Kale Bacon and Tomato Mac and Cheese

Macaroni and cheese is not a health food.

It is time to accept the fact that you are eating a gooey concoction of cheese, pasta, milk and butter, no matter what you do. It pains me to see the plethora of "healthy" mac and cheese recipes that can be googled, with wheat pasta, or low fat cheese, but what those recipes are really doing is taking the deliciousness out of the dish. I've yet to find a "healthy" mac and cheese that is really both healthy and delicious. On the opposite end of the spectrum, with Valentine's around the corner, lobster mac and cheese renditions are just popping up everywhere. That's beyond accepting your fate. That's embracing it with open arms.

So I have come to accept the truth, that when I am going for mac and cheese, I'm going for a really unhealthy meal. It is what it is.

Nothing you can do about it.

What you CAN do is amp up the nutritional value by adding veggies into your typical mac and cheese, and cut back on fat sources that really don't add to the flavor, and mix in some cheese content that is a little easier on the system. Note: I am in no way, shape or form claiming that I have made mac and cheese healthy. I have simply added nutrition into the mix so that these calories aren't as extremely empty as they were before. This dish is still really bad for you. I would NOT recommend this as a diet. Got it?

Great. So what's different about this mac and cheese... well.. it is full of superfood kale, arugula and heirloom cherry tomatos. Instead of a sauce full of whole milk, I add a lesser amount of skim milk into my rue in order to keep it from getting too watery. Rather than use my usual sharp cheddar, I use a mix of grated gouda and creamy goat cheese. And while I'd love to pour in lots and lots of cheese, I use just what is needed.

All in all it is delicious. It is not healthy, but does provide some nutrients that aren't usually there and will be easier to get down if you're not in love with vegetables (which, if you haven't noticed, I'm not).

And without further ado...

Kale, Bacon and Tomato Mac and Cheese

Ingredients

1 pound of pasta (any shape, but I like shapes with grooves, they hold the cheese well)

3 tbsp butter

1/4 cup flour

1 1/2 cup skim milk

5 ounces grated gouda cheese

3 ounces crumbled goat cheese

1 ounce grated parmesan cheese

1 tsp olive oil

2 cups chopped and rinsed kale, ribs removed

1 cup arugula, rinsed and dried

1/2 cup heirloom cherry tomatoes (seeds removed)

1 slice of bacon cooked and chopped (it's mac and cheese afterall..)

Topping

1 cup breadcrumbs (fresh is best)

2 tbsp butter, melted

1 clove garlic finely minced

Bring a pot of water to a boil, enough to cook the pasta. While the water is heating up, saute the kale, arugula and tomatos in the olive oil. Set aside.

In a saucepan, melt the butter, and stir in flour, whisking until frothy. Add the milk slowly, still whisking at medium heat until creamy, about 5-6 minutes. Turn off the heat, but keep on the burner and add grated cheese, whisking until melted.

Cook pasta according to package directions and drain. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Stir vegetables into pasta and mix well. Add cheese sauce and stir well. Add to a baking dish (9x9 for thicker servings, 9x13 for thinner servings).

Stir together garlic, butter and breadcrumbs for the topping. Sprinkle mixture over the pasta mixture and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. Cut and serve with a spatula. Enjoy!

Pizza Obsession and Night Market

In college, my boyfriend, Chris and I were both RAs. Yeah. I know. Fun police. Losers. Whatever, laugh it up. You really can't knock free rent for two years though. You just can't. Or the unofficial license to buy your friends... errrr.. "residents" pizza, ice cream, and snacks in unreasonable quantities.

Right? Now remember how poor you were in college..... and how awesome that sounds now. Or maybe you weren't a poor starving college student, in which case, you should probably stop reading this. Unless you really like pizza. Otherwise you're going to get hung up on the RA thing and the rest of this will go over your head.

So anyways, yeah, free pizza budget. Which brings me back to my story. At a hall program (stop snickering) that Chris was running, he ordered a large quantity of pizzas, as per usual. The security desk attendant (stop snickering...) in the building exclaimed that she was in fact a "PIZZA FREAK" when the delivery came and Chris offered her a slice. Seriously, that's what she said. I can't make this stuff up.

Now, I also really happen to like pizza, perhaps even to a level that rivals even that of the "pizza freak" desk attendant. Sometimes, I get really excited describing my love for pizza. This has of course prompted Chris to start calling me a "pizza freak" sometimes in public places. It's kind of embarrassing, but pizza is SO GOOD. So good. So fine, make fun, but I am a self proclaimed PIZZA FREAK!

Last Thursday, I met some friends at the Chinatown Night Market in Philadelphia to check it out. What a scene. There were people EVERYWHERE. I arrived around 7pm as the market was just getting started, and wandered around before my friends got there, scoping out the scene. Then around 7:20 hoards of people started showing up. Literally, half the population of Philadelphia and all of Chinatown's residents crammed into a 4 block radius to enjoy delicious gourmet food fare. Jose Garce's taco truck, soul food trucks, hot dog trucks, cupcake trucks, and even mobile wood oven pizza trucks lined up and served lines of hundreds of people. When we finally decided to commit to a line, we ended up in Pitruco's line for what had to be 35 minutes, but it was WORTH it.

Check out their facebook page here. I seriously recommend stalking out their location now and proceeding to said location. It was delicious. And I don't think that it was just because I had been standing in line for 35 minutes. That pizza was delicious, and I was totally impressed that it was made in a truck. Pizza freak was pleased.

In Pitruco's honor, I leave you with two pizzas I've made recently that were just delicious combinations of late summer and fall ingredients. Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Prosciutto and Mozzarella Pizza

Crust: Whole wheat

Toppings: Fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, micro greens (after baking)

Portobella Mushroom and Kale Pizza

Crust: Whole wheat

Toppings: Fresh mozzarella, kale greens, sauteed or roasted garlic cloves, portobella mushrooms chopped and lightly tossed in olive oil, caramelized onions, and sauteed or grilled chicken

Both are delicious. I'm not usually for wheat crust, but Trader Joe's makes a really good one! Either of these would be delicious with regular or pesto crust as well! I've not made my own pizza dough, it looks hard. Anyone have any good recipes for that? I've always felt like pizza dough is totally something worth cheating with, and I'm someone who makes my own puff pastry, so what do I know? Thoughts?

Happy eating!

Italian Flag Cookies

Growing up for some time in Staten Island, I grew up surrounded by some really good Italian treats. I mean really good. New York pizza snobs are well know far and wide, but there is no pizza snob like a Staten Island pizza snob. Every where I go, almost no pizza is ever good enough.

Philadelphia is an especially painful pizza city (see below for my plea to Philly pizza makers..) so I'm always looking for something better (suggestions wanted - I've already been disappointed by Lorenzo's).

I just love Pizza. I was in NY recently and of course ran to the first pizza shop I could find, which happened to be Luigi's located in the Upper East Side (1701 1st Ave.) around the corner from my friend's place. Okay, well I didn't actually run, although that probably would have helped with the caloric coma that ensued after. Sooooo good. Here is my advice to the pizza places that continually let me down in my current home city. It may be the city of brotherly love, but I have NO love for the pizza. Please help.

Pizza crust - The crust is usually what makes me the saddest. Crust needs to have a crisp outside that is still soft, warm, and almost chewy to the bite. This greasy "bread" substance you try to pass off as crust makes me want to pop a frozen pizza into the microwave. It'd be way better. And that's a huge insult. Look at this beautiful crust example from Luigi's - there is no oil outside, no greasy residue. Just a deliciously thin crunch surrounding a warm doughy bread.

Cheese - SHOULD NOT TASTE LIKE POWDER! What IS that!? This really isn't hard to get right. It should be stringy, melty, gooey, and delicious! What are you doing wrong? It's not that hard! Mmmmmmmm cheese!

Carefully crafted and selected toppings - If I am offered one more slice of buffalo chicken pizza.... Seriously, is that all you do around here? I was in heaven with this succulent roasted eggplant, ricotta, mozzarella slice. And sauce - tomato sauce shouldn't taste like red sugar. It should taste like tomato.

Yes, I am aware that I am picky. Yes, I am aware that this is AMERICAN pizza, and Italian pizza is a whole different ball game. But I love my pizza, and that is that.

Cookies, pizza, and many other American - Italian goods are often part of my comfort food regime. Surprisingly; however, I never really tried the Italian Flag cookie (also called the Italian Rainbow cookie) until a few years ago at a Thanksgiving dinner with my boyfriend's family and family friends. He raved about them, and told me he looked forward to them year after year, so I tried my first Italian Rainbow cookie, and now I'm not sure how I ever did without. Over the last couple of years I've learned how to make them myself and have (according to Chris) really started to master the craft of the rainbow cookie. They are pretty labor intensive, but so worth it. Not only do they totally look impressive to bring to gatherings or just share with friends, loved ones, and maybe even strangers if you feel generous, but they are absolutely delicious. Also, a whole sheet cuts to serve a ton of cookies, so this is ideal for groups. However, if you're anything like me, you might just keep them for yourself :-)

Italian Rainbow Cookies

You will need some "special" equipment, but it's not that special.

3 - 9x13 cake pans, all the same size preferably (or one that you will reuse)

A power mixer (hand or standing)

Ingredients

8oz tube or can of almond paste

1 cup (2 sticks) room temperature butter

1 cup granulated sugar

2 cups flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

4 eggs, separated

6-10 drops each food coloring (red and green)

1/2 cup raspberry jam

1/2 cup apricot preserves

8 oz dark chocolate chips

First, cream the almond paste, butter, and sugar with an electric hand or standing mixer. Set aside. Whisk baking soda into flour, and then stir mixture about a half a cup at a time to the almond paste mixture.

In another bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form and whites nearly triple in size. Fold egg whites in to batter carefully.

Separate the batter into three bowls, dividing evenly, and add red food coloring to one bowl mixing well, green to another, mixing well, and leave the third alone.

Grease your 9x13 pan (or pans) generously and spread the batter inside. It will seem really thin, and it is ok, just make sure you spread as evenly as possible.

When done, cool each cake on a cooling rack, carefully popping it out of your pan. Spread apricot preserves on your red cake and place the yellow cake on top (carefully!). Repeat the step with raspberry jam on the yellow cake, placing your green cake on top. Let compress with a pan on top of the cakes for a few hours (preferably overnight) in the refrigerator. (Sometimes I skip this step, and it's a little sloppier, but if in a rush you can still turn out a nice product).

Finally, melt your chocolate chips (either by double boiling or carefully in the microwave in short intervals, stirring every 15-30 seconds). Spread chocolate on top of your green layer and let harden. Slice the cake into 1 inch x 2 inch pieces, and you're ready to go. Store in an airtight container. I like them cold and refrigerated, but they've kept in a room temperature container for a few days for me as well. SO GOOD!