The Akron Beacon Journal from Akron, Ohio • D2

2D WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2021 AKRON BEACON JOURNAL I confess that one of my favorite parts of either mak- ing or going to a boil is what happens toward the end. Everyone has eaten their of mudbugs, leaving behind a mess of heads, claws and tail shells scattered all over a newspaper-covered table. Any leftover corn and potatoes are cold. The sausage, long gone. But there are almost always still whole that get eaten.

Maybe they are the runts of the pot, the small ones that got picked over for the big guys. Maybe they were the last few sitting in the pot, where they soaked up all those seasonings. I like to sit around with whoever else is left at the table and peel all those tails, one by one. One complaint about is that they are a lot of work for only a little bit of meat, but once I get in the of peeling them, hard to stop, especially once you see the tails start to pile up. My friends Roger and Emily have always hosted boils in the spring, usually around Easter.

They bring all their friends and families together for a potluck, backyard egg hunt and boil, where no goes unopened. never forget the year I attended, Emily and her friends were glued to the table, peeling tails with gusto, knowing that in the coming weeks, have enough meat for any number of Cajun dishes. As become more of a lover myself, taken on this passion of not letting any meat go to waste. I love to eat the leftover tails anywhere otherwise use shrimp, so on top of a bowl of buttery grits, in a or with pasta. how I found myself making a creamy craw- mac and cheese last week after reporting on this season, which was to a slow start but is gaining steam.

I had only a small handful of meat left, but it was the perfect amount to mix with a cheesy pasta. Because I knew I would be eating the the next day, I freeze the tail meat, but if you going to be eating it in a day or two, the meat is best preserved in the freezer. You could use any kind of pro- tein tossed into this mac, including grilled chicken breast or sauteed shrimp. mac and cheese is easy with this basic sauce Addie Broyles Austin American-Statesman USA TODAY NETWORK mac and cheese Homemade mac and cheese used to feel like a treat, but at this point in our quarantine cooking, a staple. Any time I have a bunch of odds and ends in the cheese drawer, I shred or crumble all the cheeses and make a catch-all mac and cheese.

The cheese sauce is so forgiving that I even bother to measure the ingredients any more. If the sauce feels off too thick, too thin, too bland all it takes is a little bit of extra cheese or a splash of pasta water or a pinch of salt to get it back on track. Use any kind of pasta like here, and you can easily double the recipe if you want to have more servings. When I made homemade mac and cheese most recently, I added about cup of leftover tail, which, as Emeril might say, kicked this dish up a notch. Addie Broyles pound dried pasta (about cups dried) Salt and pepper, to taste 2 tablespoons salted butter 3 tablespoons flour 1 cup milk or cream 1 to cups shredded cheese (Cheddar, Gouda, Colby Jack or a mix) to 1 cup reserved pasta water cup cooked and peeled tails (optional) Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add pasta.

Cook according to package directions, reserving 1 cup of pasta water before draining. Set cooked pasta aside. In the same pot, add butter. Melt over medium heat and then sprinkle the flour on top, stirring frequently, as the flour starts to cook in the butter. Cook, continuing to stir so the flour burn, for about 2 minutes.

Whisk in the milk or cream and continue to stir. As the milk warms up, the sauce will start to thicken. Add cheese and stir until melted. Pour in cup of the reserved pasta water to thin out the sauce, adding more to reach desired consistency. Taste and add any additional salt or pepper.

Add the cooked pasta and the to the pot and stir well over medium heat until well combined. Serve. Addie Broyles mac and cheese is an easy way to use up leftover or shrimp. ADDIE AK-0000982463-01 Call or visit EmpireToday.com/newspaper. Schedule a FREE In-Home Estimate! highest value room at regular price, and get select styles of carpet, hardwood, vinyl, and laminate for all other rooms of equal or lesser value for $50 each when you pay for installation, padding, and materials.

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888-878-7182 note: Cooking classes were current as of the publication deadline. However, many public events are being postponed or canceled because of COVID-19 concerns. Check with event organizers for the latest information. Kitchen, Tallmadge: Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. Classes are postponed until further notice. For more information, go to http://www.lindaskitcheninc.com. Loretta Paganini School of Cooking: Classes are postponed at the North Canton Fishers Foods.

For more information, go to https://www.lpscinc.com/. COOKING CLASSES are you I asked my friend. Never in a million years would I ever believe the answer. making said Ferrante. on I said.

are you I got the same answer. My Italian friend sensed my frustra- tion and explained that his grandmoth- er Caterina used to take the kids around the countryside to look for wild lettuces, herbs, and even snails after it rained. The kids used to follow behind with pa- per bags for their grandmother to was a master at and cooking that Ferrante said. The greens for this dish were found growing underneath citrus trees that are all over the island of Sicily. Caterina taught them which plants were edible.

I caught up with Sal last week, as I usually do, by phone. We laughed about that day. He remembers it vividly. not he quickly corrected. Sicily, we have thousands of edible plants.

The most in the The rich volcanic soil and cli- mate is the ideal place to grow wonder- ful food. have wild Ferrante said. Wild broccoli. Wild fennel. Wild en- dive.

You boil it and fry it with garlic and you taste the of the mountains, he passionately explained. By the way, the is called bor- age. I called it a weed because it looked like the last thing in the world that could be edible. When we sat down for lunch, he served up the hearty lentil dish with broken pasta and cooked borage. It was fantastic! Even the weeds taste good in Italy.

I thought it was the coolest thing ever. This was a dish you will never in any restaurant. It was a way of surviv- al for Ferrante and his family. was something to make with what you had left in the he explained. Italians would save the broken spaghet- ti pieces until they had enough to make a simple soup or pasta dish.

Now, pasta companies manufacture broken pasta for sale. Many fantastic recipes were the re- sult of poverty and simple ingredients. people can make a seven course meal from a Ferrante said. what they This time of year, my godfather, Vince Ninni, would search for wild young dandelions in a to make salad. He was in heaven after coming back from picking those pesky plants.

Sadly, the Peninsula Ramp Up is can- celled for this year. The annual festival honors the wild leek known as a ramp. The Facebook page will post in- formation about dates in April when will be selling fresh cleaned ramps for eating and planting. I would love to hear from anyone who might have a similar recipe with humble ingredients. Please feel free to email me at Ferrante Continued from Page 1D Sal Ferrante looks at a Fiat being repaired in his driveway in Palermo, Sicily.

PHIL BEACON JOURNAL.