Tuesday, March 1, 2011

1st Anniversary Giveaway (and Mac & Cheese)

We're one year old today! Thats right, we launched exactly one year ago with a short introduction post, no pictures and a link to Eric's personal blog, which he kept up for exactly 3 weeks. Not a very auspicious start, but it was a start none the less. Now, well, we've come a long way. How far exactly? Williams Sonoma and Mac and Cheese far! To celebrate our 1st Blogiversary (get it? a Portmanteau of "blog" and "anniversary". We think we're so funny) we're giving away a $25.00 giftcard to Williams-Sonoma! Yup, free stuff for one lucky follower! Here's the rules: 

  • Follow our blog (facebook / Google / Feedburner (email) or ATOM (RSS))
  • Leave a comment telling us why you love your favorite kitchen gadget (and what it is!)
We'll review the comments this week and announce a winner on Friday! Make sure you leave some way for us to reach you! 

Now, to celebrate our blogiversary we thought about making a cake but decided that a homemade mac and cheese was more our style. This is actually a unique recipe for one important reason, it is the only mac and cheese that Charisse likes. She hates mac and cheese, right up there with raw celery and pop-quizzes. Once, when we lived in San Francisco Eric (who LOVES mac and cheese) tried his hand at a home made one, which was fantastic and she still didn't like it. So when she landed on a mac and cheese recipe that she actually liked, the skies opened up, angels sang, the cats and the dog began to dance together and hold intellectual conversations with the fish. Okay, maybe we're exaggerating just a little, the cats and the dog don't quite get along yet but you get the point. What really makes this is the bees knees is the toasted bread on top, it adds a crunch and texture you don't find in that certain neon orange kind from the box.



Mac and Cheese
What You Will Need

1 stick unsalted butter
8 slices white bread cubed into small pieces
5 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup flour
3 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
4 1/2 cups grated sharp white cheddar cheese
2 cups grated Gruyère cheese
1 pound fusilli pasta

Preheat your oven to 375*
Butter a 3 quart casserole dish and set aside. 
Melt 2 Tbs butter and pour over bread cubes in a large bowl and toss well to coat. Set aside
In a medium sauce pot, melt the remaining flour and add in the flour. Cook, stirring for about 1 minute until it turns a nice golden brown. Slowly pour in the milk, whisking constantly so you keep the mixture smooth. Whisk until the sauce thickens and bubbles, about 10 minutes. Add in the seasonings and cheese and stir until all the cheese melts into the sauce, set aside. 
Meanwhile cook your pasta according to the directions and drain well. Pour cheese sauce over the pasta and mix well. Pour into your buttered casserole dish and top with the bread cubes. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes until the top is golden brown and the pasta is bubbly. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving. 

adapted from Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The Original Classics 
 

37 comments:

  1. I follow ur blog on facebook. My favorite Kitchen gadget has to be my garlic press. I love using garlic in my recipes, but not the smell on my fingers. My press helps prevent the stink.

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  2. i follow on google friends connect & I am in love with my Vita-Mix. It does everything even make ice-cream. Now, you cannot find anything as cool as that!! A blender that can make smoothies, hot soup, baby food, sorbet and ice cream. I have died and gone to smoothie heaven. I think I am going to have this blender for the rest of my life!!

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  3. Happy Blogiversary! I have 2 kitchen gadgets, that I couldn't live without. One is a microplane grater that make zesting and grating, so much fun. The other is an immersion blender to puree soups and sauces right in the pan. It's great for making enchilada sauce and soups.

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  4. I follow on you Google Friend Connect already.

    My favorite kitchen gadget would have to be my pasta roller machine. With a dairy allergy, I could never eat ravioli at the store (a complete tragedy), but with this, they are so easy to make! And delicious!

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  5. I follow on Google.

    I love the potato smasher. Strange I know but I like to mush things and this is an easy way to do it.

    The Mac N Cheese looks delicious!

    emmajeanne16 (at) aol (dot) com

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  6. delicious we love it with fresh bread crumbs on pasta this looks wonderful

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  7. Yeee congrats:)
    I follow on Facebook, my favorite tool-zester....all that nice zest of oranges and lemons....and by the way your mac and cheese looks fenomenal...Thank you:)

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  8. Thats funny I just saw this, I was just planning on making a macaroni and cheese casserole tonight! This looks delicious!

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  9. I follow with through my Google Reader.

    My favorite kitchen tool is my oven. I know that sounds weird, but I lived in China for awhile with my husband and it is hard to find a kitchen with an oven. We survived for awhile with a countertop one we bought, but it just doesn't work as well (and frying everything on the stovetop got old really fast!).

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  10. Happy birthday to your blog!!!! I just become a facebook fan and a follower :)

    My favorite gadget? I have to say all my silicone spatulas...perfect for mixing, scraping...and they don't melt!

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  11. Howdy Foodies....

    I've been following you on Facebook. My favorite kitchen gadget is my 35 year old wooden spoon. I have other wooden spoons, but this one just feels the best in my hand. :-)

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  12. This mac and cheese looks amazing!!!!! I just started following in a reader. My fav kitchen gadget is my mixer!!! :)

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  13. Happy blogiversary! you have indeed come a long way!
    My favorite kitchen gadget? hmmmm I think it's my scale. I bake everything by weight and not volume (I put volume measurements mainly for Americans who are used to that but I do bake in grams!)

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  14. What a beautiful mac and cheese - so creamy! I follow on Facebook and my favorite kitchen gadget is grandma's old pancake turner - It's super thin and I can't find a new one like that!

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  15. Has it been a year already??? I follow your blog and fb, so I want to participate!! My favorite gadget is our dutch oven (is that a gadget??). It's because Jesse makes the best mac and cheese and bread in it! (Notice how I cook nothing in it). If that doesn't count, the bread maker is definitely a gadget and it frees us from kneading (thank God!).

    Congrats on your blogiversary!

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  16. It's weird, seems like a bunch of us all started our blogs at about the same time (my 1st anniversary is this week too!). So happy blogoversary to you.
    Favourite kitchen gadget? That's tough. I have some spoon-shaped rubber spatulas that I adore, how about that?

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  17. Congratulation :) Mac and Cheese to celebrate is the best way .. comfort food!

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  19. Congratulations on your blogaversary! My favorite kitchen gadget is the garlic press because I love garlic!

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  20. Follow your blog via GFC and my favorite kitchen gadget is the "Mix & Chop" from PC.
    susitravl(at)gmail(dot)com

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  21. Awww, happy blogiversary, y'all! Can I give you the award for being the cutest blog couple on the internet??

    My favorite kitchen tool is a microplane. I don't understand how I lived without it before!

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  22. This i can take as one of the costliest dish ever.Awesome mind blowing

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  23. I'm now a follower on google!

    My absolute favorite gadget is my shot glass sized measuring glass. I use it for almost all my cooking!

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  24. Oh that ooey gooey mac and cheese is calling to me! I adore your blog and so glad to have found it!

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  25. Happy 1st blogoversary! The mac and cheese looks absolutely beautiful, so creamy and delicious.

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  26. Happy 1st Blogversary! I am following via Google Reader. My favorite gadget is my Zyliss vegetable peeler. What can I say, I am really fussy about the type of peeler I use. I auditioned many but they just did not make the cut (no pun intended). Then I found the Zyliss and we have been together ever since.

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  27. Happy anniversary! Your photos are fabulous, I want some mac and cheese now!

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  28. Happy 1st Anniversary! I'm fairly new to your blog, but follow on Google. My favorite gadget is by far my corn zipper. We grill a lot of corn in the summer and this gadget makes it a snap to remove all the kernels so I can use them in other dishes.
    Your mac and cheese looks fabulous, love the white cheddar/gruyere combo!

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  29. Hmmm...I get your posts by email and I love them...fave kitchen gadget??? I love bowls...bowls of all sizes and all kinds...antique ones and handmade ones and new ones...I have different ones for pancake batter and for cookie dough and for salads and for popcorn...I just love bowls!!!

    I can't wait to make this macaroni and cheese...

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  30. I'm following!! Also, you had me at blogiversary (I'm a sucker for celebrations). You had me at giveaway (and WIlliams Sonoma!!???!!) And then you had to lay it on think with the Mac and Cheese?! Are you trying to send me into a frenzy?!

    My fav gadget is a set of 3 teeny tiny measuring spoons 1/8, 1/4, and 1/2. I love them!

    ♥- Katrina

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  31. Happy Anniversary! Mac & cheese the ultimate comfort food in my book. And might I add yours looks pretty darn tasty! My fave kitchen gadget? My garlic press wins hands down.

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  32. Happy one year! We just passed our second year mark over at The Chocolate Cult. I just followed you on Facebook -- I'm TammyJo -- and I hope you'll follow us back in return.

    I don't have a favorite gadget. But I love cookbooks that I can try out for chocolate.

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  33. Yay for your bloagaversary!!! That is one good-looking mac and cheese!

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  34. My favorite kitchen gadget is my kitchenaid- I use it all the time for baking! This recipe looks terrific. Happy Blog Birthday!

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  35. Congrats on your blog-aversary! That mac and cheese looks insanely good!! All creamy and delicious!!

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  36. Now THAT is what I call Mac and Crack!! You had me at butter, cheddar and gruyere.. Yummy, yummy, yummy!!!

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