I've been looking for awhile for some type of art piece to put over our bed. It's been white and boring for way too long! Yesterday, I was in an antique store in the neighborhood of Hampden, and stumbled across a bunch of old postcards. I found three postcards of NYC landmarks (St. Pat's, Empire State Building, NBC building (then, the RCA building)) from the 1940s for a total of $6. Today, I put them in frames and put them hung them up. Antique postcards make for some really affordable and simple art.
What else? Tim came across this macroni and cheese recipe from Giada DeLaurentis and I made it today for dinner for a special treat because Tim had a long day at work (lots of projects due soon). It's sort of a fancier style of mac and cheese because instead of using the basic cheddar cheese, the recipe calls for parmesan, mozzarella, and fontina cheese (has anyone heard of fontina? I never had). It's very rich--lots of cheese (obviously) and heavy cream. Here are some pics of how it came out:
I highly recommend this recipe if you're looking for a different take on the traditional dish. Here's the recipe:
Ingredients
- Butter, for greasing dish
- 12 ounces wide egg noodles
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 1/2 cups whole milk
- 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for pasta water
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups (packed) grated Fontina
- 3/4 cup (packed) finely grated Parmesan
- 3/4 cup (packed) grated mozzarella
- 4 ounces cooked ham, diced, optional
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Butter a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish and set aside. Cook the noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Drain well, but do not rinse.
Whisk the cream, milk, flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper in large bowl to blend. Stir in 1 cup Fontina, 1/2 cup Parmesan, 1/2 cup mozzarella, ham, if using, and parsley. Add the noodles and toss to coat. Transfer the noodle mixture to the prepared baking dish. Toss the remaining 1 cup Fontina, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and 1/4 cup mozzarella in a small bowl to blend. Sprinkle the cheese mixture over the noodle mixture. Bake until the sauce bubbles and the cheese melts and begins to brown on top, about 20 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
