Ingredients

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
4 tablespoons butter
2 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
3 eggs (some people omit the eggs)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 (10 3/4 oz) can condensed cheddar cheese soup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

1.) Boil the macaroni in water for six minutes. Drain.

2.) In a medium saucepan, mix butter and cheese. Stir until the cheese melts.

3.) In slow cooker combine cheese mixture and add the eggs, sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper. Add the drained macaroni and stir again.

4.) Cook on low for 2.5 hours, stirring occasionally.

Ingredients:
5 cups sliced apples
3/4 cup sugar
4T flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup heavy cream
1T sugar
1/4 tsp salt
9″ uncooked pie shell

Directions:
Line uncooked pie shell with thinly sliced apples. Mix together sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon and cream and pour over apples. Sprinkle 1T sugar and 1/4 tsp cinnamon mixed together over the top of the pie. Bake at 400 degrees for 50-60 mins.

Pair with your favorite Gewurztraminer or Reisling.

Submitted by Lori
(http://winecountrycook.com/)

I’ve been entertained by the Mommy wine label wars. Does it really matter if it says Mommy on the bottle? And if it does, what does Daddy drink?

Seriously, as a busy mom my concerns are focused more on what to cook when I come flying through the door after work than what’s on the wine label (we all know it’s what’s in the bottle that counts).

Ruth Reichl, the editor of the now-defunct Gourmet, once wrote children should be fed the same thing as their parents or they’ll feel deprived. This sentiment fueled my sense of guilt for a very long time as I would sit Josh down at his table and feed him kid-friendly chow while I cooked something a little more elaborate, or spicy or less-tasty-in-his-eyes for Jack and me.

But then one day, I asked myself why? Josh doesn’t want to always eat what we eat and we don’t always want to eat what he wants. And at this point in his life it’s more important that he just eats and not necessarily what I want him to eat.

And so there are nights when Josh gets tofu and broccoli or a scrambled egg and Jack and I get a fiery stir fry or pasta carbonara.

Other nights, I’ve found middle ground with a recipe like this one. I like the simplicity of the roasted pork loin on its own, but after years of fancy rubs and marinades on pork tenderloins I still wanted something more. That’s how the roasted pepper sauce came to be. Served without the sauce, kids love it and served with the sauce adults love it.

Best of all, with a jar of roasted peppers, the entire recipe takes less than 30 minutes from start to finish. Add a box of couscous and you’ve hit jackpot for feeding everyone something they’ll love without having two separate menus.

Roasted Pork with Red Pepper Sauce
Serves 2 to 4

1 1/4-pound pork tenderloin
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 ounces Pecorino or Parmigiano cheese
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1 roasted red bell pepper (fresh or from a jar), peeled and seeded
1 teaspoon Sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon paprika
Pinch cayenne pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Season the pork with salt and pepper. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the butter. Add the pork to the skillet. Cook until browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Turn and repeat until browned on all sides. Transfer to the oven and cook until a thermometer inserted into the center reaches 135°F, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and let sit for 5 minutes.

While the pork is cooking, put the garlic in a food processor and pulse until chopped. Add the pecorino and pulse until finely chopped. Add the pumpkin seeds and pulse until finely chopped. Scrape down the sides with a spatula. Add the pepper, vinegar, paprika and cayenne. Pulse until almost smooth. With the machine running, gradually add the olive oil. Season to taste with salt.

Slice the pork and arrange on a platter. Serve with the red pepper sauce on the side.

To roast a pepper: Place the red pepper under the broiler and cook until the skin begins to brown. Turn and cook until all of the sides are browned. When it’s cooked on all sides, put in a plastic bag and seal it. Let rest 20 minutes before peeling.

What to drink: Tempranillo! The backbone of Spain’s Rioja wines, Tempranillo offers bold fruit and a rusticness that compliments the light flavor of the pork and the robust taste of the roasted pepper sauce.

Submitted by Lori
(http://winecountrycook.com/)

You know how when you get a new car suddenly you notice that same car everywhere? The last couple of weeks it’s been like that with fava beans for me.

This year, it seemed like everywhere I looked I saw fava beans. It started in the vineyards. Mustard may be the more famous ground cover, but if you look closely at the vineyards in early spring you’ll notice a lot of fava beans. At least this year, they seemed to be everywhere or at least I saw them everywhere.

So I shouldn’t have been surprised to see a bed of fava beans in the courtyard of the Sonoma mission, where I took Josh and Natalie during spring break. We had gone through the inside part of the mission pretty quickly and then hit the courtyard. While they played in the fountain, I walked around looking at the foliage and found the fava beans. I was struck by how pretty the flowers were and how tiny the baby beans were. I also took it as a sign to make one of my favorite spring snacks, faux fava spread.

This recipe was inspired by a fava bean pasta sauce someone once made for me. I loved it, but the fava beans took so much work I used pre-shelled fresh edamame beans as a substitute and have ever since. Because this creamy spread can be made so quickly it’s become my go-to spring appetizer with flatbread crackers or crostini.

Ingredients
2 cups salted water
1 cup shelled fresh edamame beans
1 cup fresh ricotta
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Directions
Bring the salted water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the edamame and cook for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.

While the edamame are cooling, put the ricotta and garlic in the in the bowl of a small food processor. Add the edamame and process until smooth. With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil and then the lemon juice. Add the salt and pepper and pulse to combine. Serve.

Toss with orecchiete pasta or spread on pita bread and top with sliced cucumbers, tomatoes and red onion.

What to drink
Sauvignon Blanc. With its racy acidity, Sauvignon Blanc is great with almost any food and its perfect as a before-dinner glass of wine. Splurge: Round Pond Sauvignon Blanc is one our faves. Everyday wine: Indulge Sauvignon Blanc in a bag. Yes, in a bag. Lots of citrus flavors and in a package that invites you to have a glass every night without having to worry about having leftovers.

Recipe courtesy of Half Assed Kitchen

Here’s what you need and how you do it:

(Makes 2 coffees)

2 6-ounce cups of strongly brewed coffee

3 ounces Irish Whiskey (we used Canadian, shh)

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream, lightly whipped (no peaks)

Mix brown sugar and whiskey in bottom of glass. If you want to be really authentic, use a footed glass with a short stem.

Pour in coffee.

Top with lightly whipped cream, being careful not to let the cream mix with the coffee.

Many recipes call for cream that has not been whipped, but just poured over the back of a spoon where it theoretically rests on top of the coffee. Didn’t work for us, though. Whipped is almost foul-proof.

Submitted by Lori (http://winecountrycook.com/)

If you are like me, you aren’t as worried about having a romantic gift exchange with your beloved as much as you are concerned with staying awake longer than your children. This chocolate soufflé can help. Between the chocolate and the espresso, it should help to keep your eyes open long enough to spend a few minutes alone with your amour.

Chocolate and wine is a funny combo. I don’t know anyone who won’t try it, but the sugar in the chocolate can make the wine taste bitter. The trick is to use a chocolate with as little sugar as possible. With this bittersweet chocolate soufflé, try a zinfandel, Ravenswood Teldeschi Vineyard is awesome and any zin from Dashe Cellars is a sure bet.

Ingredients

Melted butter for coating dish
Sugar for coating dish
3 ounces bittersweet (65-73%) chocolate, broken into pieces
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons espresso or strong coffee
3 egg yolks, room temperature
5 egg whites, room temperature
Pinch of cream of tartar

Directions

Heat the oven to 425°F.

Brush the bottom and sides of a 6-quart ceramic soufflé dish or other high-sided baking dish with the melted butter. Coat the dish evenly with sugar.

Heat the chocolate and butter together in a large heavy saucepan over low heat. Remove from the heat just before melted. Stir until completely melted. Add the espresso and the egg yolks. (The above steps can be left to sit for several hours before adding the egg whites and baking.)

Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, using a large spatula. Pour into the prepared dish and bake until dry in the center, 15 to 20 minutes.

Serve quickly before the soufflé before it falls. Save the leftovers for breakfast!