Baked Three Cheese Mac and Cheese with a Kick

I'm still in Philly visiting family. While here it has been nice to not be head chef, but rather sous chef. My sister made this delicious baked Mac and Cheese, and I convinced her to write a post about it (she is a more eloquent writer than I am). This stuff is amazing and, as a bonus, it's low oxalate. The spiciness takes this mac and cheese to a whole new level. I can't wait to make it for Mr.Surly

Homemade macaroni and cheese can be spiced up: it’s fun to experiment with different pasta shapes and various cheeses. We like to add a little “kick” to our mac-n-cheese by using buffalo-wing cheese (if you have a hard time tracking down buffalo-wing cheese, you can just add a few teaspoons (or tablespoons, depending how spicy you like it) of wing sauce. I also like using different cheeses: asiago, romano, fontina, etc. The proportions of cheese aren’t important – you could use all cheddar cheese, or 1 pound of cheddar with ½ pound of fontina; it’s totally up to your preference.

It’s also fun to experiment with various pasta shapes: gemelli, fusilli, farfalline, vermiglioni, ruote, are the types I’ve tried.

Guest Post: Chicken Salad with Tarragon Vinaigrette

Alright, here's week two's guest post. Haley has graciously agreed to share this amazing chicken salad recipe with all of you while I'm away, this time in the city of brotherly love. Haley and I have been blogging friends for a long time. She amazes me. She was in college, and now nursing school, and she still finds the time to post more often than I do. Amidst all this, she is training to run a 10K. I wish I had her energy. A bonus of her part time job allowed her to be an assistant instructor at a kid's culinary camp. I loved seeing the creative desserts the students came up with. They were much prettier than any cupcake I've ever made. I urge you to check out her blog if you haven't had the opportunity. You'll find a lot of delicious recipes. And now for Haley and her best chicken salad ever...

Hello!

I'm Haley from The Girly Girl Cooks and I was so honored when I was asked to write a guest post for the fantastic blog, Surly Kitchen!

Summer is all about picnics, weddings and BBQ's, so I thought this recipe for Chicken Salad would be perfect for any three of these occasions. Besides being absolutely delicious, this chicken salad is great for all of us watching what we eat because it's made with a delicious vinaigrette and not loaded with guilty mayonnaise! I have the fantastic job of assisting chef's teach culinary classes at work, and this chicken salad sandwich was a total crowd favorite.The bright flavors, colors and freshness of this salad are unbelievable and the dressing is so light and delicious! I know for a fact that you are going to love it!

Guest Post: Fresh Corn and Chicken Sausage Skillet

I'm delighted to have my first guest contributor, Megan of Wanna Be a Country Cleaver, while I'm away on vacation. Have you seen her blog? It's amazing; you must check it out. I don't remember how I discovered it, but I'm glad I did. She has the sweetest finace, cutest dog, and killer recipes. And she can make amazing cakes. I love her blog and she is the friendliest person. She graciously agreed to do this guest post for me while I'm away on vacation. When I saw this recipe for Fresh Corn and Chicken Sausage Skillet I wanted it, and I'm not even a big fan of sausage. But this, this I could handle. Her pictures of the food prep are as amazing as the picture of the finished dish; I wish I had the gumption to take prep pictures; I'm just too lazy to do it. I have one word for this recipe: Stunning. And now, here's Megan.....


Quite possibly the best thing about the blogging community is the warmth and friendliness that emanates from every direction. These inviting groups of people share their zest and passion for any topic that speaks to them – in our particular realm of the digital world, it’s food. When Amy approached me to write a guest post for her, I jumped at the chance (perhaps a little overenthusiastically) to introduce myself to her loyal fan-base and share my love of simple food, and a somewhat country-esque lifestyle while residing in what I call “the big bad city”.

Amy is a kindred spirit with a heart of gold and I am monumentally excited and honored at her guest post proposal. For this little share session, I wanted to bring my A-game with a quick and incredibly healthy (in my eyes, because there is No butter involved) dish that’s a one-skillet supper ready in under 25 minutes. Prepping to plate in under 25 – this is what week night meals were made of.

So, I hope that you enjoy this little dish and thank you so much for indulging me with your time.

Corn straight off the cob is one of the most luxurious experiences of summer. It screams afternoon barbecue surrounded by your closest friends and cheery children tuckering themselves out at the local swimming hole. Bursting those kernels full of sweet nectar between your teeth is what a picnic is all about. When it's so readily available you have to jump on it and gobble up all you can.



For this latest Fresh Food Challenge hosted by America's Test Kitchen the secret ingredient was - corn. Brilliant!

When I got to making this recipe I wanted to ensure that it maintained as fresh of an appearance and taste as possible. And it needed to be quick. After a long weekend or busy day at work, slaving over a hot stove isn't the first thing on your to-do list.

My one requirement - its prepping to plate in 25 minutes or less. And this one achieved all of those pesky parameters.

Bar Keepers Friend

I remember being so excited when I received my shiny, new All-Clad d5 cookware. I was elated and promised myself that I would do everything in my power to keep them in pristine condition. The lady at Williams-Sonoma assured me that they are easy to clean, the food ‘just wipes right off so easily’, she claimed. Hmph.

I had no idea how difficult it would be to learn to cook in these pans. They heat up so well, that I have to cook on low heat. If I bump the heat up to medium I end up burning my food, no joke. I’ve made chicken 3 times in the skillet, and have burned my chicken all three times. Luckily, each time the chicken had a coating, so we just peeled off the burned parts before eating them. I eventually had to google “how to cook with all clad.” I’m not even kidding, as explained below.

Cleaning the pans became a hassle. If you don’t remove all the food film from them, the next time you heat your pan, you will get a blue discoloration, as explained on a “how to care for your All Clad” sheet that comes in the box. You can see if there is film left over after hand washing and wiping dry. For stubborn stains they recommend a paste of baking soda and vinegar (or cream of tartar and lemon juice) and rub it with your fingers or a soft cloth to remove stain. I admit this method does work, but you have to repeat the process like 3 times. I bought a nylon scrubber (again, as recommended) specifically for cleaning my All Clad, and, again, it works, but after some elbow grease.

Finally, after burning yet more chicken breasts, I decided to get on the internet for some All Clad cooking and cleaning tips. On All Clad’s website they tell you to cook on low to medium heat. For cleaning, they recommend a product called “Bar Keepers Friend.” I’d never heard of it, so I Googled it. Turns out it’s cheap ($3.99 at my local grocery store, and an even lower $1.75 at my local super Target) and reminds me of the Comet powder my grandma used to use to clean her bathroom sink and tub. There is also a liquid version, but the store only had the powder kind. The instructions from All Clad are ‘add the Bar Keepers Friend to a wet cloth and rub in circular motion’. Oh my goodness, what a difference. This time, the pan was cleaned with just a few swipes of a washcloth. My whole pan sparkled like it was brand new. And I barely did anything, just a gentle wipe was all it took. I’m so delighted I found this product! I wish I had discovered it earlier.

It works on porcelain, too, so I tried it on the inside of my Le Creuset dutch oven that was a bit discolored on the bottom. A few shakes of Bar Keepers friend, a quick wipe or two, and the inside looks like new.

I love this stuff. It has multiple uses which you can find on their website. I feel like Billy Mayes going on about this product. But seriously, I feel like it’s a magic powder I just discovered and had to share with everyone.

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Note: Not a paid advertisement. I chose and paid for this product myself, and LOVE it so much I just had to share it

No More Oil Slicks

I’ve mention before my plight of fine hair. If I don’t wash it every day it gets greasy. Sometimes, I’ll take a shower in the morning and by that night it’s already greasy. Ugh, what I would give for glorious, thick hair. I used to put baby powder in my hair, and though it does help minimize the grease, it leaves me with white-powdered hair. Not a good look.

One day I decided to search Sephora.com my go-to beauty store. I like reading the reviews. I did a search for “dry shampoo” and it listed various results. This one, by Fredric Fekkai, received rave reviews. I decided I would give it a shot. It’s an online only product, so I waited anxiously for the UPS man for the next few days. I was so excited to try it. Finally, it came and I couldn’t wait to try it out the next day. I parted my hair on the side (which is where I normally part it) and ran the tip of the dry shampoo along the part. Then I vigorously rubbed my finger tips along the part the distribute the product into my hair. I looked in the mirror and I was definitely looking less greasy. So I parted my hair on the opposite side and did the same thing. It worked, my head no longer looked like an oil slick. Granted, it didn’t look shiny and beautiful like I just stepped out of a salon, but at least I could go out in public without being embarrassed by other people thinking I don’t shower. My hair wasn’t powder-white and it actually gave my hair a bit of volume; an unexpected, pleasant surprise.

The only complaint I have about this product is the smell. I can’t really smell it so much since it’s on my head, but Mr.Surly does not like the smell. I can’t sit near him because he hates the smell and says it gives him a headache. I guess all beauty come at some price. *sigh* But the smell doesn’t deter me from using this amazing dry shampoo. Thank you Frederic Fekkai! If you’re interested in trying the product for yourself, you can find it here, on Fekkai's website. I checked Sephora’s website, but they are no longer carrying this brand.

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Not a paid advertisement. I purchased this product myself and loved it so much I wanted to share it with others.

No Bake Cookies

I haven't had a no bake cookie in a long time; I almost forgot about them. I remember when they were popular back when I was growing up; we used to make them often. I love chocolate and peanut butter, separately, together, whatever. Recently, I came across this recipe from my aunt for them and thought they would be perfect to make during these hot, summer temperatures. As an added bonus, they are quick to make, which is necessary for me, since recently I have been feeling more sick than usual.

I was a bit worried about making them with natural peanut butter and, as feared, they turned out to be runny. No problem, the next time I made them (the first batch didn't last long) I added more oats and it took care of the problem. I ended up with beautiful, delicious no bake cookies.