Jack's (Video) Mac and Cheese

Ingredients:

1 lb. elbow macaroni

1/2 stick butter

1/2 block Velveeta cheese, cubed

~2 cups milk

2 cups canned Parmesan cheese

4 Tblsp. granulated garlic

Pepper

3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

3 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

3 cups shredded Gouda cheese

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cook macaroni in salted water.

3. Mix together shredded cheeses in a large bowl.

4. While macaroni is cooking, melt butter and Velveeta with 1/2 cup milk in heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly to keep milk and cheese from scorching.

5. When Velveeta is melted, add 3 cups of the shredded cheese mixture. Continue stirring to melt cheese. Add another 1/2 cup of milk (as needed) to get the cheese sauce to a consistency that will pour off of a spoon, then remove from heat.

6. Drain cooked pasta, then put it into a 13"x9" baking dish.

7. Add Parmesan cheese, garlic and pepper (to taste), and stir to mix evenly.

8. Add 3 cups of the shredded cheese mixture to the pasta, and stir to distribute.

9. Add 1 cup of milk to the pasta and stir, then pour in the cheese sauce and combine.

10. Top pasta with remaining 3 cups of shredded cheese mixture.

11. If there are not 6 to 8 Tblsp. of milk visible in the pasta, add a little more milk.

12. Cover casserole dish with foil and bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until cheese on top is slightly brown.

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

Cake Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 large egg

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

 

Frosting Ingredients:

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 tsp. vanilla 

Pinch of salt

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

1-2 Tblsp. milk

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grease an 11.5" metal cookie cake pan, or line the bottom with parchment paper.

3. Place half of the chocolate chips in a plastic bag, and use a rolling pin to break them into small pieces.

4. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, melt butter until just barely melted.

5. To melted butter, add both sugars, and stir until combined. DO NOT USE A MIXER.

6. Add egg and vanilla, then stir (again, by hand).

7. Add baking soda, baking powder and salt, and stir (still, no mixer!)

8. Add flour, and stir until all of the flour disappears into the dough.

9. Add the chocolate chips (whole and chopped) into the dough, and stir. Immediately begin pressing the dough into the pan using a spoon or your hands. The best way to do this is to drop the dough into the pan in small chunks, so that it is dispersed evenly, then use a spatula, your hands or even the butter wrapper to press the dough down into a smooth layer. Be sure to make sure the chocolate chips are evenly dispersed through the cake. Work quickly, so the dough doesn't sit so long that the butter starts to set.

10. Bake for 12-14 minutes, but be careful to not overbake, if you want the cookie cake to actually stay soft. It should be very slightly brown on top and actually look slightly underbred when you take it out.

11. Remove from oven and place pan on a cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting or removing.

12. For the frosting, cream the butter, vanilla and salt using a mixer. Add the powdered sugar, thinning with milk as necessary until a piping consistency is achieved.

13. Use a knife to go around the edges of the cooled cookie cake, then place an inverted plate or platter on top of the cake. Flip the pan over to remove the cake from the pan, then flip it again, so that the right side is up for decorating.

NOTES:

• Recipe makes enough frosting to pipe around the edges of the cake. Double the recipe if you want to write or decorate the rest of the top.
• Breaking 1/2 of the chocolate chips helps to disperse the chocolate throughout the cake to keep it from having large clumps of chocolate in one spot and breaking while cutting.