Makin' Mac N Cheese

I had some leftover chunks of Whiskey Cheddar and some Gruyere, and what better use, on a cold, rainy day in Birch Bay than to whip up some comfort food Mac N Cheese! It's also great for Super Bowl Sunday grazing. Alas, I'm not a fan of football; I know, how un-American! However, I do pledge my allegiance to this tasty dish.

Here's what it looks like, and following the photo is the recipe. Perhaps you have your own favorite recipe. Try it with these two cheeses; they impart an added taste dimension you'll enjoy. I haven't a clue who is going to win the Super Bowl, but Mac n Cheese is a sure bet!

Oh, and throughout the recipe, I've shared some personal comments, i.e., using YOUR local farms, dairies for what ingredients you can. The freshness is great tasting, it supports your local economy, and it's probably more nutritious. Win! Win! Win! Hooray! Lucky you, if you know someone who makes their own pasta! Wish I did!

Anyway, after much ado ...

Baked 2-Cheese Macaroni

Serves/Makes: 6         Ready In: 30-60 minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 pound elbow macaroni

3 tablespoons butter (from your local dairy if you’re lucky enough to have one that makes butter!)

2 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon powdered mustard

1-1/2 cups goat milk (recipe calls for cow milk, I just digest goat milk better/lactose intolerant)

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 large egg (got free range?)

6 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded

6 ounces Gruyere, shredded

1 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper
Note: Buy block cheese and grate or shred it when you use it in a recipe. It tastes soooo much better freshly grated than if you buy it from the store grated or shredded. Trust me on this one!


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the pasta to al dente. Important to not let the pasta cook too long because it’s going to cook some more in the oven.

While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes.

Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheeses. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese and a sprinkle of paprika.

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let it rest for five minutes before serving.

Fantastico!

Anneke Pearse, a dear friend and mighty proud mama, wrote to tell me that her son Erin and his wife Michelle sent a recipe to http://www.recipezaar.com/Easy-Crusty-Jalapeno-Cheese-Bread-Fantastico-354609 and she thought I might want to include it on Chatterbox Cheese. Wasn’t that nice of her? I do, indeed want to pass along this delectable bread recipe.

Check out the link for the m-a-n-y wonderful comments about this yummy bread! I also wanted to give credit to Brenda for the photograph that was included with the recipe on Recipezaar.

Although the recipe calls for a 15-oz package of shredded sharp cheddar cheese, I recommend you buy a locally produced sharp cheddar cheese and shred or grate it yourself. It DOES taste different!

Thanks, Anneke, for contributing to Chatterbox Cheese!

And thank you, too, Erin and Michelle!

MichelleAndErinFeb 8, 2009
Extremely simple yeast bread with cheddar & jalapeño ribbons; crusty exterior. A gorgeous artisan bread derived from "Jim Lahey's No-Knead Bread" method.

SERVES 12 , 1 round loaf

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour (or bread flour)
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast (not regular yeast)
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup cornmeal
1 (15 ounce) jar sliced jalapeño peppers
1 (15 ounce) package shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Important: you will need a heavy pot with a lid. A Dutch oven is ideal; I just use a heavy stew pot with thick sides. I start the dough at 9pm if I want it for dinner the next day.

2. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

3. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and flop dough onto it. Fold it over on itself once or twice. Put some flour on your hands if the dough sticks to them. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

4. Divide the bag of cheese into 1/4s, and divide the jar of peppers into 4 portions, too, taking care to remove any stems or woody bits.

5. Remove plastic and press the dough flat. Sprinkle it with a portion of peppers and cheese. Fold in half, press flat, sprinkle again. I usually use only 3 of the 4 portions of cheese/peppers. Mash it into a ball, pressing firmly to seal the seam.

6. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

7. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Drop dough into pot, taking care not to burn your fingers. It may look like a mess, but that is okay. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes.

8. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 or longer, until loaf is beautifully browned. This may take as long as 60 minutes total bake time, but mine is usually done by 45 min total.

9. Cool on a rack. Listen to it crackle as it cools.