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A Baked Mac & Cheese recipe courtesy of Help! I Have a Fire in my Kitchen turned out pretty well. Positively the simplest thing in the world to make, and it tastes way better than Kraft boxes (although Kraft you don’t have to wait for it to bake :o).

I used a mild cheddar and olive oil rather than butter. It was fairly tasteless, so next time I’m going to use a stronger, more flavorful cheese. I acquired some jalapeño cheese not long ago - that would be delicious! I’ll probably modify the recipe to mix in more cheese with the noodles, as the recipe called for 1 cup mixed in and 2 cups poured on top, leaving for less cheese than I would desire.

Confectioner’s sugar and powdered sugar are the same thing. There is no difference. So, there you have it. Why can’t we all just be unified in our naming conventions?

I had this recipe for vanilla frosting:

• 1/2 c. butter/margarine
• 3 c. sifted confectioner’s sugar
• 4 T. cream
• 1.5 t. vanilla extract

I didn’t have any cream, so I tried to buy some next time I’m at the store. I was very much distressed, as I could only find whipping cream, not just cream. Of course, the grocery store attendants are of no assistance, as the only cream they know of is half and half.

After some googling, I found a reference that outlines some of the different types of creams and for what they can be used. Apparently, when a recipe says “cream”, it can be open for interpretation. Creams vary based on the percentage of milk fat the cream contains.

Creams are usually broken down into the following:

Half & Half

10-18% milk fat

Light Cream

15-20% milk fat (similar to half & half

Whipping Cream

30% milk fat

Heavy Whipping Cream

36-40% milk fat

For use in a frosting, whipping cream or heavy whipping cream works out best.

(see AFoodExperience and Hormel for more information)