Cheddar Drop Biscuits

It seems that cheesy biscuits have become a “signature” item at every chain restaurant. They’ve become so popular that several chains now sell their own mixes so you can enjoy these treats at home.

Beef and Bean Enchurritos

Mexican influenced cuisine was never part of our family fare when I was growing up in suburban Chicago. The first time we experienced anything close was during a vacation trip to Los Angeles in the very early 1960’s when my older brother begged my parents to try something he had heard about called a Taco. The fact is that most of what is referred to, here in the U.S., as Mexican food is actually only a bunch of really distant cousins to the cuisine of our southern neighbors. (This is not all that different from our westernized versions of any other culture’s foods!)

Linguini alla Carbonara

The original Pasta Carbonara is a simple dish traditionally made with just eggs, cheese, meat and black pepper. It’s not one of those dishes steeped in ritual and custom, handed down from generations past. In fact it’s more commonly thought that its roots in Italy are as recent as the 1940’s when the primary ingredients were made more plentiful by the presence of US troops.

Double Gloucester and Stilton Grillers

I would guess that the first grilled cheese sandwich you ever ate was made with white bread and pasteurized, processed American cheese. This is not that sandwich!

First, we do away with the tissue paper white bread. There’s nothing wholesome about that! Next, the cheese needs some updating or should I say it needs a change of locale. Now we need to add a little adult taste, but still keep something for the kids.

White Asiago Pizza-ish Food

Growing up on the south side of Chicago, “pizza” meant two things; either thin with a sweet sauce, fennel-y sausage and browned melted cheese on top from any number of store-front shops; or deep pan, one slice is a meal but I’ll take two with buttery crust cradling layers of cheese, garlicky sausage, and chunky tomatoes from downtown restaurants. We left the north siders to their thick-crust variety and would certainly eat it when visiting, if necessary to maintain cross-town friendships, but we’d talk about the winning advantages of our south side thin crust pies all the way home.

No Holds Barred Mac ‘n’ Cheeses

We all know that Macaroni and Cheese is traditionally made with Elbow shaped pasta, but when you order it at your favorite gastro-pub it’s probably made with some other more trendy shape. There’s nothing really wrong with that, but don’t you secretly wish for at least some nod to convention? They, and we here, have already presented you with a dish as far removed from the little blue box of neon yellow cheesiness as can be. But why eradicate the last semblance of comfort from this, the quintessential comfort food?

Let’s stand up and demand our Elbow Macaroni, but no tantrums please and do remember to keep your elbows off the table!