She carried the tray to the table of judges - none of whom she recognized, but that was okay. She would just think of them as first-time customers, and she had every bit of confidence she could create a good first impression with both her attitude and her entry.
Per her waitress training, she carefully and efficiently set out each of the three cute ceramic bowls (red, blue, and white) to the judges. She'd found them in the bazaar when she'd bought a few of the ingredients she was using today. "Hi! My name's Marian, from Zephyr Town, and today I'm entering my yam and spinach mac and cheese!"
She backed away from the table, folding the tray under her arms and letting it rest against her lap, as she maintained a polite smile and eye contact with the judges. "So, let me tell you how I made it. I'll start by saying I only used the freshest of ingredients, either from our local farmer or purchased at the town's bazaar from trustworthy vendors. Fresh ingredients truly do make all the difference, so I would advise against using any canned or boxed items, for this."
"Anyway, it's not a terribly difficult recipe, it only requires that you keep strict attention on what you're doing, as you'll be using several different methods, which I"ll explain"
She took a deep breath, then continued.
"I peeled and cubed three yams - or sweet potatoes, as you may know them - and cooked them for about eleven minutes in a pot of boiling water.. In the meantime, I also cooked three cups of penne pasta for about five minutes - until it's al dente. In case you weren't familiar, that just means it should be firm, not too squishy~"
"After I drained the pasta, and set that aside, I also mixed together three kinds of shredded cheese into a small bowl. I used three-quarters of a cup of mozzerella, as well as asiago, and a half-cup of parmesan. But I've used other kinds, like cheddar or romano, in the past and it still turns out very tasty. You can't really go wrong, just pick what kinds of cheese you like best!"
"Now, the yams were done, and I mixed them along with a quarter cup of milk into a food processor, where I pulsed them until they were smooth and creamy. If you don't have a food processor, you could split this step into two batches, and use a blender!"
She took a moment as she watched the judges taking test bites of her meal . She didn't want to rattle through her explanation, as she wanted them to have time to enjoy her entry, as well as take in what she was saying. That and she didn't wish to sound like a know-it-all.
"By this point, I had three bowls set aside - the yam puree, the cheese, and the pasta! Now I just preheated the oven to four-hundred before moving on to the hardest part. I say its the hardest part simply because you have to be very watchful that you're not doing anything for too long or too short of a time."
"In a saucepan, I melted two tablespoons of butter and then cooked in two cloves of minced garlic, but only for a short time - a minute! Then I whisked in two tablespoons of flour and let that cook for another two minutes. You want to do that, so the dish doesn't taste flour-y! Then to thicken in, I also whisked in one-and-one-quarter cup of milk...if you wanted to know, that mixture is known as a "roux" - just a term for the a thickening sauce base!"
"Now, the hard part's over! It's easy from here on out. I whisked the sweet potato mixture into your roux, and let it cook just until it gets hot, not bubbling! Then I turned the stove off and removed the yam mixture, and scooped three-fourths of my shredded cheese into the pot. You really could eyeball it based on how cheese you want the inner part of your dish, compared to how much browned, crusty cheese you want baked on top."
"From there, I added the pasta and two handfuls of fresh spinach leaves into a large casserole dish, and poured the yam-cheese sauce over it. Then..." Marian lifted her tray, holding it flat in front of her to demonstrate. "Shake it back and forth a bit to get the cheese covering every little bit of pasta and spinach that you can! The cheese you have left over, you can sprinkle on top."
"And you pop it in the oven for a half-hour, and..ta-da! This delicious fall dish! You can't really get much more comfort food- y than mac and cheese!" She giggled a little. "Also, or what it's worth, the yams are not intended to add a whole lot of taste to the dish. You may pick up a slight sweetness, but their purpose is more for texture and thickness, as well as giving the dish an orangey hue - very Autumny, if I do say so myself!
Wow, she was done...what a rush! She made sure to look at each of the judges directly as told them one last thing. "I really hope you all enjoy it, and if you do, please stop by the Zephyr Town Cafe for even more delicious Fall entrees!" She lifted one hand from the tray to give the judges a little wave. "Thanks so much for your time!"
