Some people have their broccoli-cheese casserole; I have this: penne with blue cheese and broccoli. It’s filled with the same comforting overload of starch and gooey cheese but has an added element of danger provided by tangy blue cheese and generously-applied red pepper flakes. I’ve been making this dish for years — I distinctly remember cooking it in high school — and if there is broccoli in the refrigerator and I’m feeling lazy or uncreative this pasta is inevitable. I don’t mind the repetition though; this is a dish that lingers on the table as forks seek out one last bite, and then another.

I think the original recipe was published in the New York Times but I can’t locate it online. In any case, I’ve cooked this without the recipe enough times that I’m willing to claim it for my own.

Penne with Blue Cheese and Broccoli

• 6 oz blue cheese, crumbled
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 1 clove of garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press
• Black pepper
• Red pepper flakes
• Salt
• 2 medium heads of broccoli, florets separated, stems discarded or reserved for other use
• 1# penne

Bring plenty of salted water to a boil in a large stockpot. Place blue cheese, butter, garlic, and salt, pepper and red pepper to taste in a large mixing bowl. Place the bowl over the stockpot while it is heating to soften the cheese and butter. When water boils, add pasta. After about 4 minutes have passed, add the broccoli. When pasta is done to your liking, drain pasta and broccoli, reserving some of the water to adjust the consistency of the sauce. Toss pasta and broccoli with butter-bue cheese mixture. Adjust seasoning and serve.

Inauguration Day was Tuesday and with it the world, particularly the blog world, was predictably awash in Obamania. Witness: a very impressive Obama pizza. And what Inauguration party would be complete without the Baracktail? My humble (and not very timely) addition? Obamaburgers!

“Obamaburger” is actually a poor choice of name since these burgers don’t have any connection to Obama specifically. They were just patriotic hamburgers in honor of Inauguration Day. But if they weren’t called Obamaburgers, it wouldn’t be a shameless tie-in.

For two burgers:

• Two buns (I used ptoato-rosemary rolls)
• Butter
• 2/3# Ground Bison, made into two patties
• Blue Cheese (Rogue Creamery Smokey Blue)
• Mixed greens
• 3 T Buttermilk
• 3 T Yogurt
• 2 T Mayo
• 2 t Champagne Vinegar
• 1/4 t sugar
• 1/8 t garlic powder
• salt and peppa

Assembly is pretty straightforward (these are burgers). Mash a 1/2 c of blue cheese with the buttermilk until they are pretty well mixed and then stir in the ingredients that follow, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper (that means a lot of fresh-cracked black pepper). You now have blue cheese dressing. Spread some butter on the (split) buns and broil them to desired burnedness. Take down your smoke alarm* and get a cast iron pan really, really hot. Introduce the bison flesh to the metal and allow them to mingle for a minute and a half, then flip. Crumble on some blue cheese and cook another 90 seconds. Then the burgers go on the buns, the blue cheese dressing goes over the burgers, the lettuce goes on top, and then the other half of the bun. Put your smoke alarm back.

And now the part where I explain through the highly tenuous connections to Inauguration Day! First of all, the meat is bison, and there’s nothing more patriotic than eating native species. You might say the potato-rosemary roll is a tribute to two very important waves of immigration that shaped who we are as a nation, those being Irish and Italian (and, in so doing, completely ignore every other group). Finally, we have the colors of the American flag: blue from the blue cheese, white from the creamy dressing, and, as for red:

Yeah, that’s the best I’ve got. See you in ’16!

*I assume no responsibility for any injuries or deaths caused due to smoke inhalation, fire, or other damages related to following the instructions in this recipe.