Is beautiful food overrated?
Sometimes people argue that it doesn’t matter what the food looks like as long as it tastes good. I must disagree. It is possible for unattractive food to be delicious, but if said food is made attractive, it will always taste better. This is psychologically proven. We like pretty things. Pretty things taste good. Now, of course there are exceptions here as well, but 99% of the time, visual appeal is directly correlated to how food tastes.
Mac and Cheese Pizza is a thing of pure beauty. You take one look at its golden, bubbling, cheese-smothered surface, and you are engulfed in awe. Could such a wonder really exist? Or is it merely a mirage created from your most spectacular fantasy?
Pinch yourself, and pick your jaw up off the floor. This pizza is more than mere fantasy; it’s 4-cheese reality. That’s right: two super foods have united in this force of starchy, cheesy goodness. I don’t know about you, but in my mind, there are no foods greater than pizza and mac and cheese. What could possibly be better than enjoying them together in the most harmonious hybrid ever created?
If you love comfort foods (who doesn’t?), this is the king of them all. It’s creamy mac and cheese, baked until bubbly perfection, all atop a convenient, crispy crust. Let’s be honest: when there’s a delicious-looking pot of mac and cheese sitting in front of you, do you want to pick up a fork and eat civilly, or do you want to dig in with nothing but your bare hands? Okay…maybe it’s just me, but I prefer the latter.
Let’s talk about the mac. We ain’t putting no boxed, store-bought, mactrosity* on top of a pizza crust. We’re making a darn good, homemade mac with fresh cheese and fragrant garlic (it is a pizza, after all). The sauce is creamy, rich, and plentiful. You can’t skimp on the sauce here since one: we’re making a pizza (which has sauce), and two: you’ve got to balance out the starch. Moreover, this mac has tons of flavor from the garlic, onion, and a secret dash of hot sauce. You’ll be tempted to eat it straight out of the pot, sans crust. But then you’ll bake it atop the fluffy crust with an additional sprinkle of gooey cheese, and you’ll be glad you waited.
This ain’t your ordinary pizza. It’s a fun spin that kids and adults alike will love. With a sea of creamy sauce, four kinds of gooey cheese, tender pasta, and a crisp yet fluffy crust, this is what dreams are made of. So grab a little slice of heaven and indulge.
Sometimes, I have crazy ideas.
Sometimes, those ideas don’t work out (shocker).
Sometimes, however, they do.
For months, there has been a lone can of Campbell’s Harvest Orange Tomato Soup sulking in my pantry. It was crying out to be eaten, but I just couldn’t conjure up a use for it. It was an impulse buy; I was lured in simply by the fact that it wasn’t the plain old boring tomato soup. It was Harvest Orange Tomato. That sounded so enticing that I neglected to consider what the heck I would do with it once I bought it.
I reached the point where I could no longer stand to stare at that solitary can of soup. I know what you’re thinking: why didn’t you just eat it for lunch one day or something? Because it’s not that simple when you’re a foodie. A can of soup isn’t just a can of soup; it’s a blank canvas waiting to be turned into something special. So I couldn’t just heat it up and spoon it down my gullet; I had to jazz it up.
I am just about as Polish as they come. People constantly point out my “round polish face,” I’ve been raised on real, homemade potato pancakes, and I have a small tattoo written in Polish. When I was younger, I used to think being Polish was boring. I had friends who were Irish, Scottish, Italian, and even Native American. I felt like Polish was equivalent to a boring white crayon in a box of colorful cultural crayons.
As I’ve grown up, I’ve realized how important is it to embrace who you are. Plus, I learned how awesome it is to be Polish; I mean can you really argue with a culture that’s known for its pierogies? There have been a few times in my life when I was lucky enough to enjoy fresh pierogies, handmade from scratch. It’s not an everyday affair because the pierogi-making process takes quite a bit of time and effort. Unfortunately, the only person willing to do so is my grandmother. God bless her. When you taste one of her tender homemade pierogis fresh from the frying pan, you wonder how you ever went on for so long eating the pasta imposters from the freezer section of the grocery store.
Now, I’m a college student, so the chances of me churning out homemade pierogi any time before summer break are slim to none. So what am I to do when my Polish roots start craving some pierogi? The answer is simple: make Pierogi Casserole.
This dish is a blessing. It lets me have all the goodness of a pierogi in casserole-form. It’s essentially a pierogi that’s been deconstructed, stripped down to its individual elements and put back together to resemble some sort of lasagna. Only this is much better than lasagna. We’re talking a rich, mashed potato filling that’s stuffed with melted cheese, fried onions, and butter then layered with lasagna noodles. So, you’ve got that classic pierogi filling and the pasta shell that cradles it, broken down to exist as a layered casserole. It’s a pan-full of heaven: mounds of cheesy, starchy, buttery goodness. Is it indulgent? Yes. Is it good for you? That’s debatable. No, it’s not great for you physical health, but comfort foods such as this do wonders for the mind.
Grab a plateful of this Polish pierogi dream and treat yourself. The best dishes are worth a bit of over-induglence.
A Few Tips Before You Get Cooking:
Pierogi Casserole
Recipe adapted from How Sweet It Is
serves 4-6
Ingredients:
Directions:
In the magical world of food, the littlest tweak can take an ingredient from good to amazing. With a little bit of heat, butter goes from boring and pale to golden brown with deep, nutty flavor. A drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkle of salt, and a quick roast in the oven turns veggies from limp and plain to tender and flavorful. Caramelizing raw onions morphs them into sweet, buttery, onion gold. When it comes to the magic of cooking, wonders never cease. With just a little bit of love, we can take something we like and transform it into something we love.
One beautiful example of this is roasted garlic. We all like garlic, and that’s why we love roasted garlic. It’s so sweet and delicious, with an intoxicating flavor that permeates through whatever food is lucky enough to be graced by its presence. Roasted garlic has that familiar flavor you love plus a layer of sweet depth that only roasting it can give. There is no better way to describe it than beautiful.
I’ve been racking my brain to discover the perfect way to utilize the potent powers of roasted garlic. When a strong craving for Fettuccine Alfredo hit me, the answer became obvious: Roasted Garlic Alfredo. I love, love, love traditional Alfredo sauce, and I make a pretty mean Alfredo, if I may be so bold as to say so. The only way it could possibly be better is with some wonderful roasted garlic.
Guys…
Wagon wheel pasta is really great. I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, because up until last night, I hadn’t even fully understood myself. You see, when I make any form of pasta, wheels basically never pop into my mind as an option. I think of penne, fettucine, and orrechiette. Sure, wheels seem fun, but they never quite fall under my pasta-making radar.
About a week ago, while I was grocery shopping, I spotted a box of wagon wheels in the pasta aisle. I could almost see them rolling along in the box as a sudden impulse took over and I thought, “I must do something with wagon wheels.” This realization pestered me like a little voice in my head until, at last, a pastatunity* presented itself. I was dying to make mac and cheese without a recipe for the first time, and I needed the perfect pasta for the job.
Enter the wagon wheels.
I should’ve never doubted these circular little guys. I mean, just look at them; they’re adorable! Simply gazing upon a bowl of these cheesy wheels is enough to put a smile on your face. But if you really want to be spilling over with joy, then you’ve got to eat them too.
I hate saying things like, “This is the best mac and cheese I’ve ever had,” because then you’re just like “yeah, whatever.” Nevertheless, I feel you have a right to know that this is my favorite mac and cheese I’ve tried. I’ve tried countless recipes, and I’ve had some delicious ones no doubt, but I could never quite get it perfect. Turns out, all I had to do was ditch the recipes and cook from my own mind.
I have a special tale for you today, my little cookies, one of marvel and splendor. They say there is a fantastical world where healthy and indulgent come together as one; a place where foods bountiful in nutrition simultaneously provide comfort and pleasure. Every bite boasts an utterly sinful amount of deliciousness, while also giving your body the nutrients that it needs. Imagine a plate of cheese fries filled with all your daily vitamins, or a pepperoni pizza that keeps you free of illness. Delicious and nutritious can at last be together in this wondrous world of food.
It all sounds too good to be true. But this is not myth, my little cookies. This is real.
Well, okay, so maybe not the part about the vitamin-filled french fries or the immunity-boosting pizza, but I would not kid you about being able to have food that is packed with nutrients, but is first and foremost downright delicious. This wasn’t something I really intended when I created this dish. My first concern was making something tasty and comforting. It happens to be pure luck that this Kale & Sweet Potato Pasta with Two Cheeses is both indulgent and nutritious.
Let’s not mince words here; mac and cheese is awesome. I won’t say everyone loves the stuff, but almost everyone does. This is unsurprising when one considers that mac and cheese is merely that: a combination of pasta and cheese, two foods beloved by all. Mac and cheese is purely food for the soul. We don’t eat it to nourish, and we sure as sugar don’t eat it to be fit and trim. We eat mac and cheese because it tastes good and, in turn, it makes us feel good too.
I am on a never-ending journey through all of the mac & cheese variations floating around in the recipe universe. Who knew there was such a plethora of ways to prepare pasta and cheese? You can bake it, make it stove top, build a roux, and don’t even get me started on the different pasta shapes and flavors of cheese available.Will I ever try all of the variations on mac and cheese in existence? Probably not. But if I should find a handful of honestly good recipes in an attempt to do so, then I think I’ve accomplished something.
This 4-Cheese Mac & Cheese is the best I’ve tried to date. Often times, I find homemade mac and cheese to be dried out or not cheesy enough. This mac is neither or those things. The sauce is so creamy dreamy that it takes your tongue to a place of euphoric enjoyment. There is no lack of sauce or even a hint of dryness. It’s luscious and indulgent, with such a creamy sea of sauce that you’ll think you just dived into the Great Comfort Sea.
Another year has brushed passed me just as quickly as a stranger on a busy street. It’s been a whirlwind of a year, with both good and bad memories now in the bank. The very best thing to happen to me in 2011 was the birth of Smart Cookie. I believe my life has truly changed as a result. I’ve been able to take my devoted passion for food and channel it into something that I can share with the world. I can only hope that 2012 will allow me to continue my mission in bigger, tastier ways. I would love for Smart Cookie to continue to grow while I grow as both a chef and a writer. Food and I are bound together in a life-long journey. Hopefully, it will lead to a career that will allow me to share my love for food with the world on an even grander scale than I do now. Regardless of what 2012 brings, I will continue to bring you daily deliciousness. I hope you’ll follow Smart Cookie into the new year & the years to come!
So with that, let us ring in the new year right with my 12 absolute favorite recipes of the year.
Well, my little cookies, the holidays are upon us at last! In case your menu is lacking, Mr. McChip took the honor of lining up his 20 favorite Smart Cookie holiday recipes for you!
