An Evening of Fall Comfort Food - We're Trying to Win a Contest
Mac and Cheese topped with crab and Panko
Our apartment complex is having a contest, where we show them and the people in our lives what we're cooking up in our kitchen this autumn! And Steven and I thought what better to make for a comforting night in this time of the year, than classic mac and cheese, and roasted red pepper soup?
I am constantly getting my ideas for what to make at home from my favorite "FoodTubers," two of them being The Domestic Geek, and Fablunch. The Domestic Geek is known for her fun-loving attitude towards food and comforting and accessible recipes the whole family can enjoy. And Fablunch is a vegan YouTube channel where I get a ton of recipes from when I'm trying to get more veggies into my diet. Both of them have wonderful collections of recipes that I always look forward to checking out. Below I have included their recipes for you to try on your own!
Mac and Cheese by The Domestic Geek
Ingredients
1 box macaroni
¼ cup butter
¼ cup all purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 cup cream
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
½ cup parmesan, shredded
salt and pepper
red pepper flakes or hot sauce, to taste
½ panko crumbs (optional)
1½ cups cooked lobster meat (we used crab on this particular night)
Directions
Cook macaroni according to package directions and set aside.
In a small saucepan, gently heat milk and cream. Do not let it come to a boil.
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat.
Once the butter is melted and frothy, add flour and whisk.
Whisk constantly until the butter and flour mixture are totally combined and become a golden brown colour – about two or three minutes. This is called a roux.
Carefully pour your milk and cream into your roux, whisking constantly. Use extreme caution as the mixture will bubble up and you don’t want to burn yourself.
Continue to whisk until the mixture is smooth and has thickened – another one or two minutes.
Add the shredded cheddar cheese and whisk until it has fully melted.
Add the shredded parmesan and whisk until it has fully melted.
Add salt, pepper and any other seasonings you’d like, stirring constantly.
Pour cheese mixture over macaroni and stir thoroughly.
Add red pepper flakes and lobster meat and stir to combine.
For baked mac and cheese, pour mac and cheese into a casserole dish or individual ramekins.
Top with panko crumbs and bake at 350 until the panko crumbs have become golden brown.
Roasted Red Pepper Soup by Fablunch
Topped with parmesan crackers and avocado slices
Ingredients
4 bell peppers (2 red and 2 yellow)
2 medium tomatoes
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp grapeseed oil
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp paprika
Salt and pepper
Directions
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Place whole peppers on a baking tray and roast for 40-45 minutes until they become soft
Place roasted peppers in a bowl. Cover and let cool for about an hour.
Meanwhile, peel the tomatoes and roughly chop them with the onion.
After an hour, peel and core the peppers with your hands. Cut into small pieces.
Heat oil in a large pot. Then, add onion and garlic and cook for 4-5 minutes over medium heat until translucent.
Add cut peppers and tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add the spices and continue cooking for 10 minutes until the soup thickens up.
Place in a blender and blend until smooth.
Garnish with extra black pepper, croutons and avocado
Happy Thanksgiving!
On a side note, we finished off our meal with a delicious cup of apple cider. The perfect autumn touch in my opinion. We hope you enjoyed seeing one of our autumn comfort food nights, and wish you and your loved ones a Happy Thanksgiving. For those who get to spend the day with the people they love the most, we hope you'll share with them why you're thankful to have them around. And for those of you working on this holiday, we hope you feel thoroughly appreciated and hope your next day off is incredible. Now if you'll excuse me, we'll be off to my parents' house for turkey dinner! Cheers
