On the Side: Macaroni Cheese

Pan fried flounder and a kickin' homemade tartar sauce, but it's the wheatless macaroni cheese that's the focus here.

A cup and a half of prepared wheatless pasta go into a ceramic loaf pan; four strips of bacon (fried and chopped), and four to six ounces of shredded cheese (gruyere and sharp cheddar) are added.

TIP: At this point, it can be refrigerated overnight if you want to bake it the next day - that's what I do when I make this dish for a party. Make the sauce right before you cook it.

I made a bechamel out of sweet rice flour and bacon fat, adding about three cups of half and half until thick.

It baked at 400f for twenty minutes.

It needed a bit of salt and pepper, but was all kinds of tasty.


The tartar sauce was based on Ina Garten's recipe here. I left out the capers (because I don't have any), added about two teaspoons of sugar (because I used sour gherkins) and a teaspoon or so of Worcestershire Sauce. Way better than store-bought; it really punched up the fish.

Holiday Eats: Green Curry Lobster

Gently poached lobster in a light green curry sauce with oven-roasted root vegetables. A special dish to ring in the New Year.

The veggies were: turnips, parsnips, carrots - and mystery things that may have been beets. They were coated in EVOO and salt, and placed on a sheet pan in a preheated 425f oven. Cooking them took about 15 minutes, opening the oven to shake them up twice.

I turned the oven down to 300f, then dispatched two 1 1/2 pound lobsters and put the claws and cleaned tails into a hot sauce pan coated with EVOO. I added about a tablespoon each of cilantro and dried basil. I stirred it around for a few minutes to heat up the shells, then added about a cup of white Bordeaux and put the pan in the oven, uncovered.

After 20 minutes, I have parcooked lobster to pop out of the shells, and a fragrant broth to start the curry.

Just waiting for the curry from a can to heat up.

I simmered a can of green curry, added a can of coconut milk and stirred it occasionally while it came to a simmer again. Then, I removed most of it leaving about 1/2 cup in the saucepan. (Not the lobster pan that went into the oven, I'm sauteeing an onion and 5 grated cloves of garlic in that one.)

The remainder of the curry sauce is going into the freezer - there's always too much of it when you are cooking for only two.

After the onions have softened, I added the stock, reserved lobster, and curry. On low heat, I stirred everything together until the lobster lost its opacity.

Dan requested toasted "cheesy bread" to go with it - this is an "Against the Grain" gluten-free loaf.


Ummm...Wow! The curry is tamed by the stock; it does not overpower the lobster or the candied flavor of the veggies, and the heat and acidity it provides brings balance to the dish.

Cheesemaking: Gore-Dawn-Zola

(GDZ, almost one month old)

We don't make much GDZ this time of year because historically, sales of our stronger blue drop during the first quarter. Every year. I don't know why. But with the cold weather lately, it's been difficult to keep the building warm enough make cheese, and using heat lamps to keep the curing rooms at temperature creates another problem: lack of humidity.

Monday Menu: Steamed Salmon and Carrots

Quick and Easy fish and carrots over purple jasmine rice.

Over a pot of water on simmer, a plate of julienned carrots and a plate of center-cut salmon portions drizzled with bagna cauda are set for 15 minutes. Why bagna cauda? It was left over from a party, and so I thought, "Why not!"

Carrots are done.

(Note all the garlic)

Fifteen minutes was a bit too long for the fish, it should have come off at 11 or 12 minutes.


Subtle garlic flavor enhances the salmon and the sweetness of the carrots. It was all done so quickly, and in spite of the fish being done more than we like, it was still moist and delicious. Healthy fish? Well, that is EVOO - so, I'm calling it healthy!

My Little (ornery) Pony, update

After a third visit from the farrier, Buttercup is walking more and biting us less so she must be feeling better - though she still doesn't like being groomed at all.

Weekend Cook: Chicken Tagine

I received a tagine for Christmas and had to try it out.

I spiced up two chicken legs with cilantro, garam masala, hot paprika, and cinnamon.

Bit of saffron infusing a cup of warm chicken stock.

Into the bottom went the chicken stock, a small carton of button mushrooms, two sliced medium onions, the zest and juice from one lime, five carrots, 1/2 cup of pitted and chopped assorted olives, and a half pound of small potatoes. Basically, I was clearing out the refrigerator.

Into the oven at 300f for four hours, and it's done! I think you can see that it's a bit soupy - I added too much chicken stock:(

It needed a bit of salt, but the chicken was just as juicy as if I had cooked it in the smoker.

Hearty and yummy fare for a cold wintery night.

Happy New Year!

Best wishes for 2010 from the Boucher Farm.

It will be months before I stop writing 2009 on all my checks.