I love the cooking channel...
... so much so that I watch it whenever I want to zone out. Yesterday I watched an episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay and they made macaroni and cheese which looked so good I decided I had to try it. Mind you, I'm allergic to wheat, so first I had to find some good rice pasta macaroni but it was so worth it! I don't think I got it perfect, but here's what I did in case you want to be creative with grown up mac & cheese and I promise you'll be off to a good start. Mind you I'm not a measurer, I'm an eyeballer so the measurements here are estimations:
Cook macaroni to package directions but leave al den te (will be 15-20 min oven cooking time to finish dish) drain and set aside.
While macaroni is cooking, make your cheese sauce by doing the following:
~render the fat off of ~6 pieces of finely chopped bacon or 1/2 cup of pancetta in a large saucepan (don't drain the fat, just render it off the meat into the pan)
~once fat is rendered and meat cooked, add 6+ cloves minced garlic. Cook until garlic is sweated or just starting to brown
~add 1/2c milk or cream (your choice)
~turn down the heat and whisk in 2-4 egg yolks, beaten. whisk briskly as adding yolks so as not to cook them into threads, you want to combine them in to richen the sauce
~add 1-2 handfuls each (depending on taste/preference) shredded sharp cheddar cheese, fontina, mozzarella and parmesan
~once cheese has melted, add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
~add 1/4 c finely chopped parsley
~add cooked macaroni to sauce pan with cheese mixture. Stir to coat evenly
~transfer macaroni & cheese to a medium casserole dish. Top with thin layer of grated cheese.
~place casserole in oven at 350 degrees, bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes until cheese on top is melted and macaroni is browned
~remove from oven and let set for 5 minutes. Serve w/parsley sprigs on top for garnish and Italian dressed side salad. Enjoy!!
Obviously this is not for the calorie shy, but sometimes you just have to enjoy something tasty and delicious.
Hope you try it, I promise it will be a spring board for exciting macaroni and cheese dishes to come! And its really easy to make too. I love food so much...
Cook macaroni to package directions but leave al den te (will be 15-20 min oven cooking time to finish dish) drain and set aside.
While macaroni is cooking, make your cheese sauce by doing the following:
~render the fat off of ~6 pieces of finely chopped bacon or 1/2 cup of pancetta in a large saucepan (don't drain the fat, just render it off the meat into the pan)
~once fat is rendered and meat cooked, add 6+ cloves minced garlic. Cook until garlic is sweated or just starting to brown
~add 1/2c milk or cream (your choice)
~turn down the heat and whisk in 2-4 egg yolks, beaten. whisk briskly as adding yolks so as not to cook them into threads, you want to combine them in to richen the sauce
~add 1-2 handfuls each (depending on taste/preference) shredded sharp cheddar cheese, fontina, mozzarella and parmesan
~once cheese has melted, add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
~add 1/4 c finely chopped parsley
~add cooked macaroni to sauce pan with cheese mixture. Stir to coat evenly
~transfer macaroni & cheese to a medium casserole dish. Top with thin layer of grated cheese.
~place casserole in oven at 350 degrees, bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes until cheese on top is melted and macaroni is browned
~remove from oven and let set for 5 minutes. Serve w/parsley sprigs on top for garnish and Italian dressed side salad. Enjoy!!
Obviously this is not for the calorie shy, but sometimes you just have to enjoy something tasty and delicious.
Hope you try it, I promise it will be a spring board for exciting macaroni and cheese dishes to come! And its really easy to make too. I love food so much...