Foodbuzz 24×24: Quarter Life Crisis

Elise came to visit this weekend from Chicago! Melissa, Elise, and I all lived together senior year of college and while our apartment lacked 36 packs of Bud Light and rows of shot glasses, we did have a pasta maker and panini press. Let’s just say we like to cook.

So when Foodbuzz came a-knocking for ideas for this month’s 24×24, we jumped at the opportunity.

We’ve been out of college for four years now and I must say, the reality of growing up is starting to sink in. Somehow, without us really realizing it, we’re supposed to be adults. When the heck did this happen? But amid the responsibilities and bills there are some perks to growing up. Our palettes have matured beyond the years of Wonder Bread and bologna (thank goodness) and we can stay up past 10.

We decided to update a few of our favorite childhood foods with more grown-up versions while reminiscing of the good old days of bad haircuts, eighth grade dances, and bad early nineties music. Oh wait, we made a “Gin Blossoms Playlist” on Pandora. Maybe we haven’t come that far.

Melissa lives in Washington DC so we started our day by picking up fresh fruits and vegetables at Eastern Market.

The rest of the food we picked up around town and brought our loot back to Melissa’s house to get a-cookin’.

Gotta make sure we haven’t forgotten anything!

We spent the rest of the day cooking up a storm. We had five dishes to make and hungry guests on their way. Luckily we’ve become quite a team in the kitchen and dinner made it on the table without anyone losing a finger or setting anything on fire.

Our table came complete with crayons and paper placemats for doodling and place cards.

Aren’t my friends a good looking group of people?

Dinner started with two appetizers. Our take on Ants-On-A-Log and Peanut Butter and Jelly.

For Ants-On-A-Log, instead of celery with peanut butter and raisins we used endive with creme fraiche and figs with a drizzle of honey. The creme fraiche made them deliciously refreshing and the sweetness of the honey offset the slight bitterness of the endive.

Our take on Peanut Butter and Jelly used almond butter and strawberry preserves on ciabatta, toasted on panini press. I ate a peanut butter sandwich for lunch everyday growing up. If only my sandwich was as tasty as this! (Well, I’d probably still get sick of it, but man, this was so good!)

We quickly moved onto the main course: Macaroni and Cheese and Chicken Nuggets.

Our macaroni and cheese was upgraded with lobster, gruyere and sharp cheddar cheese, and is probably the most decadent dish I have ever made. Our mac and cheese was bursting with lobster meat thanks to the fish man at Eastern Market.

Instead of tradition chicken nuggets, we classed it up by coating strips of chicken breast with a sesame-panko breading and serving it with a mango chutney. The mango chutney was sweet and spicy and really made the dish.

Dessert was ice cream sundaes.

The ice cream was, ahem, a little more adult. Grand Marnier chocolate chunk ice cream topped with a slightly orange, bittersweet chocolate sauce and whipped cream capped off a decadent meal.

It was an amazing evening full of laughter, good company, delicious food, (Melissa REALLY liked that ice cream. Please notice the bowl in the above picture.) and maybe a little too much Third Eye Blind. Perhaps growing up isn’t that bad.

Recipes

Ants-On-A-Log (Endive with Creme Fraiche and Figs)

• Endive
• Creme Fraiche
• Mission Figs
• Honey

Rinse and separate the leaves the endive. Dollop a tablespoon of creme fraiche into each endive leaf.

Cut up the figs into small, quarter inch cubes and line them up on the endives like, well, ants on a log. Drizzle with a little bit of honey. You can microwave the honey for a little bit to make it easier to drizzle.

Peanut Butter and Jelly (Almond Butter and Preserves on Ciabatta)

• Ciabatta Loaf
• Almond Butter
• Strawberry Preserves
• Butter

Slice the ciabatta into 1/4″ thick slices. Generously spread almond butter and preserves between the two pieces of bread.

Lightly brush melted butter on each side of the sandwich before putting in a panini press. Leave in the press until toasted. Slice into bite sized pieces.

Macaroni and Cheese (Lobster Macaroni and Cheese)

adapted from Ina Garten

• 1 Tbsp Kosher salt
• A bit of vegetable oil
• 1 lb macaroni (something ridged that will hold sauce well )
• 1 quart whole milk
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 12 oz Gruyere cheese, grated
• 8 oz extra-sharp Cheddar, grated
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• 1 ½ lbs fresh lobster meat chopped into bite-size pieces (we used a mixture of tail, claw, and knuckle meat – because all tail meat is crazy expensive)
• 1 ½ c Panko bread crumbs

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Pour about a tbsp of vegetable oil into a pot of boiling salted water. Cook macaroni according to directions on box. We drained the pasta when it was relatively al dente because we don’t like our mac and cheese mushy (and the macaroni will continue to cook in the oven).

Heat the milk in a small saucepan (but make sure it doesn’t boil). At the same time, melt 6 tbsp of butter in a large pot. Add the flour to the butter, and whisk for about 2 minutes. Then, slowly add the milk to the flour and butter (we added it 1-2 ladle-fulls at a time – whisking after each addition to eliminate lumps. The original recipe said that this step would take about a minute, but it took us about 7 minutes to successfully add in all the milk and eliminate all the lumps of flour).

Take the pot off the heat, and add the cheeses, 1 tbsp salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Whisk until smooth. Add the macaroni and lobster to the cheese sauce. Mix gently (so as not to mush up all the lobster). Pour the mixture into a baking dish.

Melt the remaining 2 tbsp of butter and mix with the breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over top of the lobster mac and cheese. Bake 35-45 minutes. Enjoy!

Chicken Nuggets (Sesame-Panko Breaded Chicken with Mango Chutney)

Chicken Tenders

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into strips
• 4 cups panko breading
• 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
• 1 Tbsp garlic powder
• salt
• 1 cup flour
• 2 eggs

Mango Chutney

adapted from Alton Brown

• 2 lbs of mango fruit (about 4 whole mangoes)
• 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp chile flakes
• 2 1/2 cups red onion, medium dice
• 1/4 cup fresh ginger, minced
• 1 cup red bell pepper, small dice
• 8 oz unsweetened pineapple juice
• 3 oz apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp curry powder
• 1/2 cup raisins or golden raisins

To make the chicken tenders:

Preheat the oven to 425º.

Measure the flour into a bowl. In a separate bowl, wisk the eggs. Combine the panko breading, sesame seeds, garlic powder, and salt in a third container.

Dredge the pieces of chicken in the flour.

Coat with egg.

Finally, cover the chicken in the sesame-panko breading. Place the chicken tenders on greased cookie sheets.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.

To make the mango chutney:

Cube the mango and be sure to have all of your other ingredients prepared.

In a medium sized bowl, measure out the pineapple juice, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, and curry powder and wisk until combined.

In a large saute pan, heat the oil and the chili flakes. Don’t burn the chili flakes, just heat them enough to flavor the oil. Add the onions and sweat until soft.

Add the pepper and ginger and saute for about 2 minutes.

Add the mango and saute for 1 minute.

Pour in the pineapple juice mixture and bring the mixture to a simmer. Reduce for about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and add the raisins. Makes about 4 cups (so much!) chutney.

Ice Cream Sundaes (Grand Marnier Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream with Orange Fudge Sauce)

Grand Marnier Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

adapted from Fern Glen Inn B&B

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup skim milk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup Grand Marnier
• 7 oz dark/semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped. We used a mixture of both dark chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate

Vaguely-Orange Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate (this is the central flavor of the sauce, so make sure you use good-quality chocolate)
• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter 2/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 6 Tbsp corn syrup
• pinch of salt
• 1 Tbsp Grand Marnier (or another liqueur or an extract)

To make the ice cream:

Combine the milk, cream, and sugar in a bowl. Wisk until the sugar is dissolved. Place this mixture and the Grand Marnier in the refrigerator for at least an hour until chilled.

Stir the the Grand Marnier into the ice cream mixture and pour into an ice cream maker and prepare according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

When the churning is almost complete, add the chocolate.

Transfer the ice cream to another container and freeze for at least 3 hours until semi-firm.

To make the chocolate sauce:

Heat the water in a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed saucepan (the heavy bottom will help keep the sauce from burning). While the water is heating up, melt the chocolate and butter, either in a double-boiler or in the microwave (in increments of 15 seconds, stirring in between — if you accidentally get the chocolate too hot, it will become irretrievably grainy).

When the water starts boiling, stir in the melted chocolate mixture. Then add the sugar, corn syrup, and salt; whisk semi-vigorously (this is why you have a medium-sized saucepan) until everything comes together smoothly. Adjust the heat so the sauce is just barely boiling, and let it continue boiling for 9 minutes, stirring occasionally (make sure you get into the corners of the pot!).

Take the pot off of the heat and let the sauce cool for 15 minutes. Then stir in the liqueur or extract. Serve warm. You can store leftovers in the fridge and reheat it in the microwave.

NOTE: When left unstirred for a little while, the sauce may separate a bit. All it takes is a little vigorous stirring to return the sauce to its glossy glory.

WHEW!