Richy Rich Lobster Mac

I love lobster. And, I love mac. Together, this can be a magical experience. While in Palm Desert this past weekend, I visited Ristorante Mamma Gina. I don't even know if they have anything else on their menu because as soon as I saw the lobby mac, my mind was made up. Done and done.

 The noodles were cooked perfectly and the sauce was rich and creamy.  I called and asked for the types of cheese used because I wasn't certain but the less than kind person who answered the tele refused to "give recipes over the phone."  Interesting.  Velveeta perhaps?  Kidding. Overall, this mac was pretty good.  It was not to die for and lets be honest, life is short so lets try to only eat those meals that reach the level of perfection.

Whole Foods To Go

I was browsing my local Whole Foods and came across some delicious looking Macaroni and Cheese in the pre-made section.

I thought it would be perfect to enjoy on one of those days that feels like it's never going to end. The perfect treat for myself on a night that I'm too tired to cool. Also, it looks SO good, right? 

Wrong. 

Although it looked delicious, it was not. I dig Whole Foods because most of their items are freshly prepared on site. I was bummed to discover that this was made somewhere else and shipped in from Vernon, CA. 

It also had WAY too much nutmeg. 

I took two bites and threw it away. 

Macaroni and Cheese Fail! 

Oh So Tasty Mac and Cheese Balls

 

I heart Trader Joe's. I really do. When I lived in Hawaii, I would come back to Cali to visit family and friends and would always go grocery shopping at TJ's before returning. You heard me. I would literally pack a bunch of TJ's food in my luggage for a tasty indulgence while on the rock.

TJ's rarely fails me. This is simply another example. As I am sure you can imagine, much to my savory delight, I stumbled across TJ's version of fried mac and cheese balls.  As we have already established, I love fried food and also love mac - if you are doubting my loyalty to the mac, you really haven't read enough of this blog.

Sorry, I don't have a pic of the box. Hubbs thought it would be a brilliant idea to delete half of my photos... So busted.

After a failed attempt to enjoy the balls at Fred62 (remember that blog entry?), I have to admit my standards were not very high when hubbs decided to make this treat. 

Four words sum up this experience:

THESE

LOVE that there are really macaronis stuffed inside the fried goodness. No false advertising here.

BALLS

My mouth is watering. Seriously.

ARE

Obviously we added some hot sauce to spice it up. Try a nice Louisiana style hot sauce. Yum.

DELIGHTFUL.

Five Crowns' mac is Suitable for a Goddess... or Two

Hooray for Oh So Cheesy's first guest blogger!! My darling friend Gorgeous Goldie, GG for short, sent in this entry over the weekend.  GG and her fiance visited Side Door, which is a fun gastropub located in the the Corona Del Mar landmark Five Crowns.  If you haven't made it to Corona Del Mar, you are honestly missing out. It is the quaintest little beach town in Orange County; in my opinion, it is Southern California's version of Carmel.

I received this text from GG at approximately 7:58 on Saturday night:
"Curley que Mac and cheese @ five crown's side door. I'll give u the review in 10."  The text was accompanied with this photo.

Please note the delicious dirty martini - my fav drink of choice.

This mac looks fabulous: a vibrant orange color, nice and baked, and it looks pretty oozy and rich.

At approximately 8:02 I received the following text with accompanying photo: "Freaking amazing!!!!"

Looks like the Side Door provides a wonderfully cheesy treat.

Hearty Grub Has a Special Place in My Heart

Any place named Grub must be great.  The name itself screams CLASSY ESTABLISHMENT. {Yes, that was my attempt to scream.} The restaurant is in a house transformed to a restaurant complete with quirky signs, photos, and little twinkle lights. If you are looking for a place in LA with character, Grub is your spot.

On a pleasantly rainy day, I had a lunch date with my fav barrister bud Brittany.  

We started out with some Homemade Ginger Ale and Blueberry Lemonade. Apparently you can get your daily antioxidants in a glass of this delicious lemonade.  Oddly enough, it didn't taste like blueberries or lemonade. Tasty all the same. The nice staff even provided us with some munchies while we looked through the menu.

munchies

After much deliberation, we decided on the Famous Mac & Cheese which was served with a nice light salad to help balance the hearty and zesty chorizo filled, panko topped, oozy cheesy goodness.
 

 We also ordered the tuna melt, descriptively entitled "Hooked!*"  The melt was served with black pepper potato chips. The chips were so delicious that I may be back ... just for more chips!

my fav barrister bud Brittany

LOVE the effort someone took to personalize this label

I highly recommend squishing some delicious black pepper potato chips, topped with some Tapatio, or "Taylortio" sauce, inside the tuna melt for complete savory satisfaction.

      








I also recommend finishing off your meal with some potato chip chocolate chip cookies. Yes, you heard me.  The potato chips did not overpower the cookie but added an extra special crunch. Not sure what type of chocolate chip was used but it was really decadent. Loving the sweet and salty taste in this cookie.

Baby Mac is the Perfect Treat

Let's be honest, anything bite sized just tastes better. Bite sized cheesecake, cookies, donuts, cupcakes, appetizers, sliders, crab cakes, candy, and mochi ice cream all taste better when they are bite sized.

I was asked to bring some m&c to my cousin Dave's birthday party.  Knowing that he enjoys the finer things in life, I thought that bite sized m&c would be the perfect choice.  I found this recipe on Food&Wine's website.  It is really simple to make, calls for ingredients that you probably already have and is classic enough that it will earn everyone's approval.

First, cook the noodles until almost tender, but not quite. Nobody likes overcooked noodles.

After heating up the butter, add flour, milk, cheddar and American cheeses, egg yolk, and paprika (for a tasty kick)...

Ingredients. Kitty cat salt and pepper shakers courtesy of my dear pal Zoe

Looks tasty already

Mix in the cooked noodles ...

Stir well ...

Can you taste it already??

And spoon into baby muffin cups prepared with butter and parmigiano-reggiano cheese mix.

before ....

After!

Sprinkle with some freshly grated Parm/Reg cheese...

Bake at 425 degrees and voila, you have a masterpiece!

My fav thing about this recipe is the use of American cheese. I haven't eaten this stuff in years. In fact, when I was a kid I would have to sneak it because my mom wouldn't let me eat it. It has been so long that I wasn't even sure where to buy it. But, rest assured, your local Trader Joe's carries it.  Do you have any fond memories of American cheese?

Sacramento In The House!!

What is true happiness? Is it money? Is it a big house or a fancy car? Or is it visiting friends and eating a fine mac and cheese dinner? For me, it is definitely the latter.

Pretty, pretty princess Jenai lives in Kauai.  Obviously she is a papaya farmer.  Anyway, it is a whole lot easier for me to visit her when she visits her family in Sacramento than making the trek to Kauai. Although I certainly don't mind visits to Kauai!  During her last trip to Cali, I flew on up to visit.  Because she is the most fantastical friend, she had mac and cheese waiting for me upon my arrival from the airport.

Obviously by the time I arrived, most of m&c had been eaten by pretty, pretty princess' family.  I honestly can't blame them because I wouldn't have been able to resist the cheesy goodness either.

In making this delightful dinner, pretty, pretty princess used Paula Deene's Creamy Macaroni and Cheese recipe but she doubled it (she knew how hungry we were) and added some pepper jack cheese.  It was an especially nice addition to pork loin, asparagus and caprese salad.

Even cute little babies love this recipe!

Cute little baby Leighton

This was the perfect way to start my vaca in Sac-town!  And in fact I ate it as a late night snack after dinner and again for breakfast. Equally amazing each time. Try it with your fav hot sauce.  Pretty, pretty princess recommends Tabasco^® Chipotle Pepper Sauce.

What is true happiness for you? I would love to hear!

French M&C is très beau

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY my dears! 

In honor of Valentine's Day, I am sharing with you one of my favorite restaurants that serves macaroni and cheese.

Not only is today Valentine's Day but it is also a Monday.  Assuming you are working, like myself, the only thing that can make this Monday Valentine's Day bearable is lunch with the girls. Obviously, lunch with the girls with heavenly french mac and cheese is almost enough to forget your holiday Monday blues.

Church and State is becoming one of my favorite stops in downtown LA.  It is a great place for a cocktail or a relaxing lunch... or both!

Even though I have been many times in the past, this was my first time trying their Gratin de Macaronis et Fromage. 

Let's be honest, I have tried hundreds of types of mac and cheese, all over the world and this dish definitely makes my top 10 list.  It had a simple yet rich flavor with what we thought might be hints of truffle oil.  It is prepared with a béchamel sauce and Comté cheese which probably added to the strength and subtle sweetness of the dish.

If you make it to Church and State, I also highly recommend the Tarte aux Champignons and the Croque Madame. 

Tarte aux Champignons

If you are feeling adventurous, finish your meal off with absinthe!

 In addition to lunch with the girls, I plan to feast on a wonderful meal prepared by my hubby to celebrate heart day. What big plans do you have for Valentine's Day?

Not All Mac and Cheese is Ono

 Today we take a trip to paradise and try some Hawaiian mac and cheese!

I visited No ka Oi in Huntington Beach with some good friends. Like I do in every restaurant, I breezed past the salads and straight for any sign of mac and cheese. Bingo. Mac and cheese WITH crab. Ah, I certainly cannot refuse a well balanced meal, complete with protein. 

The presentation was nice. But, the flavor was, well, not fantastical.  I think our first clue should have been that the type of cheese used in this plate was not specified. Powdered perhaps?  Srichacha hot sauce definitely did this dish wonders.  Don't get me wrong, I ate it, all of it, but it won't make my top 5 list.


My delightful friend Goldie recalls that the "Creamy yellow with small chunks of real crab meat fell short of my expectation. This mac and cheese felt like it was made with imitation cheese. Had to add some spice to it to make it more flavorful. I give it 3 out of 5 stars."

Roscoes, Its More Than Just Chicken and Waffles

When I think of Roscoes, I think of chicken and waffles.  No surprise there.  But, did you know that they also have macaroni and cheese? 

 My first bite of this side dish was great. It had a nice creamy texture with a smoky finish. And really, what a terrific compliment to fried chicken and waffles. 

After my first bite of the macaroni and cheese, my attention was diverted to my delicious waffle (A.D.D. perhaps?).  While I love fried chicken, I think I might love Roscoes' waffles even more.   

After finishing both my waffle and my fried chicken, I returned to my macaroni and cheese. At this point, it was not hot and the flavor did not hold well. The texture had changed and the flavor also went south. 

That didn't stop my cousin Dave from finishing every last morsel of the not quite so delicious mac and cheese. 

My advise to my fabulous lovers of mac and cheese is to visit Roscoes and eat their mac and cheese immediately, quickly followed by their waffles and chicken.  All in that order.