Seafood Casserole and the refusal of my taste testers trying....

Wednesday was another full day of training reps at the office.  But I had a good nights sleep the night before and also was still full from my lunch at Cheddar's earlier in the day.  When I came home I told Tom and Jacob that tonight's menu was a Seafood Casserole.  Both Tom and Jacob do not like seafood and told me straight up, that they would not sample that dish.  In baking the dish, it also filled the house up with the smell, and that was making Tom ill.  He can't stand the smell of seafood in the air.  This also kept him out of the kitchen until the very end when he was able to help me clean up. 

Tom and Jacob were hungry and decided they would have pizza instead.  I also told them that I would also be making Cheese Balls and Macaroni and Cheese and they agreed to try those.  So they put their pizza in the oven and I started to work on Beth's Seafood Casserole. 

I used the recipe in the 2001 cookbook and it said that Margie's sister-in-law Beth Martin, introduced this recipe and it has been a family favorite at reunions ever since.  This recipe called for cooked shrimp and also claw crab meat.  I purchased (2) 8 oz cups of fresh claw crab meat in the seafood section.  I also purchased frozen cooked shrimp.  This recipe called for many ingredients but it was more assembly than anything. 

It started out with me sauteing the green peppers, onions and celery in a skillet.  Then I added chopped pimientos, cream of mushroom soup, mayonnaise, salt, pepper, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, milk, cooked rice and the seafood.  There was so much to mix that I had to mix it all in a large bowl and it filled up an entire 9 X 13 baker.  Then it said to top with mild cheddar cheese.  I put it in the oven and baked it at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

While that was in the oven, Tom and Jacob were finishing up their pizza.  I decided to start working on my next recipe which was Cheese Balls.   I also used the version of the recipe from the 2001 cookbook.  This is also my first attempt at making them.  Tom has never had them rolled into individual balls and neither have I, but I wanted to follow the directions.  This was easy to assemble with 2 cups of sharp cheddar cheese, 8 oz. of cream cheese, garlic powder and a cup of chopped walnuts.  I mixed everything with a mixer and then I asked Tom if he would roll them and he said he would help. I have a couple of photos of him assisting:

First one is his annoyed "why are you taking a photo of me look":

Next is a photo of him in action and I think he is having fun doing this little job: What do you think?



While he was busy doing this, I had to send Jacob to the store to get me some sharp cheddar cheese so I could work on the macaroni and cheese.  I also asked Jacob to bring home a box of Triscuits so we could have them with the cheese balls.  When Jacob got home, he had the cheese but forgot the Triscuits.  Here's a photo of the Cheese Balls.  I told Tom not to dig into them until he filled up the tray.  Then the ratio became one to the tray to one to his mouth, smiling.....

While he worked on those, I had to start working on the Macaroni and Cheese by cooking up the noodles.  I also used the recipe in the 2001 cook book.  The Macaroni and Cheese was my absolute favorite dish when I dined there so I was really excited to see if I could duplicate it.  Once the noodles were cooked you add 1/2 cup of butter to them and stir until melted.  Then you add 4 eggs beaten to a froth then add 3 cups of milk.  Finally, you stir in the 2 cups of sharp cheddar cheese.  There was so much again, I had to use a larger bowl to stir it all up.  Then I put it into my casserole dish.  It was runny and once again I stressed if it would have the correct texture.  It went into the oven  at 350 degrees for 30 minutes and out of the oven came Beth's Seafood Casserole.  Here's the photo:

I was the only one trying the casserole.  I was then finally hungry and had two small spoon fulls of the dish.  It tasted really well.  Texture was great with the rice in it.  I tried to tempt Tom and Jacob in trying it and both said no way and Tom was still suffering from the seafood smells.  I also had a couple of the cheese balls and everyone really liked them.  We were just missing crackers, but popped them into our mouths instead.  The recipe made enough that I will be able to share them with others.

Tom and Jacob then started helping clean up the huge kitchen mess and it was much appreciated by me.  Finally the timer went off for the Macaroni and Cheese and I took it out of the oven.  It looked set up on the top, but when I went to scoop out some, it was still really really runny.  I was so bummed.  I put it back in the oven and set the timer for another 10 minutes.  I tested them again and still not quite set up, so the timer was set for another 10 minutes.  Third time is a charm as the casserole had set up after a total time in the oven of 50 minutes versus the 30 minutes on the recipe.  Here's a photo:

Once the texture was right, I was feeling better about the dish.  But now it was time to sample it.  Both Tom and I had a small serving as it was getting late and we were full from the food earlier.  Tom liked it and thought it was good.  I thought it was also good, but I thought Mrs. Wilkes at her dining room was cheesier than my version.  I am wondering and going to do a little google research to see if there could have been a typo in the ingredient list.  I'll let you all know what I find out.

By the end of the evening, I have a full refigerator of left overs and my Dad is coming to town today, so I'm going to make a left over bag of goodies for him and I am sure I'll have enough to make one for Aunt Doris as well.  Dad promised that he would give me his opinion of the food, but I think he is excited that he gets to sample something after hearing all about my project from Aunt Oatlee and Aunt Doris.