I've never been a fan of mac and cheese. *gasp* - I know, it's a sin in some people's books. I'm convinced it's one of those foods you like because you grew up with it. I did not grow up with that or really any dish laden with cheese. Keep in mind I come from a family whose dad is a very health-conscious vegetarian and mom is a picky eater who is lactose intolerant. So basically Kraft macaroni and cheese never made it to the dinner menu. Even throughout childhood when I would visit people's houses and faced with the opportunity to try out mac and cheese, I had already determined it was a disgusting concept and deemed it as one of my least favorite foods. I do realize in my wise old age that I can't decide I HATE foods without ever trying them. I finally broke down and tried mac and cheese at my husband's parents house a few years ago. I must admit I really didn't want to try it but I figured it would be rude to refuse to eat my dinner based on artificial determination I hate all mac and cheese. Man, it was SO good. So now I'm a pretty big fan of HOMEMADE mac and cheese.
We decided to make dinner with a spicy theme - so we whipped up spicy mac and cheese, spicy cornbread and wasabi green beans. The mac and cheese was a slightly altered version of Mamma's Mac and Cheese from foodtv.com. Here's the altered recipe below:
Mamma's Mac and Cheese
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
1 pound elbow macaroni
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 cups plus 1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar
*** add 2 - 3 finely chopped chipotles in adobo sauce
Cook the macaroni in boiling water for about 10 minutes until tender but still firm. Drain well and set aside. In a deep skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour to make a roux and cook, stirring, to remove any lumps. Pour in the milk and cook until the mixture is thick and smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in 2 cups Cheddar and continue to cook until melted. ***Add the chopped chipotles and stir*** Add the cooked macaroni and stir. Transfer the mixture to a 2-quart casserole dish. Bake in a preheated 350-degree F oven for 20 minutes. Remove the casserole from oven, top with remaining 1/2-cup cheese. Bake for an additional 5 minutes until hot and bubbly.
The cornbread was made from a bagged cornbread mix but I added chopped chipotles in adobo to taste and a can of corn. Add cilantro if you have it on hand.
For the green beans, I decided to mix a tablespoon or so of sesame oil with one of those small wasabi packets you get when you buy grocery store sushi and use a pastry brush to baste the steamed green beans. I'd definitely make this recipe again and maybe add some sesame seeds to the top next time.
For the record, to this day, I think I still have not eaten mac and cheese from the box...and after eating this recipe, I probably never will :)
4 comments:
Sounds YUMMY! We'll have try that one:)
-Rachel
PS: S will gladly take you up on your offer, just send him an invite.
Yum! That sounds goooood.
I used to HATE mac n cheese growing up as well! Probably because I'd only tried the yucky Kraft stuff out of the box. Once I tried "real" mac n cheese, I loved it!
I guess I just never understood why someone would choose powdered cheese over the real thing. Although, I also had issues because I really never ate cheese growing up. I think I had my first pizza in late middle school or maybe high school. Almost everyone knows that I LOVE cheese now, so I'm really making up for lost time! You should make it sometime...it's great for leftovers for at least a few lunches.
I'm not embarrassed to admit that I like Kraft mac-n-cheese, and E-the-Elder LOVES velveeta mac-n-cheese!:) E-the-Elder will NOT eat mac-n-cheese unless it's psychedlic orange, but we'll have to try this one anyway.
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