Forget the blue box and neon orange "cheese" powder.  This is some seriously good comfort food.

Macaroni and Cheese
adapted from a recipe in McCall's Cooking School cookbook

2 cups macaroni or other pasta
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cups milk
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 cup diced cooked chicken or ham

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Bring large pot of salted water to a boil; add pasta and cook 4-5 minutes, or slightly less done than al dente.  Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile...

chop up the red pepper...

grate the cheese...

and dice the chicken (or ham).

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat.  Remove from heat and add flour, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce.  Stir until smooth.  Gradually add milk, stirring so there are no lumps.

Return saucepan to medium-high heat and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens.  Add diced red bell pepper, reduce heat to low and simmer for one minute.  Remove from heat.

Add cooked pasta, chicken or ham, and 1 1/2 cups grated cheese to the saucepan and stir to combine. 

Pour into baking dish and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes...cheese should be melted and bubbly.

I know this is a bit late for St. Patrick's Day, but with March 17 being a Wednesday this year, I didn't get a chance to make an Irish-themed recipe, let alone post one! Besides, by waiting, I was able to pick from the many St. Patrick's recipes featured on my favorite food blogs.

I found these recipes at Tasty Kitchen.

Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes
2 cups Guinness Stout
2 cups (4 sticks) butter
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
4 cups flour
4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin tins, or line with baking cups.

Heat stout and butter in saucepan over medium heat until it begins to simmer. Remove from heat and immediately add cocoa powder; whisk to combine. Set aside to cool.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.

Beat the eggs and sour cream. Add the cooled cocoa mixture and stir to combine. Add the dry ingredients and beat until batter is smooth.

Pour batter into prepared muffin tins. Bake for 16-18 minutes (mine took closer to 22 minutes), or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pans for 15 minutes, then remove to cool on wire rack.  Makes 48 cupcakes.

Bittersweet Ganache
2 cups heavy cream
1 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Heat the heavy cream to a simmer. Pour over chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Let sit for a minute, then whisk to combine.

Carefully dip the tops of each cupcake into the ganache and set aside to cool.

If you prefer, you can cover and refrigerate the ganache for two hours and use like a traditional frosting instead. I like the dipping method better, myself.

You-Won't-Believe-How-Good-This-Is Frosting
My mom made this frosting when I was a kid, and it was always my favorite. She called it "Waldorf Astoria Frosting" but I have no idea why. I had forgotten all about it until I saw this recipe online recently. I never realized before how odd the recipe is; whoever heard of cooked milk and flour in frosting? Trust me, this is the absolute best frosting, especially on chocolate cake. Light, fluffy, the perfect balance of rich and sweet. You have to taste it to believe it.

1 cup milk
5 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar (NOT powdered sugar)

Whisk flour and milk together in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Add vanilla and stir.

Beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the cooled flour mixture and beat until the frosting looks like whipped cream.

Give it a taste, and try not to lose your mind and eat the entire bowl.

This was the first time I ever cooked or baked with Guinness, so it definitely qualifies as a Friday First!  It was also my first time tasting Guinness, but as I am not a fan of beer (wine or cocktails for me!) I preferred it baked up with some chocolate and not in my glass.

Click here to check out all the other Friday Firsts!

This is a simple, yet elegant rice dish with wonderful flavor...even JD, who doesn't usually eat rice, likes this.  I love how pretty the salad looks, with all of the different vegetables and pieces of egg and pink sushi ginger.  This makes a great light lunch, or it could be a side with grilled fish.  (mmmm...tuna....)

I found this recipe in a wonderful vegetarian cookbook by Mollie Katzen called Still Life With Menu.  It has some great recipes and beautiful artwork by the author.

Scattered Sushi Rice Salad
adapted from Mollie Katzen's Still Life With Menu Cookbook

2 cups sushi (short-grain) rice
2 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons mirin (Japanese cooking sake)
6 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon canola oil
1 egg
splash of mirin
1 medium carrot, peeled and minced
1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded and minced
2 scallions, minced
1 to 2 cups fresh or frozen green peas, lightly steamed
handful of green beans, lightly steamed and cut in 1/2 inch lengths
(you can also add steamed snow peas and/or minced yellow squash)
3 to 4 tablespoons sushi ginger, minced
3 to 4 tablespoons sesame seeds

Rinse the rice under cold running water.

Put rinsed rice in a saucepan with water and 2 tablespoons mirin.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to the lowest possible simmer.  Cover and cook for 10-12 minutes, until tender.

Remove rice from the heat, uncover, and let sit for 10 minutes.

Heat the vinegar 15-30 seconds in the microwave, then add the sugar and salt.  Stir to combine and dissolve the sugar.  Set aside.

Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables:

Scoop out the seeds from the peeled cucumber...

and finely mince.

Mince the carrot.

Mince the scallions.

Steam and cut the green beans.

Spread the rice in a long shallow dish.  Drizzle with half of the vinegar mixture and mix very gently with a fork.  Alternate between mixing the rice and fanning it with a magazine to prevent sticking.  Do this for a few minutes, until thoroughly mixed.

Transfer rice to a bowl and set aside.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 teaspoon canola oil.

Beat the egg with the splash of mirin.

Pour the beaten egg into the hot pan.  Tilt the pan to make a thin egg pancake.

When it is set, flip it over and cook the other side.

Remove from heat and let cool.

When cool, slice the egg into thin strips, and then into 1/2 inch pieces.

Combine the rice with the remaining oil, vegetables, egg pieces, sushi ginger, sesame seeds, and remaining vinegar mixture.  Mix gently.

Serve at room temperature or cold.  Equally delicious either way.

Recently I found a great link party at Dinner at Christina's...Friday Firsts!  The idea is to feature any cooking or food-related "first".  This week, when I made Barry's Chocolate Cake, I made ganache for the first time.  Soooo delicious and incredibly easy.  Why don't I make this more often?  Not just for cake...on top of ice cream, as a dip for fruit, or just eating with a spoon...yummy!

Check out Dinner at Christina's to see all the other Friday Firsts!

As many of you know, I am a fan of vintage/retro photos, especially those with snarky comments (like Anne Taintor), so I'm always searching online for more.  I found this one the other day, and thought it was perfect for my blog...are these the "real" Suzy's Goodies???

(image from here) 

Am I a traitor to my gender if I find this hilarious and not offensive?  If so, my gender needs to lighten up!

Is the woman also the "Hot Food Server"?