Pesto Mac and Cheese

Some may feel that toying with a classic is aberrant, but I think this tastes pretty darned good! You can also omit the pesto just for a regular old tasty mac&cheese.

8 oz dry chunky pasta like macaroni, fusilli, etc
2 (1oz/28gr) + 2 (1oz/28gr) Tbsps butter
¾ cups panko
1 small onion
1 Tbsp flour
¼ tsp dry mustard
⅛ tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1½ cups milk
1 cup (about 2.5 oz) grated sharp cheddar
1 cup (about 2.5 oz) grated gruyère cheese
Optional 1.5 oz chèvre cheese
2 Tbsps to ¼ cup pesto

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Boil the pasta in some salted water until just al dente; tender but firm (it will cook more when baking, and mushy pasta isn't great).
3. Meanwhile, in a hot pan, melt 2 Tbsps of the butter and mix in the breadcrumbs, stirring until evenly combined, and set aside.
4. Melt the remaining 2 Tbsps of butter and cook the onion until perfectly tender, about 5 minutes.
5. Blend in the flour, mustard, pepper and salt.
6. Stir in the milk and whisk until it thickens into a sauce. 
7. Remove for the heat source and stir in the cheese until well combined.
8. Add the pesto and combine, followed by the pasta. Mix until the pasta is uniformly covered.
9. Pour the pasta into the baking dish and sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the surface.
10. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling and the top is toasted and golden.

Baked Stew with Sausage, Potatoes and Cabbage

This has been most successful using small Charmant cabbages slightly under 1 lb. It's relatively simple and quick to put together, then you just have to sit back with a cocktail until it's done.

¼ cup olive oil + more for drizzling
1½ Tbsps balsamic vinegar
2 tsps caraway or fennel seeds
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 to 1¼ lb fingerling baby potatoes, or larger potatoes cut into chunks
1 onion, cut into quarters (don't cut out the basal plate)
8 oz to 1lb cabbage, cut into wedges (don't cut out the heart to keep the leaves together)
¼ cup chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1½ pounds sweet Italian sausage, cut into chunks
4 garlic cloves, pressed

1. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 425°F. 
2. In a large bowl whisk together ¼ cup olive oil, vinegar, seeds, salt and pepper until emulsified.
3. Throw in the potatoes and onions and toss until covered in oil. 
4. Layer the cabbage at the bottom of a deep baking dish (Corning ware 4L casserole works well) and drizzle with some extra olive oil (optional). 
5. Pour in the chicken broth.
6. Layer the coated potatoes and onions on top. Nestle the bay leaves in among the veg.
7. To get the rest of the sauce out of the bowl, throw in the sausage chunks and toss. Put the sausage on top of the veg mix and pour over any extra marinade. 
8. Sprinkle the pressed garlic on the very top.
9. Cook, covered, for about 45 minutes. 
10. Uncover and cook until light golden brown and fully cooked, about 20 minutes. 

Refried Beans

I am not Mexican, nor have I spent any appreciable amount of time in or near Spanish communities, but I love the food! This is my interpretation of the ubiquitous and delicious refried beans recipe. Any kind of large, pinto-like bean will do with recipe. So far, the most successful has been Neabel's Ukrainian pole beans, which just fell apart with the extra long cooking in this recipe.

1 lb dried beans (2lbs 5oz when cooked), soaked overnight and drained*
1 bay leaf
4 cups of broth
½ cup (4oz/114gr) bacon fat (or lard or butter or olive oil or any combination of these)
1 large (10oz) onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 to 2 Tbsp chilli powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
½ tsp cayenne (or ¼ tsp chipotle pepper and ¼ tsp cayenne)
Mild white cheese to serve

Excellent with Red Rice and thin sliced cabbage

1. Bring about 4 cups of broth to a boil and add the beans with the bay leaf. Lower the heat and simmer the beans for about an hour. 
2. When the beans are soft, remove pot from heat.
3. In a large, heavy skillet, melt the bacon fat (or whatever combination of fat you choose to use - if going vegetarian, add a few dashes of soy sauce for depth of flavour) and gently cook the onions and garlic until soft. With this much fat and low heat, you're poaching the onion. Note that the garlic may well caramelize - not a bad thing! 
4. Add the spices and salt. Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
5. Remove the bay leaf from the beans. Pour the beans and their liquid into the onion-garlic mixture. 
6. Leave uncovered and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the beans are very tender and falling apart, about ½ to 1 hour more, adding more broth or water as necessary to create a thick pasty sauce with the starch from the beans. Some beans are more firm, you may need a potato masher to break them up. 

*A soaking shortcut is to cover the beans with water, bring to boil, boil for 2 minutes, turn off the burner, cover, and let them soak for 2 hours. Drain, rinse, and then start recipe.

Peanut Butter Cookies - the United Nations of cookies

There is an amazing amount of agreement for peanut butter cookie recipes. This is not my recipe, but, apparently, a recipe from the global community. You might find variation on how the instructions are written, but the ingredients stay pretty much the same, in the vast majority of online and book sources.

1 cup (8oz/228gr) butter, room temperature
1 cup (9oz/255gr) creamy peanut butter
1 cup (7 ounces/200 grams) packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
2½ cups flour

1. Cream butter, peanut butter and both sugars together.
2. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well.
3. Add baking soda, powder and vanilla.
4. Stir in flour.
5. Wrap and put in the refrigerator to rest for 1 hour and up to 72 hours.
6. Preheat oven to 375°F.
7. Roll into balls, place on an ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten, using a fork, to create a grid pattern.
8. Bake for 10 minutes depending on the size of your cookies (bottoms should just start to colour if you wanted to check).