More Recipes! Back Around the Table

Greetings G.O. Readers!

Just in time for the Fourth, I’m coming at you with some more recipe reviews!  This time our recipes are coming from a cookbook I purchased off QVC back in 2015, (I think).  It’s written by QVC host, David Venable, of the show, In the Kitchen with David.  The book is entitled, “Back Around the Table.” 

Because I’m pressed for time, to get this post out before the 4th, (which is tomorrow), I’m not going to do a review of as many recipes from this book, as I did for the Neely’s.  I’ll have to break this one up, into two posts.  For now, I just want to focus on some recipes, that could be tasty for the 4th of July sides or treats. 

The first recipe, is The Five Cheese, Fifteen-Minute, Stove Top Mac and Cheese.  I tried this one for Thanksgiving in 2015, and I must say, I was a little disappointed that it didn’t knock my socks off, in the way I thought it was going to.  As I mentioned, before, I’m not a fan of flour based, cheese sauces, (they require too much whisking, and they just don’t make the mac taste as good in my opinion). 

This wasn’t a bad tasting macaroni, by any means, but it also wasn’t as good as the pic made it look, and the ingredients made it sound.  It was “pretty cool”, but not, “knock em dead, good”.  Now granted, it could’ve been my lack of skill with handling the cheese sauce, (it’s easy to scorch it if you’re not careful, and end up with, a somewhat scorched taste to the mac).  So, I plan to actually try this again, this upcoming holiday season.  I think this time however, I’ll make it the way, I make my baked mac. 

I’ll use all the same ingredients, (minus the flour and dry mustard-I don’t like mustard flavor).  I also didn’t use the white, sharp cheddar, or the gemelli pasta twists, (I just used regular macaroni noodles).  So maybe this could’ve made a difference.  But, for those of you who don’t mind the whisking, and like the flour-based cheese sauces, this might be a great recipe for you to try along side your barbeque.  Like I said, I’ll definitely give this one another shot.  The pic looks too good, and the cheeses are just too awesome, not to.  This recipe can be found on page 165 of “Back Around the Table.”

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons of unsalted butter

1. In a Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat.
2. When the butter is melted, stir in the flour and mustard and whisk for a couple minutes while it forms a bit of a thick paste.
3. Whisk in the warmed cream and bring the mixture to a simmer, whisking constantly until it starts to thicken.
4. Add the freshly grated nutmeg and cook for a few minutes more.
5. Add the Gouda, Gruyere, Asiago, extra sharp Cheddar and Sharp Cheddar and whisk until the mixture becomes a thick and luscious cheese sauce.
6. Add the cooked pasta and fold into the cheese sauce until the pasta is coated thoroughly.
7. Add the sour cream, salt and white pepper and stir in, cooking for about 2 – 3 minutes while making sure that all of the ingredients are combined.
8. Serve while hot, garnished with a bit of cooked bacon or sliced green onion.
9. Enjoy!

Red Velvet Milkshakes:

With it getting hella hot outside lately, you might want to cool things down with this yummy looking milkshake. 

It’s called a Red Velvet milkshake, and can be found on page, 76.  Even though, I’m not a fan of Red Velvet cakes, (I know, that makes me a super weirdo, right–it still looks great, and I’m sure can be substituted with another type of cake mix. 

Ingredients (makes 2):

6 scoops French vanilla ice cream (about 3 cups)
1/4 cup red velvet cake mix
2 tablespoons cream cheese, at room temperature
2 or 3 drops red cake-decorating gel
3 tablespoons chocolate syrup
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Whipped cream, red and white sprinkles, and maraschino cherries

Directions:

Put the ice cream, cake mix, cream cheese, decorating gel, chocolate syrup, milk, and vanilla into a blender.  Blend well, adding more milk for thinner milk shakes.  Divide mixture between two tall glasses.  Garnish with the whipped cream, sprinkles, and cherries.

And you could also opt to add blue sprinkles on top of your whipped cream, to make your shake even more patriotic.  Red shake, white whipped cream, and blue sprinkles…yum!

These are the only two recipes, I’m going to do for now, from this cookbook.  Stay tuned for part two, coming up, later this month.  Until next time, I hope everyone has a safe and awesome, Fourth of July!

And despite the heat,
Keep that October feeling in your hearts!!