Tempted yet again by a recipe from the Today Show, this time a couple of variations on traditional macaroni and cheese. This Smoky Bacon Mac & Cheese was similar to the Craftsy pressure cooker one I shared in THIS POST in that it swaps out standard Cheddar cheese for fancier fare. Molly Yeh uses smoked Gouda, pepper jack, and parmesan for a pasta casserole with a bit of a kick. By adding in some applewood smoked bacon and cayenne, I thought this mac and cheese was a flavour powerhouse.
I waited until son was home for a visit because I knew I wouldn't be able to resist second helpings of the rich, cheesy, gooey concoction so sharing was the best defense. I usually use the skim milk I have in the fridge but for this recipe I went out and bought whole milk. I figured with bacon and all that cheese in there anyway, might as well go the full monty and use the homogenized milk called for.
The Smoky Bacon Mac & Cheese was spicy and very rich. I loved using the medium shell pasta rather than typical macaroni noodles and the dish felt like a sophisticated, grown-up way to serve mac and cheese. The topping was good although I prefer mixing breadcrumbs with melted butter for even more flavour but it wasn't really missed with this version; there is already a lot going on for the tastebuds. Most of the time I will still make my 'regular' macaroni and cheese but when I feel like shaking things up I will turn to this new recipe. You can find it from the Today Show HERE. Molly also kindly shares her recipe for Gruyere Mac & Cheese with Caramelized Onions so I guess I will be trying that one next!
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