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Cheddar

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The 9 best cheeses to use in mac and cheese

Instant mac and cheese might pass the test for as a college dorm room quick fix, but everyone knows that nothing beats the homemade stuff. At its best, the real deal — made from scratch — can truly transcend you to a carb-loving comfort food heaven. Whether it’s baked into a crunchy-topped casserole or scooped straight from the stove top, the creamiest mac and cheese starts with the right cheese. So what cheeses guarantee maximum creaminess? The main quality a cheese must have is meltability. It might seem obvious, but often times home cooks can lose sight of the end goal (And, admittedly, those fancy, sprawling cheese departments at the supermarket can have us wanting to experiment with all kinds of cheeses we don’t need). Plus, you want a cheese that isn’t going to separate into an oily, grainy mess. So stay on task and when you head to the…

Thanksgiving Day broccoli cheese casserole

I know people love their healthy, steamed broccoli, but holiday meals are no time to hold back. Broccoli smothered in cheese is really the most delicious way to eat the cruciferous vegetable. Even kids who usually run and hide from the dreaded broccoli side dish will be asking for seconds. Dare I say, this broccoli cheese casserole might even replace the beloved green bean casserole at your Thanksgiving table? This casserole is extremely easy to make, and it freezes well too — incredibly important if you’re trying to prepare all of the delicious Thanksgiving sides and need to get a few ready and out of the way. The broccoli is pre-blanched in boiling water, just to shorten the cooking time and keep the cheese gooey. The sauce is a simple roux of flour, butter, milk, and cheese. The crunchy topping is just crackers with butter and shredded cheddar. broccoli cheese…

Chef attempts to make gourmet Cheetos

Bon Appétite recently released a video showing pastry chef Claire Saffitz’s attempt at recreating the Cheetos. While it may take you 3 minutes to eat a whole bag of the oh-so-additicting neon orange snack, it took Saffitz three days to make something recognizable. The final product was less “gourmet” Cheetos and more of just Cheetos made with natural ingredients. While the original processed Cheetos product has some questionable ingredients, Saffitz’s included everyday items like polenta, baking powder, egg whites, salt, spices, vegetable oil, cornstarch, sharp cheddar, powdered milk. Only tapioca maltodextrin raises an eyebrow. Upon further research this is how chefs convert high-fat liquids into powder — necessary for recreating the powdered cheese and getting it to stick. The official process reportedly only take Cheetos only 19 minutes, but is nearly impossible for a home chef. That is, unless you follow this video, get out your high-powered blender, dehydrated, fryer, oven, deep…

Blackberry, red onion, cheese tart recipe

It’s always when you have a nearly empty fridge, that you come up with the most delicious recipes. This was one of those recipes for me. I usually keep a pasty puff on hand as an easy way to serve up an excess of veggies, but when I searched the fridge, I found only one single sad onion — nothing close to the colorful crop selection I’m used to working with. But from these unlikely beginnings came the most delicious tart. It’s unique flavor combination falls somewhere between light lunch and slightly sweet dessert. Whatever reason you have to serve it, it’s a must try. Blackberry, red onion, cheese tart Ingredients 1 pre-made puff pastry 1 medium red onion about 20 blackberries (fresh is best, but frozen works, too) 1 cup shredded aged white cheddar (Kerrygold was what I used) 1/2 cup shredded goats cheese fresh cracked pepper 1/4 cup sliced almonds 1-2 tbsp olive oil 3…

25 Years of Loving Cheddar Bay Biscuits at Red Lobster

If all of the Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits served in one day were stacked up, it would tower the height of the Empire State Building 137 times! We’ve been eating Cheddar Bay Biscuits at Red Lobster for 25 years now. Surely that calculation would have our biscuit consumption reaching the moon and back. That’s right. For a quarter century we’ve been craving those fresh out-of-the-oven cheddary carb bombs. The mid-range seafood restaurant first starting offering the biscuits in 1992. Originally offered as “freshly baked, hot cheese garlic bread,” the biscuits changed name a few years later to better reflect the other seaside offerings of the restaurant and more accurately describe what they are — I mean, they are definitely biscuits, no? You may remember, they were also originally served to guests waiting to be seated, rather than in a basket table side. The biscuits became so popular, guests requested them…