jane's apron

forum cafeteria macaroni and cheese

I guess it's not too surprising that this is the picture I'm sharing from 6th grade camp.  I could have also taken pictures of the stand mixer's attachments but decided that was ridiculous.  On our last morning at camp I got to stand and drink my coffee in the warm kitchen while the camp ladies made hundreds of homemade pancakes ...mixed in the giant stand mixer.  

Posting this picture reminded me of one of my favorite recipes that I've been wanting to share.  The recipe, from the Forum Cafeteria, is a scaled-down version of their macaroni and cheese.  I clipped the recipe from the newspaper a long time ago and it says:

"...the original recipe makes 250 portions, which at the time was small, since we were serving 7500 customers a day (before the fast-food operations)"

This recipe is easy to give/take a little on the ingredients but I have found that keeping everything exactly as listed makes the best mac and cheese (I do not add the paprika but I do use the yellow food coloring because my daughter likes to add the drops).

Forum's Macaroni and Cheese

• 12 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 cups skim milk
• 6 1/2 tablespoons margarine
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• ground white pepper
• 4 drops yellow food coloring
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 cups Longhorn Cheddar cheese; divided
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika

Cook macaroni until done but still firm to the bite; rinse and drain well.

Heat milk in the microwave until bubbles form around the edges; set aside (I put the milk in a 4 cup measuring bowl and heat for 5 minutes).

Melt margarine in the large pot (I used the same pot that I cooked the macaroni in).  Gradually sprinkle in flour; cook, stirring constantly, until smooth.  Stir in salt, white pepper to taste, food coloring, sugar, and hot milk.  Cook, stirring until well mixed and creamy (about 5 minutes).  Stir in 3/4 cup cheese and mix until melted.  

Stir the macaroni into the cheese sauce and transfer to an oven-proof cassrole.  Sprinkle remaining 3/4 cheese on top and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  

atypical

My oldest turned 17 about two weeks ago.  I was thinking that it was hard not to have a typical day when we are busy and it seems like just another day in the week.  I rushed home from school to make a peach cobbler and then rushed out of the door to make it to his soccer game.   That's when things became a little more atypical...nothing magical or significant...just different. 

I got stuck trying to get on the highway, saw lots of people standing around, realized the President was in town, and somehow was one of the first cars back on the highway.  Just me...mostly all alone heading to the game.   The game was on a perfect fall day with a perfect sunset.  We headed back home through downtown and drove past the bright lights and buzz of Busch Stadium as a division series game was ending.  Made it home for peach cobbler and then ended the night by trying to coax a lost chihuahua to come in our house...while my daughter surveyed everyone about what we should name him (I've since started calling him skippy but still no luck getting him in the house).  Not so typical.  A good birthday day.

I'm off to 6th grade camp tomorrow and may share a few pictures this week and then it's down to business around here...new notecard designs to share, recipes for the new season, and a few thirfted goodies.  

miss havisham

Miss Havisham.  She was fascinating and kind of scary...and left such an impression on me that I still remember her vividly (specifically the TV version with Micheal York when I was about 12 or so).  

I bought one of those gold plastic wall art pieces at my thrift store this summer.  It was really pretty and I was saving it for something.  I found some (new?) Martha Stewart glitter paint at the craft store called "antique silver".  I am not a glitter girl but thought a small amount might be cool on my wall art project.  

So I spray painted the piece with chalkboard paint (love that stuff) and then painted it with the glitter paint to highlight the details.  That's when I got the Miss Havisham vibe and thought to add an old wedding dress vibe to the flowers.  I ripped up some vintage swiss dot netting, added some seam binding, and some vintage lace.  

                             

When we cleaned out our garage this summer, I found a very old calendar book that was cut in half.  I had a page for October 30th and a page for November 1st.  I decided November 1st was best...Miss Havisham was waiting after all.  And it is All Soul's Day. 

Here's the before...