J@H 2015 - Cheese Whiz

It's Superbowl Time! (Do I have to put the "TM" after the word "Superbowl"? Will the NFL sue me if I don't? Anyways...) It's time for the big game and my Junk food at Home challenge was perfectly timed! You might think that I put this recipe in the challenge line-up on purpose. Nope, I had no idea when the "Big Game" was when I scheduled the challenges.

This challenge took a bit of tinkering before I came out with this final recipe. The first batch I made was a cheese sauce, simply milk and cheese. The sauce separated promptly upon being taken off the fire.

Batch two was slightly more successful. I used the same recipe that I have written below, but I allowed it to cool to room temperature before pouring into the whipper. The sauce solidified upon cooling to room temperature. There was no pouring happening with that batch. It's currently in my fridge, I think I'll try it out as a cheese spread...

The third and final batch is the one you see in this post! The cheese sauce is poured into the whipper immediately after the cheese is melted. The cheese is charged with N2O and is ready to go. I don't think that I have the industrial capacity to exactly replicate the density of Cheese Whiz. My cheese is more of a cheese foam. These first few images are of the still-warm cheese foam.

Once the whipping siphon is cool to the touch, it pipes out cheese foam like the stuff below.

The cooled cheese foam holds its shape a lot better than the warm stuff. I would recommend making this stuff just before your friends arrive. You can't put this in the fridge, as the cheese sauce would solidify in the fridge. Enjoy the entire thing of cheese in one sitting, but be sure to share with your friends. It wouldn't be very good for you to eat it all yourself!

One Year Ago: Loganberry Mallomars
Two Years Ago: Fudgy Waffles
Three Years Ago: Raw Salad & Wagamama Dressing
Four Years Ago: Chocolate and Peanut Butter Mousse Entremet

Gingered Chicken Stir Fry

If you live on the East Coast, you are probably in the midst of "Snowstorm Juno." If you are in the New Jersey area, then you might be a bit underwhelmed by the amount of snow that has actually fallen. I was told to expect thirty inches of snow at one point, we'll be lucky if more than a foot of the white stuff comes down here. I'm calling shenanigans on this snowstorm. I'm also calling out The Weather Channel on this whole named winter storms thing. Stop trying to make it happen! We don't like it!

Thirty inches of snow or not, I still get to have a snow day from work today! To celebrate a random Tuesday off, I made this stir fry for dinner last night. And I made enough of it so that there was lunch for my snow day. Now, I have major plans for a few hours of work and a bit of baking.

If you are in Massachusetts, stay safe and warm! You guys are supposed to get a whole bunch of snow!

One Year Ago: Chocolate Heart Sandwich Cookies
Two Years Ago: Yogurt with Raspberries and Mint
Three Years Ago: Soft Pretzels
Four Years Ago: Chocolate Marshmallows

Rigatoni & Meatballs

Winter is the time for hearty foods. Conversely, January is the month of healthy eating.  How does one rectify these two very different ideals?

You make chicken meatballs!

Then pile them high on pasta!

Filling, but not full of calories. Unless you make a tube of crescent rolls to go along with this dinner...  Which you should... Crescent rolls are awesome.

One Year Ago: Wilde Chocolate Chip Cookies
Two Years Ago: Cavatappi Pasta with Sausage and Butternut Squash
Three Years Ago: Country Sausage Pasta
Four Years Ago: Mini Zucchini Breads