David Guas, author of DamGoodSweet: Desserts to
Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth, New Orleans Style

David sits down with David Guas, author of DamGoodSweet—a love letter to the Big Easy. Guas talks about New Orleans’ rich traditions, its unique culinary language, and the role the women in Guas’s life played in shaping his love of cooking and baking.

Recipes
Lemon-Herbsaint Poppers
Sweet Potato Tart Tatin
Lemon Doberge Cake

Lisa Schroeder with Danielle Centoni |  Mother’s Best | Taunton Press, 2009 | Serves 4 to 6

Listen to David's interview with Lisa

When looking for inspiration for my macaroni and cheeses,  I turn to stuffed potatoes and omelets, believing that what works well with eggs and potatoes would be delicious with pasta, too. Boy, was I right! Bacon, Cheddar cheese, sour cream, and scallions are classic additions to stuffed potatoes, and with pasta they’re perfection. This dish is a cinch to make and can be easily doubled—which you’ll want to do. Because once your gang tastes it, they’ll certainly want more.—Lisa Schroeder

convert Ingredients
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for salting the pasta water
1 pound fusilli (corkscrew) or other pasta, preferably De Cecco
3/4 pound bacon, diced (about 1 cup cooked)
3 cups heavy cream
2 cups firmly packed shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (about 1/2 pound)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup sour cream, for garnish
1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions, (white and green parts), for garnish

Want it? Click it.

Method
1. Bring a medium (6- to 8-quart) pot of water to a boil. Salt it generously (it should taste like the sea). Stir in the pasta and cook according to the package directions. Drain (but don’t rinse, or you’ll rinse away starches that will help thicken the sauce) and return to the empty pot.

2. Meanwhile, place a large (12- to 14-inch) sauté pan over high heat for several minutes. When hot, add the bacon and sauté until browned and crispy (lower the heat to medium-high if necessary to prevent scorching), about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and, using a slotted spoon or spatula, remove the bacon from the pan and drain on paper towels.

3. Pour off the fat from the pan (into a metal can or heatproof cup, not down the drain or you’ll potentially clog your pipes) and return the pan to medium-high heat. Add the heavy cream and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bacon bits from the bottom of the pan. Lower the heat to medium and continue to simmer until the cream is reduced slightly, about 3 minutes.

4. Add the Cheddar cheese and bacon. Stir well and cook over medium-high heat, stirring now and then, until the cheese has melted and the mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. Season with the salt and pepper.

5. Stir the sauce into the cooked and drained pasta in the pot. Place over medium heat and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes to thicken the sauce and allow the pasta to absorb the flavors, stirring now and then.

6. Serve the mac and cheese individual bowls topped with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of sliced scallions.

Variation: Lorraine Mac & Cheese
You can easily change up this recipe by using the classic flavors of a quiche Lorraine for inspiration. You just have to add caramelized onions and substitute Swiss cheese for the Cheddar.

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons grease from the cooked bacon. Add 2 cups of finely sliced yellow onions and sauté over medium heat until soft, brown, and caramelized, about 20 minutes. Pour in the 3 cups of cream and continue with the recipe (step 3), substituting firmly packed shredded Gruyère or Swiss cheese for the Cheddar.

If you have cooked, crumbled bacon and caramelized onions on hand, the recipe is even easier. When stirring the cheese into the reduced cream, just add 1 cup bacon crumbles and 1?2 cup caramelized onions, too. Then proceed with the recipe.

Love Notes
1. At Mother’s, we prepare a lot of our components in large batches ahead of time, like the bacon crumbles in this recipe. It’s a real time-saver, and a good idea for home cooks, too. To make things easier, try fitting the work into a recipe you’re already cooking, like this one. That way you’re not getting pots and pans dirty just for the heck of it. For example, cook twice the amount of bacon and save the rest in the fridge or freezer for salads, scrambles, or sandwiches.

2. Dicing slippery, floppy bacon is tough—unless you firm it up with a 10- to 15-minute stint in the freezer. Stack the strips to make the job go even faster.

3. Avoid preshredded cheese. It may seem like a time-saver, but much of the cheese’s flavor has dissipated, and the starchy coating on the outside will interfere with the sauce.

Recipe © 2009 by Lisa Schroeder. Photo © 2009 Ellen Silverman. All rights reserved.
© 2009 Leite’s Culinaria, Inc. All rights reserved. Terms of use.

Lisa Schroeder, author of Mother’s Best

David chats with Lisa Schroeder, the juggernaut behind Mother’s Bistro & Bar and Mama Mia Trattoria, both in Portland, Oregon, about her new book. Along the way they touch on the importance of family at the table, the need for good, stick-to-your-ribs meals, and $15,000 crab cakes.

Recipes
Poached Pear, Rogue River Blue Cheese, and Hazelnut Salad
Bacon and Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese
Chicken and Dumplings

Grant Achatz, author of Alinea

David talks with chef, author, and multiple-James Beard award winner Grant Achatz about his new book, his restaurant Alinea, in Chicago, and cooking restaurant food at home. They also discuss Grant’s surviving stage IV tongue cancer, which has left him, at least for now, unable to taste.

read by Elissa Altman
recorded live on January 18, 2007

Food writer and humorist Elissa Altman reads her essay about the challenges her father faced when bringing back to Canada Jewish contraband: chicken fat and chopped liver. Still, she says, it never stopped him.

read by James Sturz
recorded live on January 18, 2007

Novelist, essayist, and food writer James Sturz reads his sensual and occasionally erotic piece about the pleasures of flesh—both animal and human—and the sometimes disquieting similarity between them.

read by Gary Allen
recorded live on January 18, 2007

Gary Allen, food history editor at Leite’s Culinaria, reads two of his essays at the first “Talking With Your Mouth Full” reading event in New York City.  The first is about the pleasures of eating bananas while on vacation and the second is about the unusually delicious burritos of a rotund, not-exactly-clean cook.

read by David Leite

David Leite reads his essay about the trials and tribulations, not to mention the indigestion, that comes from being a food writer with an expense account. While it may seem like a dream job, it does come with pitfalls, even for a marathon eater like David.