Mac and Cheese

Mac and cheese is by far my favorite comfort food. I love the tanginess of this version that comes from the sour cream and cottage cheese. Plus, you don't need to spend a ton of money on different cheeses like some recipes. I usually use reduced fat cheddar, cottage cheese, and sour cream to cut back on the fat, and it still tastes great.

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package elbow macaroni
• 1 (8 ounce) package shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1 (12 ounce) container small curd cottage cheese
• 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil, add pasta, and cook until done; drain.
2. In 9x13 inch baking dish, stir together macaroni, shredded Cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. In a small bowl, mix together bread crumbs and melted butter. Sprinkle topping over macaroni mixture.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until top is golden.

Source: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chucks-Favorite-Mac-and-Cheese/Detail.aspx

Pad Kee Mao...sort of

Pad Kee Mao is definitely my favorite Thai dish. Many a night out in college were spent chowing down on this Chinese-influenced dish. My version isn't exactly pad kee mao--the real one uses broad noodles and thai chilies. I used whatever I had on hand in my cabinet/fridge. The recipe is based off of one I found here:

http://massiveappetite.wordpress.com/2009/04/22/pad-kee-mao-thai-drunken-noodles/.

For the sauce:

• 2 T oyster sauce
• 2 T fish sauce
• 2 T palm sugar/brown sugar
• 1 T mirin
• 1 T rice vinegar
• 1 T soy sauce
• 1 T Thai chili-garlic paste (or substitute with another Asian chili sauce, like sriracha)
• Juice of half a lime

Other ingredients:

• 7 ounces rice noodles
  
• 1 T minced garlic
• 10 shrimp
• 2 portabella mushroom caps (I cooked them in chili oil)
• Handful of fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped--use thai basil if possible

1. In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients for the sauce. Mix until the sugar has dissolved and set aside.
   
2. Cook noodles.
3. Add oil to skillet and saute garlic for about 1 minute.
4. Add mushrooms and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes. Add shrimp and heat through.
   
5. Add noodles and sauce to skillet. Toss to coat noodles and heat through, 2-3 minutes.
6. Toss with chopped basil and serve.

Thai Basil Eggplant (Pud Makau Yow)

This is one of the easiest dishes I've even made. Make sure you salt the eggplant for an hour or so before you cook it so it is not bitter. The basil and fish sauce were a nice combination. Next time I might double the amount of sugar and fish sauce in order to make sauce. I also didn't use 5 cups of eggplant--I used just 1 eggplant total. I served the eggplant over rice noodles. Very easy and tasty.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup fresh basil (recipe suggests thai basil)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 5 cups eggplant
• 2 chili peppers
• 3/4 cup water

1. Slice the eggplants into irregular shapes for easy turning in pan. Mince garlic and chili peppers. Pick the basil leaves from the stem and chop.
2. Heat a pan or wok over medium heat. Add oil, chili peppers, and garlic. Stir until garlic turns golden brown and add eggplant and stir. Add the water and cover the pan with lid. Keep lid on until eggplant is done, about 5-7 minutes. The eggplant turns from white to translucent when done. Almost all over water should be evaporated. If eggplant is not cooked, add a little bit more water and cover for 1-2 more minutes.
3. When eggplant is cooked, add fish sauce and sugar and stir. Add basil and quickly stir (do not allow basil to lose its color). Turn off heat.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars out of 5