B: I dunno, what do you want to do?
Me: I dunno, what do you want to do?
B: I dunno.
Me: Well I don't know either. Give me some ideas.
Somehow this convo lead to me and B deciding to have people over for an impromptu dinner party. Our two guests confirmed at 5 that they would be over at 7 so we headed off to the store to pick out food. When I saw that salmon was on sale at the Harris Teeter, I went ahead a put B in charge of the main dish. He made me this salmon on like our 4th date and it's his signature dish (really his only dish). Then I decided I wanted to try this "healthy" mac and cheese recipe that I found online. So we gathered up our ingredients and some dip for appetizers and of course some wine and headed home.
B's signature salmon dish is actually a Rachael Ray recipe (Oven Poached Salmon with Dill, Onion and Cucumber Relish). From what I can tell, it's pretty easy and pretty much always ends up being good. Here is the recipe. Since I've never made it myself I am assuming he just follows the recipe. The cucumber, onion, radish relish actually makes the recipe in my opinion. Everyone liked it last night.
The mac and cheese recipe I found was from Ellie Krieger. The thing that makes it healthy is the addition of winter squash in to the cheese mixture.
Macaroni and 4 Cheeses (adapted from Ellie Krieger's recipe, I made a couple of small changes)
1 pound elbow macaroni
2 (10-ounce) packages frozen pureed winter squash
2 cups skim milk
4 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (about 1 1/3 cups)
2 ounces Monterrey jack cheese, grated (about 2/3 cup)
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon powdered mustard
pepper
2 tablespoons unseasoned bread crumbs
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon olive oil
another 1/2 cup of Cheddar or Monterrey jack cheese
-cook the pasta
-cook the milk and frozen squash in a separate pan
-mix all that together with the cheese, salt, pepper, and mustard
-grease the 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and then pour the pasta mixture into dish
-top with a mixture of the Parmesan, bread crumbs and olive oil
-cook for 20 minutes
-add the rest of the cheese to the top and cook for about 5 more minutes on a higher heat to brown the top
I just added more cheese at the end because I thought it tasted a little too squashy. It was pretty good. I think everyone liked it and it has to be a little healthier than the traditional kind of macaroni and cheese. I thought it could use a little more flavor but I'm not sure what I would put in it. B said he liked it how it was.
So that was my impromptu dinner party.
Did you do anything fun this weekend?
Is it wrong to sneak vegetables into a classic like Mac and Cheese?
PS-Happy 10/10/10 everyone!
