Deconstructed mac’n’cheese & grilled cheese

The mac’n’cheese was deconstructed because I didn’t have enough clean pans to make normal mac’n’cheese.  I cooked the radiatorre pasta in my only clean pot.  When it was finished I transferred it to a bowl, then added some shredded sharp cheddar (I knew from past experience to use less than for regular mac’n’cheese), diced sun-dried tomatoes, bacon bits and some of the olive oil from the tomatoes.  The grilled cheese was made with some of the same cheese.

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Consolation Mac’n’Cheese

OK, so home-made mac’n’cheese is never a “consolation” but it was not what I originally planned. Unfortunately, I was out of the NY-style sharp cheddar I normally use, I had to use some other sharp cheddar. Sides were peas and a Gala apple.

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Lamb Chops & Bacon Mac’n’Cheese

Dinner tonight was broiled garlic-rosemary lamb chops with bacon, sharp cheddar & Parmigiano-Reggiano mac’n’cheese.

Several weeks back I picked up a family pack of lamb chops on sale. Last night I pulled the last set out of the freezer. I wanted to do the garlic-rosemary combination that I did on my first lamb chops. To my chagrin, I was out of fresh garlic. I ground together some dried garlic and rosemary in my mortar and pestle, but needed some liquid, so I added a little bit of fish sauce. I rubbed this combination on the lamb chops and set them aside while I made the mac’n’cheese.

I took the last of a package of bacon (~ 1/4lb), diced it and threw it in my 12″ cast iron skillet. I cooked it till it was nice and brown, then removed the bacon to a plate. I transferred the grease to a small sauce pan and added some flour to make the roux for my mac’n’cheese. The cheese was a blend of sharp cheddar and Parmigiano-Reggiano that I grated earlier this week. I assembled the mac’n’cheese and spread the bacon on top.

I broiled the lamb chops for 3-4 minutes per side and then rested them while I broiled the mac’n’cheese.

The lamb chops were really good. The mac’n’cheese was good but not as good as my normal recipe. I did not care for the cheese combination and there was too much bacon (who knew that was even possible). With dinner, I had a nice Russian River Valley pinot noir.

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Mac’n’Cheese Against the Clock

Macaroni-and-Cheese is my go-to dinner when I don’t really feel like making anything. I can make it on autopilot, but I was wondering recently exactly how long it takes. So I decided to time my making of a single serving of my mac’n’cheese.

00:00 Put covered pan of water on the stove. Start butter melting in separate pan for the roux. Measure pasta, milk and cheese.

05:00 Add pasta to boiling water. Grate and season cheese.

08:00 Add flour to melted butter to make the roux.

10:00 Add milk to the roux for the béchamel.

15:00 Preheat the broiler. Turn off the heat on the béchamel and mix in the cheese.

17:00 Drain pasta and dump into Pyrex dish. Pour cheese sauce over pasta, and garnish with Chevre, bacon bits and black walnut pieces.

19:00 Throw under broiler

20:30 Bon Appétit

I didn’t rush this to see absolutely how fast I could do it, I just did it at normal speed.

There you have it, mac’n’cheese, from scratch, in 20.5 minutes.

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Macaroni and Cheese

One of my current cooking quests, is for the perfect mac’n’cheese.  Here’s my current working theory.

Macaroni and Cheese

• 1 serving pasta
• 1T butter
• 1T AP flour
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup cheese, grated
• Panko breadcrumbs
• Bacon bits
• Salt & pepper

Prepare the pasta per the package directions.  Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat.  Once it is melted, and nice and frothy, add the flour.  Heat for a couple minutes, stirring constantly, until it is fully combined and the raw flour taste is gone.  Add the milk and cook until it thickens, stirring occasionally.  Reduce the heat to low, add the cheese and stir until fully incorporated.  Add salt and pepper to taste, keeping in mind that some cheeses have more salt than others.  Put the cooked pasta in a greased 2 cup glass bowl and pour the cheese on top.  Sprinkle bacon bits over the cheese, and then a good coating of bread crumbs.  Broil until the crumbs are browned, I can tell by smell when it’s done.

I use mostly sharp cheddar cheese.  Last time I used 1/4 Pecorino-Romano, which turned out wonderful.  I’ve also had good luck putting minced shallots and crumbled soft goat cheese (chevre) on top.  For pasta, I prefer spinach ravioli.

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