Carrot Mac and Cheese

The objective of this dish is not to sneak vegetables into fussy, unsuspecting children. Nay, you will taste the carrot. You will also taste zingy orange and lovely distinctive tarragon. These are not bad things; you should taste them, or you're doing it wrong. So while the caption of the original recipe touts the benefits of adding carrots for vitamin A and reducing the overall fat of the dish, I say the actual benefit is that carrots are delicious and go fabulously with the sharp cheddar and citrus.

This is mac and cheese elevated; not meant to replace the original, but a sophisticated dish to stand on its own. I don't want to mislead that it's complicated, because it isn't at all; in fact, there are only five ingredients. It's just mac and cheese all growns up.

Chicken pot pie

 
The other day, I made our favorite ridiculously crazy delicious Zuni cafe roast chicken. We only ate about half, so I stripped the rest and pondered its future. A quick scan of foodgawker for inspiration reminded me of the existence of chicken pot pie. I looove chicken pot pie (who doesn't?), but it's usually so weighed down with butter and cream my wee ladybrain has a hard time justifying the calorie bomb. So, I read a few dozen recipes to get a gist of the canonical ingredients and method, then pared it all down and came up with this.

I wanted to keep it simple: leftover chicken, carrots and peas for vegetation, and thyme for herbage. I went out on a limb by halving the butter in my regular pie crust recipe and honestly, it's perfect this way. It's absolutely still tender and buttery, but the interior is so rich and creamy, you would never guess there's only about a tablespoon of butter in each personal pie and absolutely no cream at all. I jacked up the veggie quantities as well. I don't make "diet" food; I just don't see a reason to eat more not-so-healthy stuff than actually makes food taste good. Fat-free and austere is not delicious at all, but I don't find a quarter cup of butter per serving particularly appealing either. There is a sweet spot, and this pot pie hits it.

Beer- and-onion-braised chicken carbonnade with mushrooms and carrots over rice

According to Bon Appetit, from whom I ganked and modified this recipe, a carbonnade is a Belgian stew flavored by beer, onions, and brown sugar. To me, it's Winter in a bowl. Intensely warming, comforting, and satisfying. I always think we should take advice on Winter food from people who live in chilly places and especially those who consider beer not only a beverage, but an ingredient.

So hey, those carrots I planted about 6 months ago actually grew! You'd never know it by looking at the garden - it's absolutely covered in weeds and leaves and general badness. This weekend the mister and I are going to get it back in shape for Spring planting, which includes moving one of the beds into a full-sun spot. I tried to get by on less than that and it was definitely a bad move. Lessons learned in Gardening, Year One: employ preventative pest control (as opposed to frantic tearful hosing with organic soap sprays and still losing 90% of your plants within a couple of hours), and when the seed packet says "full sun", just freakin' plant them in full sun.

Lamb, apricot and almond tagine over cilantro couscous with honeyed carrots

I love a good tagine. This is a classic version - sweet apricots, spicy cinnamon, and savory meat. Texturally it's very interesting too, with the contrast between the crunchy slivered almonds and soft braised lamb, all heaped over fluffy, grainy couscous. I just love it.

I've only been experimenting with Moroccan cuisine for a couple of years. At my bridal shower, my sister's best friend gave me a stunningly gorgeous cookbook called "Fresh Moroccan", by Nada Saleh. As soon as I cracked it open, it was all over.