Friday, February 6, 2009

Tuna Noodle Casserole

When I first started this blog I envisioned it as a place to post my mac and cheese recipes. Because frankly I loved mac and cheese, but the thing is I have yet to post a single mac and cheese recipe on this here blog. I guess I fell off that train a while back, not because I don’t love the mac and cheese but I did realize I don’t really make it that often for a variety of reasons. So today you get my first post that is even close to mac and cheese you get...drum roll please...tuna noodle casserole.

Now I did not grow up in a casserole eating family, in fact I did not have tuna noodle casserole until my friend Mackenzie made it in college. But I like it, I like it a lot, which means I have made in many times in many different ways in the quest to find something so yummy that like does not cover how I feel! The following recipe is variation of an recipe from epicurious.com
So here it is my favorite recipe for tuna noodle casserole:

1 medium yellow onion (finely chopped)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
4 cups sliced white mushrooms
6 tablespoons butter give or take
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup whole milk
6 oz. egg noodles (half a bag)
salt and pepper
1 cup mild cheddar cheese (grated)
1 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (grated fine)

Prep ingredients, you know get the chopping and grating done ahead of time so you can get to it. Preheat oven at 375 degrees, placing rack in the middle. Butter casserole dish.

In heavy skillet melt 1 1/2 tblsp. butter and saute onions until they begin to give off liquid and soften, add garlic cook until onions start to caramelize. Add mushrooms and cook until they begin to give off liquid. Add soy sauce and continue cooking until they are tender and liquid has evaporated. Add sherry vinegar and cook until liquid has evaporated (if you don’t have sherry vinegar, then don’t put it in and really you will be fine, it just kind of mellows out the soy and you know adds another layer of flavor. The original recipe called for a 1/4 sherry, but I didn’t have it and I had the vinegar so I adjusted, feel free to do the same). Remove from heat and set aside.


Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in heavy sauce pan over medium low heat, whisk in flour and cook stirring for three minutes. Add broth in steady stream, whisking. Bring to a boil, and you know keep on whisking. Whisk in milk and cook for 5 minutes (whisking occasionally). Add in lemon juice, salt, tuna and mushroom mixture. Taste and add salt and pepper.

Cook noodles till al dente and strain, transfer noodles back to pot you cooked them in and mix in cheese. Pour sauce over noodles and give them a good stir to make sure sauce coats the noodles. Transfer to baking dish and cover with bread crumbs and parmesan cheese (which you should mix together). Bake for 20 minutes until the top is golden brown and the dish bubbles.

Take out of oven and let dish set up 5-10 minutes. Dish out and enjoy!