Madonna, Marie & Mac 'n Cheese

Me and Marie - just like old times!

I celebrated this past New Year's Eve with one of my best friends from middle school, Marie Quindara. She and I along with our other friend, Linae formed an inseparable band of three giggly, tweenage Catholic school girls. We shared a delight for boys, New Kids On the Block (Marie wanted Danny, Linae picked Joey and I longed for John), Debbie Gibson (Tiffany was too slutty) and spending hours on the phone on three way calls (remember when you pretended to get off the phone but continued to listen in while your friend tried to entrap the third party in saying bad things about you?). Kids today may have texting, Twitter, blogs, Facebook, etc. but sadly they will never get to experience the highs and lows of conference calling.

Madonna circa 1986

When I was eleven years old, my parents yanked me out of public school and enrolled me into a Catholic school, even though we were devout Hindus. This all went down after my mother caught me leaving for school dressed like Madonna and completely freaked out. She was convinced that I was surely doomed and it was only a matter of time before I joined the "gangsters" and did "the drugs". She figured a school where nuns enforced a strict uniform policy would help shake the heathen out of me. So there you have it, I went from singing "Like a Virgin" to praying to the The Virgin Mary.

As you can imagine, it was very confusing for someone raised as a Hindu to go to a Catholic school. I wanted to fit in with my friends at school so I attended mass, sang in the church choir and learned to pray the rosary. Then I went home and not wanting to disappoint my family, I participated in traditional Hindu rituals. I couldn't figure out if I was Catholic or Hindu and it was like I lived this double life but Marie and Linae became my constants and being with them and having our friendship made me feel normal.

I had not seen Marie since shortly after graduating high school which was about 15 years ago. She was visiting Chicago with a friend and it was so nice to catch up with her. Marie reminisced about our old teachers, the crushes we had on the boys in our class and how our life was ruined the day Alyssa Milano's doppelganger, the very attractive Nina Ngo stepped foot into our classroom. I brought up ice cream Fridays, the bake sales, her father's amazing pancakes, her mother's pancit and lumpia and the time I tried to renounce my Hindu faith so I could eat a beef hot dog.

Yes, you read that last part correctly. My family did not eat pork or beef which meant Big Macs, bacon and pepperoni pizza were forbidden. My parents did their best to make sure we did not feel deprived. Instead of hamburgers we ate Filet O' Fish sandwiches or my dad grilled lamb burgers and in place of meatballs, spaghetti was served with Prego and cut up turkey dogs. As a child I would have to scan ingredient labels for foods that I wanted to eat to make sure there were no beef or pork products in them. As a result, I now have a black belt in reading nutrition labels. It was a devastating blow to me the day I learned my favorite instant ramen flavor contained pork. One time, my mother accidentally purchased beef hot dogs instead of turkey dogs and she made me give them away to our neighbor. Can you imagine opening your front door only to be greeted by a young Indian girl with sad eyes and pig tails offering you a free package of hot dogs?

But back to how a hot dog made me want to renounce my faith. The hot lunch at school that day was hot dogs but I wouldn't be able eat one because surely they would be made made from beef. But, if I were to become a full fledged Catholic there would be no issue and I would also be able to eat other things on the forbidden list - spaghetti with an actual meat sauce, here I come! I passed Marie a note in class, alerting her to my plans. She wrote me back and told me I was crazy and how could I think about hot dogs at time when our classmate Andre was looking so hot. I can't remember if I ate the hot dog or not but hearing this story again only reminds me it's really no surprise that I ended up with a career focused around eating and drinking.

In closing, I would like to leave you with this recipe for Macaroni and Cheese. Mac & Cheese has a very special place in my heart and I ate a lot of it while growing up. It was one of the very few foods that we did not have to adjust which in turn made me feel normal. I could have it and feel just like any other kid.

After making other versions that would come out grainy, oily or dried out and gloopy, I consulted a couple of chefs and one suggested this stove top method which produces the creamiest mac and cheese I've ever had. I was also advised to use a processed cheese product as this will keep the mixture nice and creamy. I'm not a fan of processed cheese but it really works in this recipe and you only need a little bit. I like the dish plain but you could certainly add bacon or green onions or whatever heart desires.

You could pair this with a nice fruity red wine such as a Barbera, Pinot Noir or even Zinfandel but beer is your best bet. Beer does a much better job of rounding out the creaminess of the cheese where sometimes the acidity in wine can work against it. I would recommend something fairly rich, nutty and slightly bitter like Rogue Dead Guy Ale or Two Brothers Cain and Ebel.

Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese
2 large eggs
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
hot pepper sauce (to taste)
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dry mustard (dissolved in 1 teaspoon water)
1/2 lb macaroni or pasta shape of your choice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups grated cheese of your choice (sharp or mild cheddar, Monterey Jack, etc.)
1 cup grated American Cheese

Mix the eggs, 1 cup evaporated milk, pepper sauce, 1/2 tsp salt, pepper and mustard mixture in a small bowl and set aside. Bring two quarts water to a boil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Add remaining salt and macaroni; cook until almost tender but still a little firm to the bite. Drain and return to pan over low heat. Add butter and toss to melt. Pour egg mixture over buttered noodles along with three quarters of the cheese; stir until thoroughly combined and cheese starts to melt. Gradually add remaining milk and cheese; stirring constantly, until mixture is hot and creamy, about five minutes.

Winter Ribs and Rose

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This past Christmas, I wanted to make a substantial appetizer for our guests to nibble on since I knew my ambitious menu would probably take longer than anticipated. Drunk guests and no food equals mutiny. Of course, an easier solution would be to do a simpler menu but I can't do this because you see I suffer from a condition known as OCED - obsessive compulsive entertaining disorder. In other words, the sight of a Sur La Table or that silky feel of a new All Clad pan gives me the vapors.

People with OCED have this overwhelming need to go over and beyond the call of duty when it comes to entertaining. An OCED sufferer can not throw caution to the wind and serve just any meal but rather the menu must be carefully planned according to an established theme and decided upon after countless hours of research. The condition also causes sufferers to feel a sense of inadequacy if basic items such as dinner rolls, ice cream or chicken stock are not made from scratch. Researchers believe that the driving force behind OCED is a desire to seek approval from dinner guests. Sufferers seem to be addicted to the emotional high they experience after hearing compliments such as, "wow, you are simply amazing", "I can't believe you made this", "you must give me this recipe" or "this is the greatest night of my life". They are often left with a smug sense of satisfaction after conquering a complicated dish, especially one they've never made before or one that involves them purchasing a new piece of kitchen equipment. It is also not uncommon for OCED sufferers to fret about other entertaining issues such as: making sure there are flowers and a matching candle lit in the bathroom, having wooden and never wire hangers available for coats, setting out a designated receptacle for guests to place olive pits in and always serving drinks with cocktail specific napkins and not just regular paper towels.

So you see, my menu had to be executed as planned otherwise the evening in my mind would be doomed to fail. In doing the requisite research for my Christmas menu, I came upon Alton Brown's recipe for oven baked baby back ribs and thought this would be the perfect hors d'oeuvre. While I slow poached the eggs, seared the filet, fried the bacon, mashed the potatoes, roasted the vegetables, deglazed the pan, stirred the grits, made the sauce, sauteed the shrimp and baked the apple cake, pear tart and biscuits, everyone would be distracted with licking barbecue sauce off their fingers. Having lived in Chicago for the last ten years, I'm very well aware of the fact that making ribs in an oven borders on sacrilege but once I became fixated on serving them for Christmas, there was no going back. I had also never made ribs before which of course fueled my desire to give them a go and I was salivating over the hoard of compliments I would receive if they turned out successfully.

Something tells me Alton Brown may also be a fellow OCED sufferer so I trust his recipes. He makes the complicated easy to understand but his cooking methods are often, well, complicated which naturally I find quite attractive. The majority of the online reviews for this particular preparation were overwhelmingly positive but a few people said it was too salty for their tastes. I decided to follow the recipe to the letter with the two exceptions being, instead of just one hour, I marinated the ribs overnight (per the recommendation of my doorman who makes unbelievably good ribs) and I skipped the jalapeno powder because I didn't have any. I was skeptical that the ribs would be finished in two and half hours but they came out moist and tender. I reduced the sauce as instructed but the flavor was way too salty for me, although the meat itself tasted fine. I was able to mitigate the saltiness somewhat by adding ketchup, apple cider vinegar, smoked Hungarian paprika, cumin, honey and more brown sugar but next time around I will either cut the amount of salt in half or forego the reduction and make a separate barbecue sauce instead.

As for the "oohs" and "ahhs" that I was looking for, I'm happy to report that I got what I wanted. My guests really enjoyed the ribs and it was such an awesome experience to eat them on such a cold day. Despite the salt problem, they were really, really good. For many of us, ribs are a summer food but this recipe is a good way to bring a little sunshine indoors. We served the ribs with copious amounts of sparkling wine and Champagne. Sparkling rose in particular did a wonderful job of cutting through the richness and the fruitiness complimented the tangy barbecue sauce quite well.

Eating Good In the Hood has a nice pictorial guide to making this recipe and this video with instructions from Alton Brown is extremely helpful as well.

Ask Alpana Segment on Chicago Tonight

For this segment of "Ask Alpana" we discussed biodynamic wines, why does red wine give people a headache and the value of a bottle of 1966 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild. I also offer 3 wine recommendations for the New Year, including one to help out the Aussies who are in the midst of a severe grape glut.