Macaroni cheese

Pork belly slices and macaroni cheese

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader,

Greetings and salutations. It’s almost the end of January; this month has gone quickly. I must be having fun! 

Yesterday while grocery shopping, I noticed these “Coles Made Easy Slow Cooked Pork Belly Slices In Tonkatsu Sauce.”

I have no idea what Tonkatsu sauce is, but I figured it might go with some macaroni cheese.

In case you’re interested, I searched Wikipedia and found some information.

Coles Made Easy Slow Cooked Pork Belly Slices In Tonkatsu Sauce with jalapeño macaroni cheese

Ingredients

  • Coles Made Easy Slow Cooked Pork Belly Slices In Tonkatsu Sauce
  • Penne pasta
  • Milk
  • Plain flour
  • Butter
  • Gruyère cheese (grated)
  • Gouda cheese (grated)
  • Swiss cheese (grated)
  • Jalapeño pepper (finely diced)
  • Spring onion (sliced)

Instructions

Coles Made Easy Slow Cooked Pork Belly Slices In Tonkatsu Sauce

  1. Preheat Oven to 220°C fan-forced (240°C conventional).
  2. Remove pork belly slices from the packaging and arrange them evenly on a lined baking tray. 
  3. Pour the remainder of the sauce from the pouch onto the meat, coating it evenly. 
  4. Place the tray in the centre of the oven and cook uncovered for 15 to 18 minutes, or until slices are golden and sticky.
  5. Remove from the oven and serve.

Macaroni cheese

  1. Boil some tap water in a saucepan*
  2. Add some salt and bring the water to a boil again.
  3. Add in some penne pasta** and cook according to the maker’s instructions for the recommended time.
  4. Drain the water and keep the pasta in a colander
  5. Make a roux with equal amounts (by weight) of butter and flour.
  6. Melt the butter in a saucier pan and ensure the water has boiled off
  7. Add in the flour and whisk for at least three minutes.
  8. Make a white sauce by slowly adding full-cream milk and whisking until it has the consistency of cream.
  9. Add in grated Gruyère, Gouda, and Swiss cheeses and stir until the sauce is thickened.
  10. Fold through the diced jalapeño pepper.
  11. Spread the cooked pasta onto a baking tray and pour over the cheese sauce
  12. Add the sliced spring onion.
  13. Fold through the pasta, spring onion, and cheese sauce.
  14. Smooth the top with a spatula***
  15. Top the macaroni cheese with some more grated cheese
  16. Pop the baking tray into the oven and cook until the cheese has turned to a golden colour

Plating up

  1. If everything has gone to plan, a large spoon through the macaroni cheese should be able to slice through and effectively carve out a good wodge**** of macaroni cheese. The consistency should be firm rather than stiff or wobbly.
  2. Move said wodge of macaroni cheese onto a dinner plate. Arrange some of the pork belly slices next to it.
  3. Give thanks to the Lord and consume with vigour and enthusiasm.
  4. The remaining pork and pasta bake should be stored in the refrigerator.

Verdict

For something new, this meal was pretty good. If you live in Australia and shop at Coles supermarkets, the pork belly slices are worth trying. I assume the other supermarket chains like Woolworths, IgA, and Aldi stock something similar.

The macaroni cheese was also pretty good. The jalapeño pepper added a bit of a kick. I reckon a bit of Tabasco® sauce or Sriracha sauce would be good on the macaroni cheese too.

Final thoughts

  1. Have you ever tried pork belly and Tonkatsu sauce? Did you like it?
  2. Do you prefer the packet macaroni cheese or making it from scratch?
  3. Do you add extra elements to your macaroni cheese for a different flavour?

Feel free to leave feedback in the comments block below this post.

*I wondered what pasta might taste like with water from different cities as I was cooking. When I worked in Darwin, a colleague’s partner would have tap water sent from Adelaide because she liked her tea made with water she was used to. I need to cook in different places to see if flavours change with the water.

**I know this is macaroni cheese; however, all I had was penne pasta, and I wasn’t going to purchase macaroni especially.

***I was recently sent a new spatula. A gift from a dear friend. It’s the best spatula I’ve ever handled.

****A large piece or amount of something

Coles Made Easy Slow Cooked Pork Belly Slices In Tonkatsu Sauce with jalapeño macaroni cheese

State of Origin Footy Food

Posted by Gary

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State of Origin

2016 has been a good year for State of Origin. The Queensland XXXX Maroons (pronounced ma-rones) had already wrapped up the series by winning the first two games. I missed both games because of other commitments. I was keen to watch the third game in the comfort of my apartment with food I had prepared.

The food

Now when I say food I had prepared I really mean heating up food I had purchased which was ready to cook.

Being a Queenslander I was keen on some simple treats that I grew up with. I went with cheerios and macaroni cheese.

Cheerios with macaroni cheese #footyfood #origin #qlder
Cheerios with macaroni cheese #footyfood #origin #qlder

The food itself was pretty yummy. I was satisfied.

The game

The game however was another story altogether. In what is normal for #Origin it was a nail biter right to the end.

There had been a lot of pregame niggle mainly from the Victoria Bitter New South Wales Blues (pronounced cock-roaches) captain, the self confessed performance enhancing drug using Paul Gallen. Gallen had labelled all Queenslanders as poor winners. Sadly at the end of the match it looked like Paul Gallen was a poor winner himself.

So for readers who aren’t familiar with Rugby League and State of Origin if you type “Yummy Lummy State of Origin” into Google you’ll come across many posts that describe my love of Rugby League (the greatest code of football played in Australia), my love of State of Origin as a competition between the greatest states in Australia (note the Northern Territory of Australia is not a state so the fact I love it more than NSW and about the same as Queensland [at least the Top End of the NT] should not suggest I have lost my passion for the NT), and how strongly I feel about being a Queenslander. State of Origin is simply the greatest sporting rivalry and competition bar none.

Last night the game had so many highlights. The lead changed throughout, Queensland demonstrated outstanding defence in the face of very strong attack, both sides lost players to the sin bin for infractions, there was simmering tension with the odd punch thrown and in the end in the final minutes NSW took the lead and Paul Gallen the NSW skipper converted the try in a fitting finish for a retiring stalwart of the game. As much as he is a player Queenslanders love to hate, he’s a tough bloke and a strong player. He’s also been an inspiring captain for NSW. Paul Gallen has an outstanding record for NSW. He’s captained the side for 11 straight years for 10 series’ losses. His loss:win ratio is better than any captain in the history of State of Origin.

So if you watched the game, what did you eat? What did you think of the game? Did you enjoy the refereeing?

For a bit of fun

What sort of coward is James Maloney running away and hiding behind his mates after shoving Corey Parker?

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Coles pulled pork

Posted by Gary

Have you ever wondered what Coles pulled pork is like? Well I bought some and want to share my thoughts on this product.

You can find this amid other prepared meat products like lamb shanks and beef ribs in the meat section of any Coles supermarket.

While I usually buy meat in its plain butchered raw form without any flavourings or marinades, I looked at this and thought why not. It’s already been cooked and just needs reheating in an oven. You could also heat it through using a microwave oven if you were in a hurry. Who would have thought you could prepare a pulled pork meal in hurry!

Here’s a quick video review courtesy of Adobe Spark [it’s free and easy to use this web based program which also shares some capability in iOS apps and some Android apps].

 

 

Pulled pork from Coles. Ready to pull your pork!
Pulled pork from Coles. Ready to pull your pork!

Coles pulled pork cooking instructions
Coles pulled pork cooking instructions

See you can even cook this on the stove top as well as in the oven.

So I tried it out. I thought the best way to try this product out was in a pulled pork and macaroni cheese taco. I do have some leftover which will go into toasted sandwiches which I will enjoy at work.

Last night as part of Taco Saturday, I prepared the pulled pork. It was very easy. I opened the plastic bag, emptied the contents into a pyrex bowl, covered it with aluminium (yes that’s the correct spelling my American friends ) foil and then put it into a hot oven. After 15 minutes I took off the foil and basted the meat. I cooked it for a further 15 minutes and then pulled it out and allowed it to rest a little before pulling apart the meat. It was very easy and the meat was very tasty. The packet says it’s enough to serve two people.

I put one serve into my pulled pork and macaroni cheese taco and put the rest into an airtight container and refrigerated it.

Pulled pork and macaroni cheese tortillas
Pulled pork and macaroni cheese tortillas

Pulled pork and macaroni cheese tortillas
Pulled pork and macaroni cheese tortillas

In my opinion Coles pulled pork is a good product. Who knows what preservatives and other things have been added to it to keep it on the shelves and to make it tender. It tasted good and it was tender. I’m happy to recommend it. Please note I have done this product review without any suggestion from Coles or anyone else. If Coles would like me to do product reviews they can contact me.