Mushroom Mac- Happy Birthday, Sam!

We celebrated Sam's birthday last Thursday by eating pizza at Donna and Sam's new house.  Kayte even brought a delicious fruit tart from a French bakery in St. Louis.


Here's a recipe using the mushroom powder we gave at Christmas.  Or you can dip a steak in it, then pan fry it and serve it with an herb butter.









Ingredients

• 1 stalk of celery
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup milk
• 3 oz grated/dry cotija or parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons mushroom powder
• 4 oz mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 pound of elbow macaroni noodles

Instructions
1.  Dice the celery, garlic, and onion; measure your milk, cheese, fat, and flour.  Slice the mushrooms.
2.  Start heating the pasta water.
3.  Melt the butter in a 2-quart saucepan and cook the celery, garlic, and onion until soft, 5-7 minutes.  Add in the flour and mix into a paste over medium heat, stirring constantly, 1 to 2 minutes.
4.  Add the milk a little at a time, and stir vigorously but not extravagantly, until all traces of roux-lumps are gone.  Continue to stir and cook for another 5 to 8 minutes, until the mixture is pleasantly thickened.  Reduce heat to low.
5.  Add in the mushroom powder, stir, and taste.  Don’t add any salt, because the cheese is plenty salty.
6.  Yeah!  Add the cotija or parmesan cheese.  High-five the person nearest you.  Kill the heat, stir to combine.
7.  Cook the sliced mushrooms in oil over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until they’ve lost most of their liquid, shrunk, and browned.  Cook in a single layer.
8.  Cook the macaroni in the boiling, salted water, and cook until al dente – then drain and incorporate into the cheese sauce.  Add the mushrooms, stir to combine, and serve.