Roasted Veggie Mac 'n Cheese
Wow! Back from Sun Lakes, flip open the computer, find 31 comments! All about my little trip to Portland. You'd think I'd gone to Rome or something. Not Rome--just existential tangents about everyday minutiae and yes--more leftovers. Rome is overrated anyway (so is Hawaii and Turkey and Prague and Tokyo and all those other places I'll write about someday).
Anyway, thanks for being so curious about my small life and hardworking kitchen. I suppose that's what makes my (or anyone's) world bigger--getting to share it.
One little story and a recipe from our trip to Sun Lakes in Central Washington, where we spent the last five days with Yancey's mom and stepdad (aka Grammy and Poppy Dick). And let's be honest here--I'd make a pretty miserable travel writer. I always fail to give you the real details--how one would make reservations, what the average temperature is--and am so busy using up all my leftovers that even the restaurants get short shrift.
One afternoon, while Yancey and Wyatt were swimming in the lake, Loretta woke up from her nap and wanted a snack. I usually like it when my kids ask for snacks because it feels like something so tangible and immediate I can give them. And I do it well (unlike many, many other parenting duties. Sigh.). This particular snack was a sliced peach, which seemed just about perfect to me. The ensuing (conversation?) went thus:
Loretta: I don't want peach.
Me: Why? This peach is so delicious. You love peaches.
Loretta: I don't want peach. I want yogurt.
Me: Mommy will put some yogurt on your peach. [Open fridge, scrounge, put yogurt on peach, sigh heavily]
Loretta: I want honey on it. New honey. [That little devil had somehow noticed that I had put a bottle of "new"honey in the cupboard of our cabin]
Me: [Get honey down from cupboard, squeeze an ungodly amount on peach and yogurt, sigh again, think "I am spoiling this child to death. Who's in charge here, anyway?"] There. You happy now?
Loretta: [Silence. Slurping. Chewing.]
Loretta: Mommy, you know what? I love you.
So what's the moral of this story? Mostly that I'm glad I let her order me me around in exchange for a couple minutes of sweetness. Her sitting on my lap, eating peach and yogurt, declaring her love for me in the way only a sleepy, bossy, honey-covered two-year-old can. Like Rome, boundaries are overrated.
Okay. I made this in our cabin with things I brought from home. The sudoku in the photo wasn't shoved in there at the last minute. I really was playing it. That's how relaxed I felt about this dinner.
But I hope you haven't gotten your hopes up for this recipe. I tricked you. It's really Ratatouille Mac 'n Cheese! Do you hate me? Not only am I not writing about Rome, I'm recycling this for the third time! Here, here, and now this. So clean out your produce drawers and harvest that tattered garden--onions, garlic, squash, eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, basil, lots of olive oil. Roast it down, mix it with pasta and this easy cheese sauce, pour a glass of red wine, and we'll pretend like we're in Rome. It's good to be back with you.
Roasted Veggie Mac n' Cheese
There are lots of ways you can make a quick cheese sauce--feel free to do your favorite one. This was made from what I had on hand--more cream, more sharp cheddar. They are finally gone (!!), which is probably good for all of us. And you could do so many combos of veggies in the ratatouille. Even just roasted tomatoes would be sublime.
3 c. ratatouille
2 c. heavy cream + 2 c. whole milk OR 4 c. 1/2 and 1/2
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 c. grated sharp white cheddar (or Gruyere)
salt and pepper
one pound penne, cooked for about 11 minutes until it's tender but not mushy, drained
more grated cheese for top
For ratatouille: Follow this recipe (roughly, of course).
For cheese sauce: Combine cream, milk, and minced garlic in a heavy saucepan. Bring just to a boil slowly, then turn it down. Add cheddar and stir until it melts into the sauce. Set aside (in my case, I made this a couple days in advance).
To assemble: In a large stockpot. combine cooked pasta, cheese sauce, and ratatouille. Pour into a 9 x 13 pan, sprinkle with about a cup more of cheese (cheddar, feta, Gruyere, etc.). Bake in a preheated 350 oven for 20-35 minutes until hot, bubbly, and a little crusty in places. Your cooking time will depend on how hot your ingredients are when you put them in.
September 3, 2009
Reader Comments (28)
hallelujah! It's friday!
Oh, and hi.
Question: what are the pros and cons of straight cream as opposed to a bechamel? I've always done bechamel and haven't been brave enough to try just cream/milk on its own.
This is awesome! I just posted about making your Summer Ratatouille on my blog here: http://tomatoesforapples.blogspot.com/2009/09/are-you-trying-to-make-me-vegetarian.html
I can't wait to make it again so I can use the leftovers in mac and cheese. Thanks for the great recipe!
good morning leftoverist, good to wake up to a morning post, my coffee never taste as good without it......are you really saying having a bossy honey covered toddler,yanking you around is as good as traveling to Europe or Hawaii? are you sure you didn't contact the swine flu, or OD on that ratatouille?.....but I have to admit she gets away with it here too, and i find myself checking my own temperature, and saying that rascal, you gotta love her!!!!!!!!!!!....
......and sign Wyatt up for the 2009 firefighter calender, and admit his shot with Yancey for the best looking firefighter and son...and with the royalties, take a trip to Spain!
Such a sweet post! And of course you spoil that little girl rotten--just LOOK at her! She is gorgeous.
I love the story, it all sounds too familiar in this household. Luckily, we're going to the grandparents shortly for the weekend and they can spoil her rotten..Great post!
sooo sweet and love your veggies in the mac & cheese!
Welcome back, you were missed. Glad you had a good time, the pics are priceless. I love love love anything with cheese and pasta thanks for the great idea :-)
glad u are back and posting:) I must admit, I find myself addicted to checking whenever I can to see if you have posted anything new:) I love to get different ideas. What a frickin sweeeet picture of Wyatt. And speaking of fireman calenders...does yancey's firehouse do one??? Sign me up girl!!!!!!!!!!!! :) he he.
I LOVE that picture of Wyatt. I think you should send it in to the Sun. Makes me miss him, like a little pinch inside myself. The first picture of the landscape is beautiful too.
Bring your calendar next time I see you for my next overnight with W. and a time to watch the kids. I miss all my different roles.
Here's to the forthcoming fall routine!
not to mention that cute as ever picture of Loretta! also, in the last couple weeks I have given your blog address to a few customers at the health food store where I work. Somehow the conversations we were having lead into me talking about your blog...he he:)
Yeah your back! At least for our sake:). So tell me, did your kids really eat this dish. I of course would love it, but everytime I make home made mac n cheese they don't eat it! Are they crazy, no just tainted now by Annies. They don't know what they are missing.
Depends on what you're using it for. By "bechamel," I assume you mean a cream sauce that's been thickened by a roux. Since I was baking this with pasta, I didn't feel the need for something super thick--in fact, I wanted it a tiny bit on the thin side so it wasn't a brick when I took it out of the oven. If I was making a cream sauce that was just going to be served over hot pasta (not baked), I'd probably bother to thicken it more. BTW, one way to do this is to simply boil cream for a good 20 minutes. Beautifully silky. Cream is amazing that way. Too bad it's so damn fattening. Doesn't usually stop me, though.
I love to hear of addictions such as this...
I got some prints of that photo, sister. Watch your mailbox.
I've gotten my son to eat all sorts of things just by adding a wee bit of bacon to it. And almost everything works with bacon.
So glad you are back!!! We all didn't know quite what to do.
Glad you're back! Anything with cream and cheese and delicious vegetables is bound to be a favorite of mine.
And I agree about boundaries, and Rome :)
I love the idea of roasted veggies in mac&cheese - yum! Glad you had a great trip and that you're back - your little ones are adorable!
I just want you to know that I've tried the gallette recipe numerous times and I LOVE IT! I feel like I've never got it quite right, but it still comes out delicious and beautiful. So I just wanted to say thanks. Oh and I add salt to it, do you hate me?
I roasted some cherry tomatoes (thanks Sue!) earlier in the week. I was at Trader Joe's (Thanks Miyuki!) and saw eggplants for a little over $1 each. It was only a matter of time before I picked up the heavy cream and decided to make this for dinner tonight.
FYI - When it comes to me + TJs + cheese, there is a problem. There are currently 8 cheeses in my fridge. Eight. Cheddar, goat, gruyere (for the mac & cheese), parm, St. Andre, Cambazola, brie, Manchego. I'm going to die of a heart attack at a young age. But I'm going to die a very happy woman.
I can't wait to learn about all those cheeses from the front row! :)
I see many gooey dishes accompanied with groovy salads in our future!
Welcome back! Your kids are beautiful and Loretta is so squeezable! Miss you all.
That's the truth. I added it to the leftoverist blue cheese potatoe salad this past summer and made it even yummier. Problem is, if they don't eat it, I will. Instead of just fattening cream it is the whole dairy clan. So bad, but oh so good!