Thursday, August 2, 2012

Dude Food Vol 2. - Chops, Bites and Beets

Yes! We made it to volume two of my very favorite feature series, Dude Food. You can check out Volume one HERE. This week, I made something really simple, classic and hearty. I was thinking about doing a menu that was a specialty menu, either vegan or gluten free but still hearty enough for dudes. BUT, we have been super busy and stressed, so lots of meat, carbs and things fried seemed more appropriate. Yes, pan fired pork chops, BBQ dipping sauce, fried mac and cheese and a hearty salad. The ultimate comfort food for the dude and you.
Mac and Cheese bites are a staple when we go to Macaroni Grill, but I thought maybe we could make them at home. Not as easy as you think. I used white cheese and shells, and my first go at it was a disaster. They just fell apart. So, i asked Doug for some help (because sometimes you need a dude to make dude food!) And he came up with a few ideas that made this easy peasy. Add a little flour and a small egg to the mac and cheese and then pop it in the freezer while your oil gets super hot. This makes the mac and cheese easier to handle when rolling it in the panko and they wont fall apart when you fry them. And, really, I'm just saying, these things will blow your mind. They are the most delicious food in existence. Just saying. 
If you love beets, you'll love this salad. I roasted the beets with balsamic vinegar and salt for at least 15 minutes. They were super soft and didn't taste like earth, which is always a good sign when working with beets. I tossed the herb greens with oil and vinegar, added salt and pepper and goat cheese crumble. Let the beets cool on a paper towel, blotted them dry and then tossed them with the rest of the salad. It was pretty much perfect.

I hope you liked this installment of dude food. As always you can leave your suggestions in the comments, and I will incorporate them into future menus. And if you try this, be sure to link up to me, I would love to see how it came out. You can hashtag #dudefood on IG if you so desire. 

xo,
Beca

12 comments:

  1. this is so SO great. i think anything with cheese and bread crumbs is probably the best thing ever. can't wait to try these out! and what about drinks - i'd love to see some dude-drink suggestions.
    .dena.

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  2. Yum! I've never had a mac n cheese bite, but they look delicious!

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  3. Ohhh, mac and cheese bites. Jeez, you are killing me with all this awesome food. Can you please come live with me and cook for me?!

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  4. You need to write a DUDE FOOD cook book. Seriously. Do it.

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