For Christmas dinner, the hubby wanted to do a "fancy" version of macaroni and cheese. So fancy we went! (Although after seeing the price tags on some of these cheeses...yikes!) We adapted this recipe to our taste.
Makes: A 9" x 13" pan of macaroni and cheese
Ingredients
16 oz package penne pasta
1/3 pound bacon
1 medium onion
6 tbsp unsalted butter
6 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 1/2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups grated fontina
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
3/4 cup grated Gruyere
3/4 cup grated Cheddar
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
Directions
PREHEAT oven to 450F
BUTTER 9" X 13" baking dish
BRING to a BOIL a medium pot of water
ADD pasta
COOK until al dente (soft enough to chew, but not mushy)
DRAIN pasta
While the pasta is boiling away....
DICE onion
SAUTE bacon in a large pot or skillet with high sides
REMOVE bacon
DICE cooked bacon
SAUTE onion in bacon grease until translucent
ADD 5 tbsp butter to the onions and grease
MEASURE out milk and cream
MICROWAVE milk and cream briefly to warm
ADD flour
WHISK constantly and briskly until well mixed with fat
WHISK in mustard
SLOWLY add milk and cream
WHISK constantly and briskly
ADD thyme and salt
BRING to a SIMMER
LET SIMMER for 15 minutes
(Now is a good time to grate your cheese if you haven't already)
STRAIN the sauce into a large bowl to remove all solids
MIX in all of the blue cheese, 1/2 cup each of Gruyère, cheddar and Parmesan, and 1 cup of fontina until melted
STIR in bacon
ADD noodles to cheese sauce
STIR to coat
TRANSFER to prepared baking dish
TOP with remaining cheese
BAKE for 15-20 minutes until bubbly and golden brown
Enjoy!
My Thoughts
1. This meal got pricey in a hurry--I about fainted at $30 worth of cheese. BUT, it was very rich and satisfying and a 9" X 13" pan is quite a bit of food so we got many meals out of it. The problem is that the cost doesn't scale down since you have to buy a block of cheese of a minimum size.
2. The sauce was thick and creamy and everything I love about really good macaroni and cheese in restaurants. The bacon was a nice touch and I probably would have been perfectly happy leaving the onions in.
3. This would be fantastic with vegetables in it. Yum!
Some broccoli and perhaps peas might work as a good addition. I might have used green onions and left them in. It seems like a very intensive recipe! But it looks delish.
ReplyDeleteIt is intensive--but it is also Really Freaking Good. So it evens out. This would be amazing with broccoli or peas. : )
ReplyDelete