Watermelon Fire and Ice Salsa – this may just be better than tomato salsa. It was served with chili lime tortilla chips.
• Buckhead Rice – casserole baked with cooked rice, egg, milk, Cheddar cheese, a package of frozen spinach, chopped onion, Worcestershire sauce, and dried marjoram, thyme and rosemary.

  Pull recipes from the same cookbook for a unified theme for a party menu.

• Buttermilk Bowtie Pasta Salad – I actually forgot to serve this! I’ve previously paired it with burgers and love the black beans, bell peppers and cilantro in the buttermilk lime dressing.
• The guests brought cornbread, a shrimp-avocado-tomato salad, cherry Bourbon and Coke, a fruit Chantilly cake, and a Hummingbird cake.

The cakes were my favorite food of the night. My friend baked the Southern Living Hummingbird Cake and the combination of pineapple and banana is perfect. I’m inspired to bake on of my own before too long. It looks similar to carrot cake but tastes oh so much better.

What’s left of the cakes? Not much!

The best part of the party was the company. One friend brought a neighbor, which is such a fun way to meet new people. Always suggest your guests bring a friend you don’t yet know. Someone asked about the hand-painted Magnolia House sign over the stove. We explained I made it to celebrate all the magnolia trees around the house. There are two huge ones in front, along with a tulip magnolia. Plus there is a little gem magnolia, a D.D. Blanchard magnolia and another tulip magnolia in the back. After the movie, we walked around the yard to show guests the trees and other plants.

The Sage Leopard, our dog Higgins, rests after the party on the seat where he favorite guest had sat.

We had to wait until twilight when the sun is not as wilting as during a southeast Texas summer afternoon. The heat, in fact, inspired the whole idea of a movie watch party. Bring your guests over for a watch party to enjoy each other in the A/C, catch up and say movie lines together. If you don’t have anything nice to say, come sit by me.

Cheers,

The Sage Leopard