Buttermilk Ranch Mac & Cheese

Let's face it - mac & cheese is truly a comfort food to the American palate. There are as many variations to this dish as there are families I'm sure. In fact, I highlighted 12 Mac & Cheese recipes not too long ago. But this Buttermilk Ranch Mac & Cheese recipe is definitely different from the rest. This specific recipe calls for the use of buttermilk which typically isn't the norm. To highlight the tang of this, I incorporated some ranch flavor and some bacon!...

Buttermilk ranch dressing is what inspired me to adapt the original recipe found on another blog. I used a dry ranch dressing mix to add some ranch flavor into the buttermilk cheese sauce. And what would a buttermilk ranch dish be without bacon? With that said, crumbled bacon is stirred in with the pasta to add a bit of texture and flavor. Overall, this was one of my favorite mac & cheese recipes... and who knew buttermilk would work just as well?!

Buttermilk Ranch Mac & Cheese

recipe adapted from Six Course Dinner

8 oz. elbow macaroni
8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
8 oz. buttermilk
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp panko or regular bread crumbs
1 tablespoon dry ranch dressing mix
1/4 cup crumbled cooked bacon
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large pot, bring three quarts of water to a boil. Add salt to season. Cook macaroni until al dente. Remove from heat, drain, briefly rinse under cold water, and drain again.

While the macaroni is cooking, heat the butter in a pan over medium heat. Once melted, whisk in the flour until well combined. Reduce heat and gently cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture just begins to darken. Mix in 6 oz. of the shredded cheese, the buttermilk, and the dry ranch dressing mix. Stir until the cheese is mostly melted and then turn off the heat. At this point the cheese should be completely melted and the ranch dressing should have flavored the sauce. Stir in the cooked pasta and crumbled bacon. Mix well to combine and season with salt and pepper to your tastes.

Pour into a large casserole dish and top with the remainder of the cheese and the breadcrumbs. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 20-30 minutes. Remove foil to brown the top. You may want to move the dish closer to your broiler if you want, but watch it closely as the breadcrumbs can very easily burn. Allow to cool for a few minutes before devouring.

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Timing: Joy of Autism Nonsense and Sad News of Missing Autistic Children

 

The news continues to look frightful and grim for the  3 year old autistic boy near Montreal who went missing while his father was in a friend's house for a few minutes and where authorities have now called off an intense ground search and hope is fading. A few days ago a six year old autistic boy in Melbourne Australia who went missing from his home was struck and killed by a train.  Meanwhile Canada's Joy of Autism movement is once again pushing its bizarre view that autism  disorder is not a disorder at all it is , as stated by  Estée Klar, a Joy.  The mother of an autistic child actually thinks that autism is a joy.  The parents and family members of the 3 year old boy near Montreal, the 6 year old boy near Melbourned, of young James Delorey who perished in winter weather last year in Halifax might disagree with her "logic" in describing autism as a joy.  

I most certainly disagree. I am the father of a severely autistic boy and  could have lost him several  years ago when he slipped out of the house and attempted to cross a very busy street stopping traffic until a good Samaritan stopped and took him to a nearby convenience store and 911 was called. I remain very grateful to that gentleman and to the police for bringing my son to safety. I would never, ever embrace the fuzzy logic that results in calling autism disorder a joy.

Estée Klar has published her support for a coalition of advocacy organizations that object to the attempt to codify wandering as a separate criteria for autism.  Research  they say, research is needed. Yeah right.  Let's take 10 to 20 years and conduct methodologically unsound statistical surveys and call them science while we ignore the current evidence of harsh realities that wandering behavior in autistic children results in. In the meantime Estée can lecture us on how autism is  joy not a disorder. 

Many autistic children and adults are prone to wandering from their homes and caregivers. That is an unpleasant reality that should be made known to the parents of newly diagnosed children and professional caregivers now, so they can take steps to protect the autistic children and adults in their care, now, not 20 years from now.We don't need more autistic children wandering away and coming to harm.

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10 Egg-cellent Egg Recipes To Crack Into...

Easter is just around the corner and that means eggs will soon be a highlight in many homes. Some dip eggs in dye in celebration of Easter. Others fill plastic eggs with candy and hide them for a festive Easter egg hunt. Or if you're like me, you simply take advantage of the sale on eggs this time of year. But with so many eggs, you can only make breakfast dishes for so long. To help expand your egg repertoire, here are 10 Egg-cellent Egg Recipes To Crack Into...

Eggs Benedict with Foolproof Hollandaise Sauce
My absolute favorite dish for brunch!

Creamy Carbonara
This egg based sauce is easy & sooo good...

Chocolate Souffle
Chocolate makes everything better...

Chilean Baked Eggs
A dish from Chile for a South American spin...

Vegetable Fritatta
Here's a heart healthy way to add more veggies to your diet...

Deviled Eggs with Thyme
You really can't eat just one...

Bacon, Brie & Artichoke Quiche
Eggs, cheese & bacon... the breakfast trifecta!...

Gaeran Mari (Korean Rolled Omelette)
These are some of the most beautifully presented omelettes anywhere...

Florentine Egg Muffins
Step aside McMuffin, a healthy & tasty version is here...

Classic Caramel Cuban Flan
Smooth & creamy, topped with caramel...

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Everyone loves a good chocolate chip cookie and the same goes for cupcakes, right? So why not combine the two and make a double delicious treat?! These Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes are what happens when a chocolate chip cookie and cupcake comes together. Nestled inside a yellow cake is a middle of chocolate chip cookie dough with a creamy chocolate frosting that's garnished with a mini chocolate chip cookie!

When I saw this recipe, I knew I had to make it. I've had this recipe bookmarked for a few months and only came across it when it was time for me to clear out the long list of bookmarks I had. Why I waited so long to make this, I'm not sure... but I'm so glad I finally did. It's truly a decadent cupcake that combines the best of both worlds! I used a standard chocolate frosting, but you're welcome to frost with whatever flavor you want. I also made extra chocolate chip cookie dough so that I could make mini chocolate chip cookies to use as a garnish as well. You can probably create other similar cupcakes using your favorite cookie flavors... something I'd like to do when I get a chance.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

recipe from AllRecipes

Cookie dough filling:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1 (18.25 ounce) box yellow cake mix
1 1/3 cups water
1/3 cup canola oil
3 eggs
chocolate frosting (recipe follows)

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and sea salt; set aside. Beat the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth. Add 1 egg and the vanilla extract and beat until smooth. Mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips; mixing just enough to evenly combine. Form the dough into tablespoon-sized balls; place onto a baking sheet, and freeze until solid, about 2 hours. It's critical that these are frozen in order for the cupcakes to turn out correctly!

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

Beat 3 eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer to break up. Add the cake mix, water, and canola oil; continue beating for 2 minutes on medium speed. Spoon into the prepared cupcake liners, filling each 2/3 full. Place a frozen cookie dough ball on the top center of each cupcake.

Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the cake portion of the cupcake (not the cookie dough ball) comes clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
recipe from Williams Sonoma

8 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
6 cups confectioners' sugar
16 Tbs. (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temp
6 Tbs. slightly warm milk, plus more, if needed
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt

Place a saucepan over medium heat and fill with an inch or two of water. Set a metal or heat safe bowl large enough to sit in the saucepan to act as a double boiler, making sure the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water in the saucepan.

Add the chocolate to the bowl and stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Let cool to room temperature and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand electric mixer fitted with the beater attachment, beat together the confectioners' sugar, butter, milk, vanilla and salt on low speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes, then reduce the speed to low. Carefully add the cooled chocolate and beat until combined. Once combined, increase the speed to medium and beat for 1 minute more.

If the frosting is on the dry side, add more milk, 1 tsp. at a time until it's creamy but still holds peaks.

Makes about 4 1/2 cups.

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Από τα κόκκαλα (και από την φαντασία ) βγαλμένη

Απ΄ τα κόκαλα ( και από την φαντασία) βγαλμένη ταινία



ΕΥΓΕΝΙΑ ΗΛΙΟΠΟΥΛΟΥ


΄΄Το μεγαλύτερο μάθημα που μου δίδαξε η προσωπική μου εμπειρία από τα δημόσια νοσοκομεία είναι το ότι η αληθινή ζωή ξεπερνάει κάθε τέχνη σε φαντασία και ευρηματικότητα .΄΄Σ. Γκορίτσας

Δεν έχω διαβάσει το βιβλίου του συναδέλφου Γ. Δενδρινού .Έχω δουλέψει μόνο 3 μήνες, όταν ήμουνα άνεργη ,σε ιδιωτική κλινική και φυσικά δεν μπορώ να εκφέρω γνώμη για το τι γίνεται σε ιδιωτική κλινική .Αλλά εργάζομαι 27 χρόνια σε δημόσιο νοσοκομείο ,υπήρξα ασθενής και ξέρω το ΕΣΥ από μέσα και από έξω .Με αυτή την προίκα έσπευσα να δω την ταινία του αξιόλογου κυρίου Γκορίτσα. από την πρώτη ημέρα προβολής της στους αθηναϊκούς κινηματόγραφους.


Την παρουσιάζουν σαν κωμωδία .Ελάχιστοι ,από τους 20 θεατές εκεί στην αίθουσα του ΙΝΤΕΑΛ, γελάσανε. Οι περισσότεροι προβληματίστηκαν και πιστεύω ότι αυτό ανήκει στα θετικά μιας ταινίας. Οι συζητήσεις είχανε αρχίσει από το διάλειμμα και συνεχίστηκαν στην έξοδο. Το επιτελείο των ηθοποιών ήταν εξαιρετικό. Όλοι οι ηθοποιοί δώσανε , και με το παραπάνω το γελοίο και ενίοτε και το γκροτέσκ των καταστάσεων.
Πολύ πετυχημένο το όνομα της κλινικής ΄΄ Άγιοι Πάντες΄΄ και κυρίως η παρουσίαση των χαρακτήρων. Σε αυτή την φανταστική κλινική ο τηλεφωνητής κάνει τον τραυματιοφορέα και ενίοτε βάζει και διαγνώσεις. Ο τραυματιοφορέας στέλνει τα μηνύματα στον παπά Ελικόπτερο(τόσο γρήγορα εμφανίζεται για να δώσει τον τελευταίο ασπασμό στον θανόντα ασθενή) και μετα έρχεται το γραφείο τελετών για να εισπράξει. Στο βωμό της γελιοποίησης πέσανε και οι υπόλοιποι εργαζόμενοι του νοσηλευτικού ιδρύματος. Το αποκορύφωμα ήταν το νεκροτομείο, του εν λόγω νοσοκομείου, όπου στα ψυγεία τοποθετούνται μαύρες σακούλες αντί για τους πεθαμένους. Το να χαθεί ένα πτώμα είναι ο κανόνας και όχι η εξαίρεση.


Επίσης ένα πετυχημένο, από την άποψη της αλήθειας, είναι ότι σχεδόν όλες οι δουλειές γίνονται μετά την είσπραξη χρηματικού ποσού .Πράγματι ,σε πολλά δημόσια νοσοκομεία, η συναλλαγή γίνεται τόσο ανοικτά και τόσο άφοβα. Χωρίς φόβο και πάθος οι λειτουργοί ζητάνε και παίρνουν φακελάκια και δεν ντρέπονται να μάθουν όλοι οι ασθενείς τις ταρίφες τους. Όταν κάποιος τολμάει να αντιδράσει η ποινή είναι φοβερή. Ο ποιο ανίκανος και αμαθής του αντικειμένου, ειδικευόμενος, θα κάνει για ΄΄εκπαιδευτικούς λόγους ΄΄ την επέμβαση χωρίς τον καθηγητή δίπλα του. Αυτά είναι από πραγματικά συμβάντα και η ταινία σωστά βγάζει τα άπλυτα στην επιφάνεια.
Από τα κακά της ταινίας είναι η γελιοποίηση της εφημερίας όπου όλοι μπαίνουν και κανείς δεν κάνει κάτι .Η ειρωνική ματιά για τους αγώνες των γιατρών για μια καλύτερη υγεία. Δεν είναι όλοι ίδιοι. Οι συγγενείς των ασθενών είναι παντού παρόντες (μόνο στο χειρουργείο δεν τους έβαλε) και οι θάλαμοι είναι ντουμάνια από τα τσιγάρα. Κανείς δεν προσπαθεί και δεν αντιδράει στις αδικίες .Ο μόνος τίμιος, εργατικός και ικανός είναι ο ένας και μοναδικός κύριος Σπυράτος όλοι οι άλλοι είναι πωρωμένοι. Ο μόνος που παλεύει με το σύστημα είναι ένας ειδικευόμενος ενώ οι συνδικαλιστές μαζεύονται και φωνάζουν , στην συνέλευση ,μόνο για την μη πληρωμή των δεδουλευμένων .Στερείται σοβαρότητας και ουσιαστικού προβληματισμού. Χλευάζει τον συνδικαλισμό και τους αγώνες των γιατρών για ένα καλύτερο ΕΣΥ χωρίς φακελάκια . Για τι παίρνουν λεφτά οι γιατροί; Για τι δεν πληρώνονται και δεν εκπαιδεύονται σωστά; Για τι οι αγώνες και οι προβληματισμοί των γιατρών απουσιάζουν ;


Πράγματι ΄΄ η αληθινή ζωή ξεπερνάει κάθε τέχνη σε φαντασία και ευρηματικότητα΄΄ και εκεί πρέπει ο καλλιτέχνης να βάλει το χεράκι του και να προβληματίσει του φιλοθεάμων κοινό. Είναι μία υπερβολική , σε καταστάσεις, ταινία που πρέπει όλοι, οι γιατροί και οι ασθενείς να την δουν και να προβληματιστούν. Ίσως θα είναι μία καλή ευκαιρία να συζητηθούν δημόσια ποια είναι τα πραγματικά προβλήματα της δημόσιας υγείας και που χωλαίνει το ΕΣΥ.

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Unfulfilled Promise: Intellectual Disability Ignored on World Autism Awareness Day

Today is World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD). The establishment of WAAD held out great promise of elevating the world's understanding of the realities of autism spectrum disorders and the challenges they present to those diagnosed with one of the Pervasive Development Disorders slotted for merger into the New Autism Spectrum Disorder in the DSM5.  The promise, however, remains largely unfulfilled.  The world has learned to associate autism with the color blue but beyond that the very serious realities of those with autism and intellectual disability, those who are very low functioning, those who are self injurious, those who wonder away, some never to return alive,  are rarely spoken of in the rah rah fund raising promotions which mark the onset of World Autism Awareness Day.  Intellectual Disability, in particular, remains the  elephant in the autism living room, a very large presence of which no one speaks.

Autism Speaks was one of the prime movers in establishing World Autism Awareness Day.  The official Autism Speaks WAAD site describes what autism is in very general terms but makes no mention of the very close association between Intellectual Disability and Autistic Disorder or classic autism with as many as 80 % of all persons with Autistic Disorder also having Intellectual Disability:

What is the intellectual disability component of autism that no one mentions this World Autism Awareness Day?

From 30% to 60% of children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have an IQ measure that falls in the intellectual disability (ID) range.

(Catherine Rice et al., Risk for cognitive deficit in a population-based sample of U.S. children with autism spectrum disorders: Variation by perinatal health factors, Disability and Health Journal, Volume 3, Issue 3, Pages 202-212 (July 2010)

Autism and intellectual disability: a study of prevalence on a sample of the Italian population.

La Malfa G, Lassi S, Bertelli M, Salvini R, Placidi GF.

Psychiatry Unit, Department of Neurological and Psychiatric Sciences, University of Florence, Hospital of Careggi, Florence, Italy. gplamalfa@videosoft.it

Abstract

BACKGROUND: In 1994, the American Association on Mental Retardation with the DSM-IV has come to a final definition of pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), in agreement with the ICD-10. Prevalence of PDD in the general population is 0.1-0.15% according to the DSM-IV. PDD are more frequent in people with severe intellectual disability (ID). There is a strict relationship between ID and autism: 40% of people with ID also present a PDD, on the other hand, nearly 70% of people with PDD also have ID. We believe that in Italy PDD are underestimated because there is no agreement about the classification system and diagnostic instruments.

METHOD: Our aim is to assess the prevalence of PDD in the Italian population with ID. The Scale of Pervasive Developmental Disorder in Mentally Retarded Persons (PDD-MRS) seems to be a very good instrument for classifying and diagnosing PDD.

RESULTS: The application of the PDD-MRS and a clinical review of every individual case on a sample of 166 Italian people with ID raised the prevalence of PDD in this population from 7.8% to 39.2%.

CONCLUSIONS: The study confirms the relationship between ID and autism and suggests a new approach in the study of ID in order to elaborate a new integrated model for people with ID.

Canadian Psychological Association Autism Brief to the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology November 9, 2006

Definition: Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder, first identified by Kanner in 1943. Decades later, Autism came to be viewed as the more severe of the Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) which also include Asperger’s Disorder. ASD is a heterogeneous disorder that includes a range of developmental impairments in the areas of social skills, verbal and non-verbal communication as well as restricted or repetitive interests or behaviours.

Symptoms and Impairments:

• Cognitive impairment is present in about 80% of persons diagnosed with Autism and
general intellectual functioning is most often below average. Persons diagnosed with
Asperger’s Disorder have average to above average intellectual functioning.

CDC Medical Epidemiologist Dr. Marshalynn Yeargin-Allsopp - CMAJ Interview 

"But the autism umbrella has since widened to include milder forms, says Dr. Marshalyn Yeargin-Allsopp, a medical epidemiologist at the CDC. For example, it now includes Asperger syndrome, where the sufferer is socially impaired, but experiences typical language development.

Another difference between past and present autism diagnosis involves the presence of intellectual disabilities, adds Yeargin-Allsopp. During the 1960s and 1970s, the vast majority of those diagnosed with autism had an intellectual disability but today, only about 40% have one."

[Note: Dr. Yeargin-Allsopp's figure of "about 40% with an ID is for the entire Autism Spectrum and is lowered because of the inclusion of Aspergers which, as a diagnosis, excludes ID]

Department of Health & Human Services - Center for Disease Control Counting Autism 

CDC’s most recent data show that between one in 80 and one in 240 children with an average of one in 110 have an ASD. This is a prevalence of about one percent of children. These results reflect data collected by CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network in multiple communities throughout the U.S. in 2006. 


Estimates are based on health and education records from participating communities, which includes eight percent of the U.S. population of eight year olds. All children in the studies were eight years old because previous research has shown that most children with an ASD have been identified by this age for services.

...

Cognitive Functioning (from the pdf version)

2004
 
From 37.9% (Arizona) to 63% (Alabama) (overall average: 43.8 %) of the children identified with an ASD also had an intellectual disability (an IQ ≤70, at the sites that had test results on intellectual ability for at least 75% of the children identified).

2006
 
From 29.3% (Colorado) to 51.2% (South Carolina) (overall average: 41.0 %) of the children identified with an ASD also had an intellectual disability (an IQ ≤70, at the sites that had test reults on intellectual ability for at least 75% of the children identified)

The ICD-10 Classification of Mental and Behavioural DisordersWorld Health Organization, Geneva, 1992

F84.0 Childhood Autism

A pervasive developmental disorder defined by the presence of abnormal and/or impaired development that is manifest before the age of 3 years, and by the characteristic type of abnormal functioning in all three areas of social interaction, communication, and restricted, repetitive behaviour. The disorder occurs in boys three to four times more often than in girls. 

...

All levels of IQ can occur in association with autism, but there is significant mental retardation in some three-quarters of cases. 

F84.1 Atypical Autism

A pervasive developmental disorder that differs from autism in terms either of age of onset or of failure to fulfil all three sets of diagnostic criteria. Thus, abnormal and/or impaired development becomes manifest for the first time only after age 3 years; and/or there are insufficient demonstrable abnormalities in one or two of the three areas of psychopathology required for the diagnosis of autism (namely, reciprocal social interactions, communication, and restrictive, stereotyped, repetitive behaviour) in spite of characteristic abnormalities in the other area(s). Atypical autism arises most often in profoundly retarded individuals whose very low level of functioning provides little scope for exhibition of the specific deviant behaviours required for the diagnosis of autism; it also occurs in individuals with a severe specific developmental disorder of receptive language. Atypical autism thus constitutes a meaningfully separate condition from autism.

Includes:
* atypical childhood psychosis
* mental retardation with autistic features

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A Weekly Serving - 4/2/2011

This week definitely flew by! I hope you had a great week yourself. Here's my weekly musings on family, food, and fun...

Family - Joel is 47 weeks old this week and only 5 more weeks until he turns 1 year old... the countdown continues! This past week was really boring with not much to report. I haven't been feeling all that well and ended up going to see a doctor yesterday. That in itself was a debacle because I was sent all over the place between 2 counties and had to wait a day after my scheduled appointment before finally being seen. Without getting into too many details, I've been challenged with some health issues ever since I got pregnant and now even a year later, I'm still working to get back on track. It's affected a lot of different parts of my life so having the opportunity to see a doctor that can truly help me has been far from easy. I think I finally found one so I'm anxious to see what happens. A few tests were taken at my doctor's appt and I'm awaiting results to hopefully make sense of what's going on with my health. Crossing fingers it's good news and something that can be managed better.

Despite being sick, Joel still serves as the biggest joy in my life and the main reason why I smile everyday. He must have decided to cooperate with me this week and kept his shoes on! Here is my handsome little guy with his weekly photos...

 

 

 

Food/Restaurant News - Still no word on the restaurant at this point... however I've been busy with food stuff on my own. Earlier this week we hosted a special event in celebration of moving back to the city. It was great to see old friends, catch up and just enjoy entertaining in our home again. To make things fun, we also had a deep dish pizza showdown where friends did a blind tasting of Chicago's popular deep dish pizza chains. To find out who won, check out the full post complete with pictures!

I've also been busy getting What's Cookin, Chicago back on track with more culinary events planned. Instead of hosting 3-4 events a week like I used to, I'm easing my way back into my groove with 1 event a week. I'm really focused on keeping a good balance between my foodie life and family life so having just one event is a nice start. Because I need to keep my family's work and nap schedule in mind, I'm refraining from evening events and hosting them during the afternoons. My first event will start in 2 weeks so I'm looking forward to that! Some events I'm hosting include private cooking classes, themed potluck luncheons, food swaps, etc. So stay tuned!

Fun - It's been a low key week at our house, which is exactly what we want more of! Joel and I are looking forward to warmer weather so we can spend more time outdoors during the week. We did have a well needed playdate with Joel's buddy, Will. It was great to get together with our friends Megan and Matt so we could catch up, as well as have the boys play. If there's anything I'd love to do more is have more playdates for Joel so he can be around more children his age. Although, I'm happy that he's doing really well around adults!

 

 

 

 

Here's a roundup of what I cooked up in the kitchen this past week...

Spinach Artichoke Cheeseball

Italian Chopped Salad

Zesty Italian Chicken Wings

Homemade Cannoli

Baked Spaghetti & Meatballs

10 Sweet Lemon Recipes to Pucker Up To

12 'Round the World Ground Beef Recipes

10 Super Spaghetti Recipes

Hope you all enjoy your weekend and have a great week ahead!

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