Bacon Mac and Cheese

This recipe is very similar to the Macaroni and Cheese Pizza.  It is very simple to make because the sauce doesn't need to be mixed in a saucepan before it is baked.

You will need:
1/2 cup Creme Faiche
2 cups Cheddar Cheese, divided
3/4 cup Mozzarella
2 cups Tubular Pasta
5 slices of bacon (or turkey bacon)

Step 1:
Chop the bacon and cook in a skillet until crispy.  Then place on paper towels to absorb the grease and set aside.

Step 2:
Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrres

Step 3:
While the pasta is cooking, combine the creme faiche, 1 cup cheddar, and mozzarella in a large bowl.

Step 4:
Drain the pasta, and fold into the cheese mixture.

Step 5:
Pour the pasta into a greased baking dish.  Top with the bacon and 1 cup cheddar cheese.

Step 6:
Bake for 20 minutes.  Then turn the broiler on and cook until browned on top.

BBQ Macaroni and Cheese

This weeks Mac and Cheese is inspired by Dinosaur Bar-b-Que in Manhattan.  Their mac and cheese is rich, creamy, and full of flavor.  It is topped with a thick crisp layer of cheddar cheese with barbeque spice.  It is some of the best mac and cheese I have ever tasted.

Determined to recreate Dinosaur's mac, I did some online research to try and determine the ingredients.  I was not surprised to learn that theirs includes 4 different cheeses - totaling to 2 1/2 pounds of cheese.  The reason why it is so creamy?  They use half and half instead of milk.

So the challenge was to create an equally tasty, but lower fat version of the Dinosaur Mac and Cheese.  I have made changes to the recipe, using Whole Milk instead of half and half, and a blend of cheddar and pecorino instead of 4 cheeses.  Another difference is that Dinosaur uses a blender to mix onion and green pepper into the cheese sauce.  I do not own a blender and decided to grate the onion and pepper instead.

Total time: 30 minutes
Serves: 8

You will need:
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1/3 cup Onion, grated
1/4 cup Green Pepper, grated
1 clove pressed Garlic
3 cups whole milk
1/4 flour
2 cups reduced fat shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 cup shredded Sharp Cheddar
1/2 cup Pecorino Romano Cheese, grated
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
1 teaspoon White Vinegar
1 teaspoon hot sauce
2 teaspoons BBQ Spice, divided
1 pound tubular Pasta
 
Step 1:
Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box.  Cook al dente.  Drain.

Step 2:
While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large pot.  Add the onion and pepper and saute for 3 minutes.  Then add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Stir in the flour, and then whisk in the milk.  Bring to a boil then let simmer for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens.

Step 3:
Add 2 cups reduced fat cheddar and the Pecorino Romano to the milk mixture.  Stir until completely melted and then add in the salt, pepper, mustard, vinegar, hot sauce, and 1 teaspoon BBQ Spice.

Step 4:
Pour the drained pasta into the pot with the sauce.  Stir together.  Then pour into a greased casserole dish.  Top with 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar and 1 teaspoon BBQ Spice.

Step 5:
Place under the broiler until the top has browned.  This will only take a couple minutes, watch it carefully.  Serve immediately.

Christmas Eve Crunchy Mac & Cheese

You will need:
1 pound of tubular pasta
5 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon powered (dry) mustard
3 cups milk
1 finely chopped yellow onion
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 large egg
1 pound sharp shedded cheddar
1 cup mascarpone
3 dashes of tabasco (or to taste)

For the topping:
6 tablespoons butter
2 cups panko

Step 1:
Boil the pasta, cooking according to the directions on the box.  Cook al dente because it will cook more when you bake it.

Step 2:
While the pasta is cooking, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large pot.  Saute the onion until soft.  Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter, the flour and mustard.  Whisk together and cook down for 3 minutes.

Step 3:
Stir in the milk, bay leaf and paprika.  Simmer for 10 minutes and then remove the bay leaf.  Temper in the egg.  (Do this by adding a small amount of the hot liquid into a bowl with a stirred egg.  Then add the egg to the milk mixture.  If you do not temper the egg it will scramble.)  Then stir in 3/4 of the cheddar cheese, the mascarpone and the tabasco.  Season with salt and pepper.

Step 4:
Fold the pasta into the cheese sauce.  Mix together and then pour into a greased 2 quart casserole.  Top with the remaining cheese.  Then melt the remaining 6 tablespoons butter and mix in the panko.  Then spread the buttered panko over the top of the macaroni and cheese.

Step 5:
Bake for 30-40 minutes.

Macaroni and Cheese Pizza

Some things sound crazy until you try it.  For example, putting Macaroni and Cheese on a Pizza sounds nuts, until you taste it and realize it takes like delicious baked Macaroni and Cheese.  Ian's Pizza in Chicago has perfected, and I think invented, this delicious treat.  The problem is that I live outside the delivery zone, and I am not in that area very often.  The obvious solution is to learn how to make Macaroni and Cheese Pizza!

My friends requested that I try to recreate the pizza to the best of my ability, which means that this is one of the not-so-healthy recipes on the blog.  Sorry!  It is worth the calories, I promise.

You will need:
1 Fresh Ball of Pizza Dough (from Whole Foods or Trader Joe's)
1/2 cup Creme Faiche
3/4 cup Cheddar Cheese
3/4 cup Mozzarella
1 cup Tubular Pasta
Salt and Pepper
Optional: Crispy Turkey Bacon

Step 1:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Then cook the pasta according to the directions on the box.  Drain.

Step 2:
Spray a cooking sheet with non-stick spray, sprinkle with flour and then rollout/stretch out the dough. 

Step 3:
Spread a thin layer of Creme Faiche over the dough.  Then add the pasta, and top with the mozzarella and cheddar cheese.

Step 4:
Bake for 20 minutes.  Broil for 2 minutes to brown and remove from oven.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and enjoy!

Low Fat Baked Macaroni and Cheese

It took a couple tries to come up with this recipe.  I did try using only low fat cheeses, but felt that the result lacked flavor.  I settled on combining low fat cheese with normal cheddar.  I do think that using a high quality cheddar does make a difference.  Personally I like Black Diamond Cheddar and Tillamook Cheddar.

This recipe has 9.4 grams of fat per serving, with the optional crumb topping.  Without the crumb topping this recipe has 7.2 grams of fat per serving.

Classic Macaroni and Cheese
Serves 8
1 pound tubular pasta
3 cups 2% milk
1/2 cup flour
1 cup low fat cheese (I used a low fat blend of cheddar, mozzarella, and monterey jack)
3 ounces sharp cheddar (I used black diamond)
1 tablespoon salt

Optional Topping
20 reduced fat Ritz crackers - crushed into crumbs
1/2 cup low fat cheese (I used a low fat blend of cheddar, mozzarella, and monterey jack)

Step 1:
Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Once it reaches a boil add 1 pound of pasta and cook according to the directions on the box.

Step 2:
In a large pot over medium heat whisk together the milk and flour.  Bring to a boil.  Allow the mixture to boil, stirring constantly for 1 minute.

Step 3:
Add the cheese and salt and stir until they are completely incorporated.

Step 4:
Drain the pasta and add it into the cheese sauce.  Stir.  You can either enjoy this as is, or continue to Step 5 and bake the Macaroni and Cheese.

Optional Step 5:
Pour the Macaroni and Cheese into a casserole dish (that has been sprayed with non-stick spray).  Then mix together the cracker crumbs and the 1/2 cup of cheese.  Spread on top of the Macaroni and Cheese.  Put in the oven at 400 degrees.  Bake for about 15 minutes until the topping browns.