Thursday, April 23, 2009

Home Alone = Mac & Cheese and Scones

I'm home alone! H. is on an alumni/business trip until Saturday. That means - Kraft macaroni and cheese. That means BRAVO. That means wine. That means baking from the cookbook that I have on loan from a very thoughtful person at work.

First of all - mac and cheese. I can't remember the last time when I made this from the box. Not organic - and not
 homemade (GASP). It was my 9 minute dinner so I could get to baking, a bit of blogging, and knitting while watching TV. 

Before getting the kitchen scale out - I actually started the dishwasher. Something about me - I'm a secret PIGPEN. As soon as H. is out - dishes and clothes stay where they are dropped. So, the fact that I cleaned on the first of 2 solo evenings is a sign of change - or that I was thinking about writing about my night and didn't want it to be a messy memory.

This is a perfect solo night for me. Now - i'm off to finish off some wine and other fun things that I haven't decided yet. What would you do if you didn't have to worry about all the other people in your life for one night?

For my baking adventure, I chose a recipe for Lemon Blueberry Scones for this fine evening based on several factors. First - it will be great for bringing into work tomorrow. Second - it's easy: fast and I already have lemons and blueberries. Third - it's super fast and will leave time to hang out!

Lemon Blueberry Scones
from Baking Illustrated
10 oz (2 cups) unbleached AP flour
2 TBSP baking pwd
3 TBSP bkg sugar
1/2 tsp salt
5 TBSP butter: cold cut into 1/4" cubes
1/2 cup blueberries 
1 tsp lemon zest
1 cup heavy cream

* preheat oven to 425
* using the food processor - mix the dry 
ingredients
* process in the butter and lemon zest
* Stir in heavy cream just until dough forms
* Stir in blueberries
* Shape into circle or flat log and cut into triangles
* Bake for 8-12 minutes

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

hahaha... mac and cheese. classic! that scone looks delicious- I love the blueberries in it!

Donna-FFW said...

Love alone nights like that..it so rarely happens here. The scones look delicious.

Tangled Noodle said...

I usually resort to oatmeal for dinner when the hubs is travelling on business. I think Kraft mac 'n' cheese is a much better option! 8-) Love these scones - they must've smelled heavenly out of the oven.

Pearl said...

how do you like that book? i'm thinking of getting it!

Kate (KnitsInClass) said...

Home alone without kiddos or hubby? Rarely happens... (sigh, imagining a quiet paradise right now) I would probably get a big fat takeout order (with dessert, of course) and slowly indulge, knowing I wouldn't have to share with ANYONE. Nice glass of wine (out of reach of the dog's tail), some good knitting (for me, of course) and a movie that only I would want to watch.
Enjoy your solo nights!

Claudia said...

It's a secret guilty pleasure that I'm not always upset when my husband goes on a business trip. I plan easy food, good reading and bad habits! I love your evening alone and that you made a nine-minute dinner so you can move on to what you love! The scones are very timely. We adore scones and I have lemon and blueberrie.... for some reason blueberries are very cheap right now.

Controlling My Chaos said...

Okay, now I'm thinking that we are on the same wavelength because I'm getting ready to try a recipe very similar to this one.