The Mac Attack Cook Off

We attended the Mac Attack Pot Luck and Cook-Off recently, put on by our favorite (is there another?) Macaroni and Cheese blog: We Heart Mac and Cheese. Since our macaroni and cheese was going to be one of at least a dozen, we figured that hostess Hilary Havarti could use an extra warming plate to keep the casseroles toasty so we brought along the Fissler CookStar Induction Pro. After baking in the oven in an old Le Creuset enamel on cast iron pan (yes, cast iron is induction compatible) we set the induction pro on "keep warm" and for the next two hours the competition for best mac and cheese was on. Well, this Fissler Foody's mac and cheese didn't make the cut for flavor but it sure looked good sitting on the induction pro. Click here for the winning recipe. And check out the old Roper Scientific Cooking Chart in Hilary Havarti's oven. Quite a contrast technologically to the new Induction Pro.

All Meat: No Tofu

I've been posting mostly vegetarian recipes, but here's a good one for brisket (click on title), cooked in a pressure cooker, from food writer Jessica Harlan. She wrote a glowing review of the Fissler Blue Point Pressure Pan.

Miso Mayo is not just for soy nuts

I was over at my friend Alice's for lunch and I pulled a squeeze bottle of something called Miso Mayo out of the fridge. Alice's friend Janet, who I'd just met, casually said that she makes that stuff. I thought she meant that she makes her own homemade version, but what she really meant was that she created Miso Mayo. And after tasting it, I'm sure glad she did. Janet's creation went from a home recipe to a small food company, distributing Miso Mayo to Whole Foods and health food stores around the country (see link above to the Miso Mayo site for a list of stores). There are three flavors but I'm most partial to the Spicy Red Pepper version. I substituted it for the olive oil in this recipe for Quick Corn and Black Bean Salad and it added the kick that was needed to satisfy my bland-averse palate.