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Spicy Macaroni and Cheese

Oct 28th, 2009 by

Ingredients
2 cups short pasta, cooked
8 ounces cheddar cheese, cubed
8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
8 ounces monterey jack pepper cheese, cubed
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
4 tablespoons sour cream
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup half-and-half
4 slices bread
1 tablespoon butter

Directions
1.    In a large bowl, toss together pasta with the cheese cubes and pour into a greased 2qt oven safe baking dish.
2.    In a large bowl mix together the flour, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, dry mustard, nutmeg and sour cream, egg, heavy cream and half-and-half.
3.    Pour the mixture over the pasta and cover with shredded Cheddar.
4.    Bake uncovered at 350 degrees until top is just beginning to brown, about 35 minutes.
5.    Cut the bread into crouton-sized squares. In a skillet over medium heat, melt butter, add cubes and toast until golden. Sprinkle the bread cubes on top of the macaroni and cheese and bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes more.
6.    *Note: to make this even easier I just sprinkle dried breadcrumbs on top of the casserole and then spray it with pam and bake it for ten more minutes — that trick right there will save you another 5-10 minutes .

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Microwave Macaroni and Cheese

Oct 28th, 2009 by

Ingredients
250g (½ Pound) uncooked elbow macaroni
500 ml (2 cups) of hot water
45 ml (3 tablespoons) butter or margarien
125 ml (½ cup) finely chopped onion
1.25 ml (¼ teaspoon) salt
1.25 ml (¼ teaspoon) ground black pepper
560 ml (2 ¼ cups) milk
360g (3 cups) cheddar cheese
85 ml (? cup) flour

Directions
1. Place macaroni, water, butter/margarien, onion, salt and pepper in a 3 l (3 quart) microwaveable casserole.
2. Cook covered for 5 ½ minutes at full power and stir after 2 ½ minutes.
3. Place casserole in microwave again and cook for another 5 minutes at 50% power or until water is absorbed. Stir again after 2 ½ minutes.
4. Cut cheddar cheese into 1cm cubes.
5. Mix a small amount of the milk with the flour to form a paste. Add the rest of the milk and ensure no lumps formed.
6. Add the cheese and milk and flour mixture to the macaroni.
7. Place in microwave and cook for 21 to 26 minutes on 50% power or until the sauce is thickened. Stir at least twice during cooking.
8. Leave the casserole standing covered for 5 minutes before serving.

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Mac and Cheese Pies

Oct 28th, 2009 by

Ingredients
For the pie crust:
2 1/2 c unbleached flour
3/4 c unsalted butter
1/4 c shortening (we used Earth Balance vegetable shortening)
2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
6 tsp apple cider vinegar
10-18 Tbsp ice cold water
For the filling:
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
3 cups whole milk
1 bay leaf
Black pepper
Salt
1/2 lb elbow macaroni
8 oz. Point Reyes Original Bleu Cheese, crumbled or cut in small pieces
8 oz. Gruyère, shredded or cut in small pieces
1 bunch organic spinach, coarse stems discarded and the leaves washed well and drained
1/2 lb shiitake mushrooms
Olive oil
1/4 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 Granny Smith apple, thinly sliced

Directions
For the pie crust:
1.    Cut butter and shortening into cubes, put in the freezer.
2.    Mix flour, salt and sugar. Add the chilled butter/shortening and mix with a pastry blender until the butter chunks are about pea sized. It needs to be well-incorporated but not over worked.
3.    Add 10 Tbsp of the cold water to the vinegar and slowly drizzle into the crust while you mix it with a spatula (avoid using your hands until you absolutely can’t stand it). Do this until the dough forms a ball. Depending on the humidity of the kitchen, you might need more or less water. The dough should be tacky to the touch.
4.    Cut in half and wrap in plastic wrap and throw into the fridge. Chill for at least an hour—we chilled ours the night before the event.
5.    To roll out the dough, make sure your kitchen, counter, rolling pin, hands, etc etc are COLD!
6.    Let dough sit out for a few minutes, then flour your surface and rolling pin. Roll dough out to about an eighth inch thick. Use a cookie cutter or glass or bowl to cut circles about 6” in diameter. Line a plate with parchment paper, stacking dough rounds and alternating each layer with a piece of parchment paper.
7.    You can reroll dough scraps, but be very careful not to overwork. You may want to chill scraps before rerolling them.
8.    Let dough rounds chill in the fridge another 30 minutes or so.
9.    Preheat oven to 375.
10.    Ease the dough rounds into cupcake tins, pressing into sides, and trim the edges (these can be rerolled as well—see above note). Chill for 10 minutes.
11.    While the rounds in the cupcake tins are in the fridge, start cooking the cheese sauce, veggies and macaroni (see filling recipe below).
12.    Line dough with foil and pie weights and bake in oven for 20 minutes or until what you can see is golden.
13.    Remove from oven and let sit at least 5 minutes before removing pie weights and filling with mac & cheese filling.

For the filling:
1.    Make the roux & béchamel sauce: On low heat, melt butter in medium saucepan. Once the butter is melted, begin whisking in the flour. When all the flour is incorporated, continue stirring and cooking for a few minutes to activate the starch granules. Add cold milk very slowly in small amounts. Keep whisking until it is smooth, then add salt, black pepper, and bay leaf. Simmer until it has lost its “floury” taste (this will take about 20 minutes), then strain out bay leaf.
2.    While this is simmering: Heat a few TBSP olive oil with the red pepper over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and when they are evenly golden brown, add the spinach, the nutmeg, and salt to taste. Sauté until spinach is wilted and set aside.
3.    Toast walnuts in a clean dry pan over medium heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, chop, set aside.
4.    Boil heavily salted water to cook elbow macaroni. Cook pasta for a slightly shorter time than it says on the package since it will cook a bit in the oven. Drain and return to pot.
5.    Remove the béchamel from the heat and gently blend in the cheese. If the cheese doesn’t seem to be melting sufficiently, you can return the pan to very low heat, but watch it carefully and remove as soon as the cheese is melted. Add spinach, mushrooms, and macaroni and mix thoroughly. Spoon into pre-baked cupcake-sized pie shells. Top with toasted and chopped walnuts. Bake for 10 minutes at 450. If there’s any leftover filling it can be baked in a casserole dish sans crust. Serve with slice of Granny Smith apple as garnish.

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Lobster Macaroni and Cheese

Oct 28th, 2009 by

Ingredients
3 cups dry whole-grain or whole-grain blend macaroni noodles
1 tablespoon whipped butter
3 tablespoons light cream cheese
2 1/2 cups fat-free half-and-half, divided use
1/4 cup Wondra quick-mixing flour
1/2 cup white wine (or nonalcoholic beer)
3 tablespoons shredded or grated Romano cheese
1 cup shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar or white cheddar
1/3 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella or reduced-fat provolone
2/3 cup strong flavored cheese of your choice (gruyere, fontina, Jarlsberg, havarti, etc.)
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
Freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces cooked and shelled crab or lobster meat, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Optional Topping:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon finely chopped or minced garlic
2 cups coarse fresh wheat sourdough bread crumbs (add 2 large slices of wheat sourdough bread, torn into pieces, to small food processor and pulse into coarse crumbs)
Canola or olive oil cooking spray

Directions
1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees and coat a deep-dish pie plate with canola or olive oil cooking spray.
2. Bring lightly salted water to boil in a large saucepan and add noodles, cooking until al dente. Drain and return to large saucepan. Cover the pan to keep the noodles moist and warm.
3. Meanwhile, in medium nonstick saucepan, melt whipped butter over medium heat until brown and fragrant (about a minute). Reduce heat to medium low or low and add the cream cheese and 1/2 cup half-and-half. Continue to cook and stir until a smooth mixture forms. Whisk in the remaining half-and-half. In a small bowl, blend flour with white wine and whisk this mixture into the half-and-half mixture in the medium saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil; continue to stir until sauce thickens (a minute or two).
4. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in all of the cheeses, Tabasco, and black pepper as desired. If cheese isn’t melting completely, return pan to stove and warm over low heat, stirring constantly until cheese melts. Pour sauce over the noodles in the large saucepan, and stir in the crab or lobster pieces. Spoon mixture into prepared pie plate.
5. For topping: Add olive oil to small nonstick saucepan and get it hot over medium heat. Stir in the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in bread crumbs and continue to cook and stir until crumbs are golden.
6. Spoon bread topping over macaroni and cheese, give the top a quick spray of canola or olive oil cooking spray, and bake uncovered at 375 degrees until bubbling (20-30 minutes).

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Tangy Macaroni Cheese

Oct 28th, 2009 by

Ingredients
400g macaroni pasta
2 eggs
1/2 cup of milk
1tsp curry powder
1tsp mustard powder
3tbsp worchester sauce
pinch chilli powder
150g grated cheese (more if you like it cheesey!)
2 tbsps bread crumbs
You will need a saucepan, small mixing bowl and 6 ramikin dishes*(*or one shallow porcelin cooking dish).

Directions

1. Boil the pasta in water for 10mins (don’t over-cook!)
2. Meanwhile mix eggs, milk, curry + mustard powder, chilli, worchester sauce into a bowl.
3. Switch on the grill on medium to heat up.
4. Drain the pasta and return it to the hot pan (although switch off the hob!).
5. Add eggy mixture to pasta and stir until coated.
6. Share between the ramikins (or into cooking dish).
7. Sprinkle over with grated cheese and breadcrumbs.
8. Grill for 5 mins til lovely and bubbly and brown.
9. Wait 5 mins before eating or you’ll burn your tongue!)

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Sunny Macaroni And Cheese

Oct 28th, 2009 by

Ingredients
2 T vegetable oil
1 lb. elbow or shell macaroni
1 qt. whole milk
8 T. unsalted butter, divided
1/2 C. all-purpose flour
12 oz. Gruyere, grated
8 oz. extra-sharp Cheddar, grated
1/2 T. Kosher salter, or to taste
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1 C. cello pack California Sun Dry Tomatoes, julienne cut.
1 1/2 C. fresh white bread crumbs (5 slices, crusts removed)

Directions

1.    Preheat oven to 375 deg. F. Add oil to a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the macaroni and cook 6 to 8 min. until done. Drain well. At the same time, heat the milk in a small saucepan, but DO NOT boil. In a large (4-qt) pot, melt 6 T. buter and whisk in the flour. Cook for 2 min.
2.    While whisking, add the hot milk and cook for 2 min. more, or until smooth and thickened. Take off the heat, add the cheeses, salt, pepper, nutmeg and lightly diced tomatoes.
3.    Add the cooked macaroni and stir well. Pour into a buttered, 3-quart baking dish (I used my lasagne porcelain pan.) Melt the remaining 2 T. butter, add the fresh bread crumbs and stir. Remove from heat and sprinkle on top of the casserole.
4.    Bake for 30 or more min. or until bubbling and brown on top. Instead of the above method of making the breadcrumb topping, I tore up pieces of bread and chopped them in the ol’ Cuisinart…poured melted butter over the crumbs and added about 1/4 C. parmesan.
5.    Gave it a few whirls and voila! Buttered breadcrumbs! I really believe the parmesan added something special to the overall flavor. This is really good.

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Blue Onion Bistros Macaroni And Blue Cheese With Chives

Oct 28th, 2009 by

Ingredients
1 lb uncooked spiral tube-shaped pasta
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups whole milk
1 cup whipping cream
3 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups crumbled blue cheese, divided (Maytag or Danish)
salt & freshly ground black pepper or tricolor pepper, to taste
1 dash cayenne, to taste (optional)
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh chives

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F; butter a 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish.
2. Cook the pasta according to package directions until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally; drain and set aside (about 8 minutes).
3. While the pasta is cooking, in a large heavy saucepan over medium low heat, melt the olive oil and butter together; add the flour and, stirring constantly, cook for 1 minute (don’t let it brown), then gradually whisk in the milk and cream.
4. Simmer mixture until it slightly thickens, whisking occasionally, for 3 minutes.
5. Reduce the temperature to low, then gradually stir in the grated cheddar and 1 cup of the blue cheese and cook, stirring, until the cheese melts.
6. Season to taste with salt, freshly ground pepper, and cayenne (if using).
7. Stir in the cooked pasta, making sure it’s well-coated with the sauce.
8. Pour mixture into the buttered baking dish, sprinkle with the reserved 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese, and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.
9. Sprinkle with the minced chives and serve.
10. Note: also good with a serving of caramelized onions and sauteed mushrooms; also, you can use 2% or skim milk instead of whole, but using whole is how they make it at the restaurant.

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Frankfurter Macaroni Loaf

Oct 28th, 2009 by

Ingredients
2 cups macaroni
1 cup grated American cheese
1 cup milk
2 eggs beaten
2 teaspoons salt
Frankfurters
Tomatoes

Directions

1. Cook macaroni in boiling salted water for 20 minutes.
2. Drain and combine remaining ingredients except frankfurters.
3. Put a layer in the bottom of a well-oiled loaf pan.
4. Lay 4 frankfurters on top lengthwise of pan.
5. Add another layer of macaroni then frankfurters topping with another layer of macaroni.
6. Bake at 350 for 1 hour 15 minutes or until solid.
7. Keep top covered with wax paper most of the cooking time to prevent drying.
8. Turn out onto platter and garnish with tomato wedges.

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French Onion Soup Macaroni And Cheese

Oct 28th, 2009 by

Ingredients
Topping:
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Bechamel Sauce:
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk or half-and-half
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces Gruyere, grated
3 ounces mozzarella grated
French Onion “Soup”:
2 tablespoons butter, plus 1 tablespoon (or nonstick spray)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 large white onions, thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons honey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup dry sherry
2 cups beef stock
8 sprigs fresh thyme leaves
1 pound pasta, cooked al dente (elbow macaroni, ziti, or fusilli work well)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Topping: Combine bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese in a small bowl and set aside.
3. Bechamel Sauce: Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter over low heat in a medium saucepan.
4. Add the flour and stir to combine. Stir constantly, for about 3 minutes.
5. Increase heat to medium and whisk in the milk or half-and-half, adding a little at a time and cook until thickened, about 4 to 5 minutes.
6. Lower heat, season with the salt and pepper and add Gruyere and mozzarella cheeses.
7. Stir until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. Set aside.
8. French Onion “Soup:”
9. Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter and olive oil over medium-high heat in a large saucepan.
10. Add onions, cover, and cook 10 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove cover, add garlic and honey, and continue to cook uncovered, stirring frequently, until onions are caramelized, about 10 to 15 minutes.
11. Season with salt and a generous amount of pepper.
12. Remove pot from heat and add sherry. Return to heat and stir to remove browned bits from bottom of pan.
13. Reduce sherry by half, then add stock and thyme and cook until almost all liquid is evaporated. Remove from heat.
14. Grease a 3-quart baking dish or casserole with the last tablespoon of butter or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
15. Combine cooked pasta with onion “soup” mixture and bechamel sauce, and stir well to combine.
16. Transfer pasta to baking dish and sprinkle with bread crumb/Parmesan topping.
17. Bake until top is golden brown and cheese is bubbly, about 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving.
18. We will number these for you! Just hit ‘enter’ after every step.

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Latin Baked Macaroni And Cheese

Oct 28th, 2009 by

Ingredients
1 pound dried penne pasta
28 ounce can peeled diced tomatoes
3-3/4 cups cold milk
1-1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 teaspoons chili powder
4 ounce can diced mild green chilies
1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
1 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese
1-1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Coat large baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
3. Boil pasta in salted water until tender then drain in a colander and rinse with cold water.
4. Drain again and set aside then drain canned tomatoes and set aside.
5. In small bowl combine milk and cornstarch then whisk until smooth and set aside.
6. Melt butter in large saucepan over moderate heat.
7. Add flour and whisk constantly for 1 minute.
8. Whisk again then pour into saucepan and whisk vigorously until smooth and blended.
9. Add salt and pepper then bring to a boil over medium heat stirring frequently.
10. Reduce heat to low then add chili powder and mild green chilies.
11. Add 3 cups of cheese and stir 30 seconds or just until cheese melts and sauce is smooth.
12. Remove from heat then spread half of the pasta in baking dish then half the cheese sauce.
13. Mix gently to coat pasta evenly then spoon tomatoes on top.

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