Panera Bread's Macaroni and Cheese

It is pretty much a known fact that macaroni and cheese is my absolute favorite food.  When Panera came out with one, I could not wait to taste it!  The creaminess of their mac and cheese is unmatched and I tried hard to figure out how to do it at home.  After many trials and errors this is what I came up with.  And it is not only as good as Panera's, but it may be even a little bit better!

Ingredients:
1 pound shell shaped pasta
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup flour
2 1/2 cups half and half or whole milk
6 slices white american cheese
8 oz shredded Vermont white cheddar
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
salt

Directions:
Begin by boiling a large pot of water for the pasta.  This takes a while, so I always do it first.

In a small sauce pan heat the oil for about 2 minutes.  Then slowly stir in the flour and cook on medium high until it begins to bubble while whisking.

Cook this for another 2 minutes.  Then slowly pour in the half and half while whisking vigorously.  With the burner on low, allow the sauce to thicken while stirring occasionally.  

Once the water begins to boil, season the water with salt and cook the pasta based on the package directions.  Mine took about 14 minutes.  Make sure to stir the pasta so it does not stick together.  

While the milk is thickening, prepare your cheeses.  I like to grate my own cheese because it doesn't have any of the stabilizers of pre-shredded cheese.  Also cut your American cheese into small pieces.

Once the sauce has thickened, stir in the mustard and whisk until smooth.  Then toss in the American and Vermont White Cheddar cheeses and stir until the sauce is completely smooth with no unmelted cheese left.  

Once the pasta finishes cooking, drain the pasta and put back into the hot pot.  Put it on the stove over a medium flame and pour the cheese sauce over it.  Stir for about one minute over the medium heat.  Serve and enjoy!

Pin It Now!

White Zinfandel and Peach Sangria

Ingredients:
1 bottle white zinfandel
20 oz lemon lime soda
3 whole peaches or a small bag of frozen peaches
1/3 cup simple syrup (recipe follows)

Simple Syrup:
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup water
mint, orange peel, vanilla bean, basil, etc. (optional)

Directions:
In a small sauce pan heat the water and the sugar together on medium heat stirring occasionally.  At this point you can flavor your simple syrup with anything you would like such as crushed mint or basil leaves, orange, lemon, or lime peels, or vanilla beans.  I didn't add anything to mine today, but mint and vanilla go very well with peaches.  Let it simmer until sugar has completely dissolved.  Allow it to cool before using.

In a large pitcher pour the white zinfandel and the lemon lime soda and stir.  I used frozen peaches because they are like ice cubes in the beverage.  Once the simple syrup has cooled, pour it into the mixture and stir until combined.  Allow to sit in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours before serving.

Pin It Now!

Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

Shortbread cookies are one of the easiest and most versatile of all of the cookies and they also are absolutely delicious!  They are perfect with tea or really anything at all!

'

Ingredients:

2 sticks of butter, softened (I know only one is shown here, that's because the other was in the microwave)

2/3 cup confectioners sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 tablespoon water

1 cup chocolate chips

Beat using an electric mixer together the butter and sugar in a large bowl.  Make sure your butter is slightly soft.  Or pop it in the microwave for a few seconds.  

Once the butter and sugar is very creamy, add the vanilla and beat again for a few seconds.  Then slowly add in the flour.  Do this slowly because it might get everywhere (if you are wearing black everybody will know you have been baking cookies!).  

Once all of the flour is mixed in, put the electric mixer aside and use a rubber spatula.  Stir in the chocolate chips until they are well incorporated.  

Here is the best trick I have ever come up with.  Take a 1 gallon zip top bag and put all of the dough inside of it.  Using a rolling pin, a large glass, or even your hands, spread out the dough to fit in the entire bag.  It is the perfect amount and is the best way to roll this out!  

It will be very light in color and probably a little warm.  Chill it like this on a flat surface in the refrigerator for 2 hours, or longer.  This is great because you can make the dough the night before and bake it off the next day!

Once the dough is done chilling it should be darker in color and very firm.

Cut the bag on the sides to release the dough and place the dough on a cutting board.  Cut it into square using a very sharp serated knife.  I got 36 cookies out of this dough, but you can make them as big or as small as you like.

Place the cookies on a baking sheet and bake in a 325 degree oven for 18-20 minutes.  Cookies should not be too dark and will not grow very much, if at all.  Allow to cool for little bit before removing.  Enjoy!

Pin It Now!

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened

• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

• 1/2 cup white sugar

• 2 eggs

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts

• 1 cup coarsely chopped white chocolate

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 


In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and almond extracts. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in the macadamia nuts and white chocolate. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. 

Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Serve and enjoy!

Pin It Now!

The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Sandwich

Championship Chicken Sandwich
ESPN Club
Disney's Boardwalk Inn
Orlando, FL

So if I just tell you what is in this sandwich, you will definitely think it is very boring.  But trust me I have dreams about this it was so good!  It is a grilled piece of chicken breast on rosemary focaccia with sun-dried tomato pesto, goat cheese, and arugula.  The chicken breast has some kind of herbs on it like time and rosemary and it perfectly grilled.  I can't even begin to tell you how juicy it was.  It was juicier than any piece of fried chicken I have ever had, yet it was grilled! It was perfectly tender and delicious.  The bread really made this sandwich special because it was lightly toasted and still soft in the middle.  It had the perfect balance of filling to bread and the rosemary wasn't overpowering in the focaccia.  The sun-dried tomato pesto was slathered all over the bread and added a creamy texture that was amazing against the crispness of the bread.  It also added another layer of flavor the the chicken breast.  The arugula was also perfect because it was crispy and peppery, while also lightening up this sandwich.  My favorite part was the smear of goat cheese on top of the chicken.  It was perfectly tangy and creamy and was my favorite part of this sandwich.  You have a choice between cucumber salad and french fries (I obviously got the fries).  I ordered mine extra crispy and they were some of the best fries I ever tasted.  Tender inside, hot, salty, and crispy on the outside.

I know this sandwich's ingredients sounds boring, but trust me you will never taste anything like it!

Pin It Now!

The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Pasta

Gnocchi with Pesto and Roasted Vegetables
Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano
Disney's Hollywood Studios
Orlando, FL

Gnocchi has always been one of my favorite pasta dishes because it is made with my favorite ingredient, potatoes, and I absolutely love pesto cause of its strong flavor.  So when I saw this I knew I had to get it! The roasted vegetables I thought would be a little weird, but they were honestly the best part of this dish!

The gnocchi are like little pillows sitting in your dish. Light, airy, and incredibly flavorful.  They are perfectly salted and creamy inside.  The pesto sauce was one of the best I have ever tasted.  It was such a bright green color and wasn't too garlicky.  You could taste every bit of fresh basil put in and the high grade olive oil used. The perfect amount of sauce was used so it wasn't swimming in a pool of sauce.  Now to the vegetables.  It came with plump mushrooms, broccolini, roasted eggplant, and cherry tomatoes.  The mushrooms were probably my favorite because they were so meaty and tender.  The broccolini was perfectly cooked and added an extra layer of flavor to the entire dish.  I usually am not a fan of eggplant, but this eggplant was amazing.  It had a sort of nutty, roasted flavor that I have never tasted before.  Since I hate tomatoes, I was not willing to give them a try, but they looked beautiful!

This dish was everything you could want in a pasta dish and more!

Pin It Now!

The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Meat

Braised Lamb Shank with Potato Gateau
The Wave
Disney's Contemporary Resort
Orlando, FL

If you are in Disney World and are looking for a more upscale restaurant without being too fancy, this is definitely the way to go! Everything that is cooked is completely fresh and homemade.  There is hardly any deep frying and definitely no microwaving in this restaurant.  All ingredients are seasonal and some even come from Disney World's own gardens.  Because of this the menu always changes, but it is always fantastic.

Let me get down to the meat though.  When I saw this lamb shank come to my table I felt like a caveman!  It is enormous, I think it may be 14 ounces.  The waiter said it was slow cooked for 9 hours and you can absolutely tell.  I didn't need a knife at all, only a fork to pull away the tender meat from the bone.  The sauce is absolutely delicious because it tastes like its been cooking in meet juices for days! Then the side dish of the potato gateau is one of the best thing I ever ate.  It is tender potatoes mixed with a cream cheese sauce using tangy goat cheese and baked until crispy.  The tanginess of the goat cheese really cuts through the big meaty flavor of the lamb.  If you are in Disney, definitely try this restaurant!!!

Pin It Now!