Biscuits are a big deal in my family.  It’s a well known fact that the only person who can make acceptable biscuits is my grandmother.  The rest of us generally don’t even try.   Whenever I’m visiting my mother in Maine we call my grandmother early in the morning and request freshly baked biscuits.  They’re to die for.  Especially when slathered with real butter.  Of course, like millions of other people, I need to get into better shape.   So I decided to try a lighter (possibly new and exciting) Sweet Potato Biscuit recipe that I found in this month’s Cooking Light magazine.  I’ve actually subscribed to Cooking Light for the last year but this is the first time I’ve ever tried one of their recipes.   Probably because I’m so enamored with Ellie Krieger’s healthy meals on the Food Network.  Anyway, the biscuits came out pretty well.  I was actually shocked that they rose so much,  and I’m sure they were really reasonable calorie and fat wise, until I spread on some Maple Butter…and then a little more Maple Butter.

Bake	Puree
Mix the Dry Ingredients	Combine the Milk & Potatoes
Cut	Bake

Butter

My grandmother gave me a copy of Marjorie Standish’s Cooking Down East cookbook for Christmas. It’s full of simple New England style recipes including one of my absolute favorites, Shredded Wheat Bread. Whenever I’m home and my mother makes this I eat it like it’s going out of style and without fail she gets annoyed with me because I always toast freshly baked bread. Everyone has their “bad habits,” right?

I woke up early on Saturday morning determined that Shredded Wheat Bread was going to be the first item I mixed with my new Pink KitchenAid and after a quick conference with “Mummy Dearest” on the phone I began measuring ingredients. I’d only baked bread once before this attempt and it didn’t come out at all so I was very anxious to have this particular cooking experiment be a success. The KitchenAid mixer is officially amazing. I seriously stood in awe with my mouth wide open as 5 plus cups of flour were mixed into a gorgeous mass of dough. My arm would have literally fallen off before I ever stirred all of that in.

Making bread is time consuming. It rose for two hours, then had to be punched down, and given time to rise again. After that I shaped the dough into loaves and sat them on the counter until they doubled in size. I finally had my first slice of freshly baked bread around 2:00 pm in the afternoon, but it was so worth it and almost as good as my mom’s.

Secret Ingredients	Yeasty Beasties Activate
Whirl, Whirl, Whirl, Whirl	Allow to Rise (You Can Take a Nap)
Eureka!	Whack it Down and Divide in Half
Shape Into Loaves	Wait Until They Double in Size

Butter

Slice & Toast (If You Dare)

Macaroni and Cheese is my all-time favorite meal. When I was a kid I practically lived on the Blue Box Kraft version — seriously, who didn’t? I was a huge pain in the ass though and I would go through phases where I would only eat certain types, for instance, I vividly remember a 3 year stint where I only liked the spiral shaped version. I also had this annoying habit of carrying around the little pouch of cheese powder while my mother was boiling the macaroni. I think those incidents are great examples we can use to confirm that I was a total control freak from birth.

Obviously, homemade Macaroni and Cheese is about 3000 times better than anything that comes out of a box. The recipe I use is based on one from the Better Homes and Garden’s cookbook. Essentially you sauté a diced onion in butter until softened (not browned). Then melt 3 tablespoons of butter in the same pan, whisk in 3 tablespoons of flour (and salt & pepper to taste). Cook the flour and onion paste for a minute or two and then add 3 cups of skim milk. Bring the milk and flour mixture to a boil (stirring frequently). Next add 3 cups of cheese. I like to use extra sharp cheddar and gruyere. Stir the cheese mixture until everything is melted together and thickened. Meanwhile, cook 3 cups of dry elbow or rotini macaroni (lately I’ve been buying the Healthy Harvest Whole Wheat Rotini). Pour the cooked and drained macaroni into a casserole dish, add the cheese mixture, and top with Italian bread crumbs. Finally, bake in a 375 degree oven for 25 minutes.

Your mom will be so proud of you!

It’s the Cheesiest	Chop for Flavor
Melt	Soften
Add 3 Tablespoons	Whisk in 3 Tablespoons of Flour
Stir in the Milk, Boil	Place Cooked Pasta in Dish
Melt the Cheeses	Heat and Stir Until Thickened
Layer with Sauce & Bread Crumbs	Way Better Than “The Blue Box”