Meal No. 325: Beefy Tomato Mac-N-Cheese

Perhaps it is better as a winter dish, and for a much larger crowd than the three or four at dinner tonight (there were five sizable portions put into leftover containers at the end of the night). But the picture of Tomato Mac and Cheese in an issue of Cook's Country made my mouth water a bit. Below is my version of the dish, from tonight's supper:

I needed a bit more substance to it, so I added some seasoned browned ground beef (about a pound). That way it could be the entree. Since I am unexpectedly home this week, instead of working as I had on my calendar, there was time to do a little more than usual, at least in my mind.

So I pulled up a recipe I'd seen in Food Network Magazine that is supposed to mimic Romano's Macaroni Grill's rosemary bread. (I do not like that restaurant at all, but I do like good bread.) It really was pretty easy to make and resulted in four hearty-sized personal loaves (in the picture below, that's a whole cookie sheet that those four loaves are sitting on, if that gives you some perspective.)

Another new recipe I decided to try came from the Culinary S.O.S. column in the L.A. Times and purports to be the recipe for the famous roasted (or deep-fried) Brussels sprouts to be found at local eatery boon eat + drink. I upped the red pepper flakes more than I should have, but they were still darned good.

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"Tomato Mac and Cheese," from Cook's Country, April/May 2010, p. 20.

"Boon's Brussels Sprouts" from California's boon eat + drink. Published in the Los Angeles Times [author: Noelle Carter] on March 3, 2011.

"Almost-Famous Rosemary Bread," from Food Network Magazine, April 2011, p. 52.