My Friends and Food

Hello everyone! Happy summer (for all you university students)! 

Myself being a university student...I've finally got a ton of time on my hands and my creativity has been going wild for the past couple of days! I've come up with a new "feature" I want to start doing for my blog that I'm super excited about: a series of showcases and interviews of a ton of my interesting friends all about food! From the interviews I do with them I'll then create a recipe just for them/named after them based on their favorite foods and memorable meals!

Anyways, I'll jump right in to my first interview for My Friends and Food, meet my lovely friend Katie! Today was one of the first sunny days in a while, so we went on a nice little hike through the ravine and I bombarded her with a million questions, I'm so happy with the photos and the interview!

Katie! Tell us a little about yourself before we dive into the world of food! 

Well, I just finished my first year of Tourism and Recreation Management in Cranbrook, B.C. I am looking forward to a summer full of fun and adventures (and food) in Edmonton. I'm almost 19 (my birthday is May 21st, yay)! I'm unfortunately working full time as a student painter for the summer...oh painting...and I'm single and READY TO MINGLE!

You definitely are single and ready to mingle, girly! 

Oh absolutely, I'm on the prowl. Kidding!

So, now let's get into the food talk (my favorite). What is your most memorable meal as of late?

Well, on my last night in Cranbrook, me and two of my really good friends had a giant BBQ with, now get this: 64 HAMBURGERS THAT WE GOT LEFTOVER FROM AN EVENT OUR PROGRAM HELD! They were delicious hand made burgers from the cafeteria. It was about 30 degrees out and gorgeous. We went to the local grocery store and picked up ALL the fixings, and started cooking! We obviously didn't eat 64 burgers to ourselves, but made a ton for all our friends still living in residence at the time. It would have been a different story if the burgers were free and not very good, but they were incredible.

So you like meat, that's my girl. What foods do you not like, if there are any?

Mmm...all kinds of fish! I'm not a huge seafood fan. So let's just say anything from the sea. Even fake seafood, my roommates had some imitation crab at one point, it made me sick! Also, I'm not a fan of green peppers. That's about it though!

That's not too bad! Even though I'm a seafood fanatic...but anyways...what about the food you LOVE?

I love sandwiches! Give me a sandwich and I'm a happy person. I love BBQ chicken and fruit, and...starbucks. I love muffins and baked goods...like banana bread! 

What is your dream sandwich? Describe it for us...in extensive detail:

Okay, I'll go layer by layer. The bread will be...sliced marble rye...MMM! I'm already excited. Margarine first, and then a generous amount of mayo. Then we'll start with deli turkey, and then deli ham. Then jalapeno havarti cheese. Oooh then let's add some BACON! Sliced cucumbers...sliced pickles...tomato....fresh cracked black and mustard, then top it off with another piece of rye! Oh that sounds so good right now...

Now you must tell the food blog about a favorite specialty you make for me every time we come home after a night out together...

Well food blog world. There's a special thing called Kraft Dinner. But this is no ordinary Kraft Dinner. First it's boiled to the perfect al dente. Then you make the KD as the box says, but with a GOOD amount of margerine and a little bit of milk. Next, PRAY that you have Kraft Tex-Mex shredded cheese in your fridge. When you do find it, grab a handful (a heft handful) and toss it into your KD. Next, rummage through your freezer for those old hot dogs you have from summers past. And since time is of the essence, throw them in the microwave until they split at the seams...then you know they're ready! Cut those puppies up and throw them in your gourmet pasta, add a little ketchup, a little fresh cracked black and finish with a little extra Tex-Mex. Bon appetite! Oh so yummy.

It really is...this little dish has saved me from quite a few hangovers in the past, thanks girl! So Katie, for your personalized dish made by myself, what would you like to see incorporated into that bad boy? 

Oh my goodness I don't even know...CHEESE! K so cheese...meat...lots of flavour, spice...and colour! And nothing with fish! That's all I can say!

Okay, I'll see what I can do with those requirements! Thanks for being my first "My Friends and Food" subject, Katie! Can't wait to make a recipe with your name on it! I'm so happy you're home for the summer!

So after thinking about what I should do for my "Katie" dish...I've finally come up with something! Here it is!

The Katie

1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni
1-2 spicy italian sausages
1 hot red pepper and 1 hot green (or jalepeno) pepper, diced very finely
4 tablespoons butter, divided
1/4 cup all purpose flour
3 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon dry mustard
3/4 teaspoon salt
a good grind of fresh cracked black pepper
1 cup shredded pepperjack cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated fresh parmesan cheese
1/3 cup bread crumbs (from old marbled rye bread)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and add your pasta.
Cook until al dente, and drain.

While the pasta is boiling, cook your Italian sausages and hot red and green pepper (as much as you'd like) in a frying pan over medium-high heat. When they're done cooking, set aside.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and add your flour - whisk together.
A little at a time, whisk in the milk, dry mustard and salt and pepper.
Bring the sauce to a boil for about 1 minute, and then remove from heat.
Add in the pepperjack, cheddar and parmesan and whisk until smooth.
Stir in the cooked pasta to the cheese sauce, and pour into a shallow baking dish.

Now slice your cooled Italian sausage and add this and your cooked peppers into the macaroni and cheese. Mix in.

Finally, take the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and cook in the same frying pan used to cook the sausages the butter and 1/3 cup of rye bread crumbs.
Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture on top of the macaroni and cheese.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes!

So there you are, a dish with colour (the green and red hot peppers, the bright cheeses, the golden sausage and rye crumbs), with meat (spicy italian sausage, a more sophisticated hot-dog), cheese (lots of it) and spice!

Enjoy! I will make this sometime soon and post pictures eventually! But until then, you should try it out for yourself!

xoxo

Mariel