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Great Mac & Cheese Idea

KimberlyS

New member
I tried the following recipe a few weeks ago and made 1/2 of the recipe, omitted the bacon, added basic smelly cheddar and grated romano...and most importantly, heated the CI pan before I added the mac & cheese.

http://www.macheesmo.com/2010/07/cast-iron-mac-and-cheese/

The result came out much as the photo from the above site. The recipe makes the humble comfort food a real beautiful presentation piece.

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Cast Iron Mac and Cheese

Yield
Serves 6.

Prep Time
30 minutes

Total Time
1 hour

Ingredients

1 pound elbow macaroni
8 ounces bacon
1/2 medium onion, diced
5 dried arbol peppers, crushed (or 2 Teaspoons red pepper flakes)
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
4 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 Cups whole milk
16 ounces cheese (I used 8 ounces of Monterey Jack and 8 ounces cheddar cheese)
1/4 Cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 Cup bread crumbs (optional)
Salt and Pepper
Maybe a drizzle of olive oil

Helpful Equipment

A Cast Iron Skillet

Directions

1) Cook macaroni according to package instructions and set aside.

2) Cut up bacon into 1/4 inch cubes and cook in cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until very crispy and browned. If bacon appears dry, drizzle with a bit of olive oil.

3) Remove bacon from pan and add onions and crushed peppers or red pepper flakes. Cook until onions are soft, about 5 minutes, stirring continuously. Remove onion mixture and combine with bacon.

Do not wash the skillet, but set it aside for later.

4) In a medium saucepan, melt butter and whisk in flour over medium heat. Cook until the roux is a light brown mixture, about 5 minutes. Continue to whisk and slowly pour in milk. Once all the milk is incorporated, whisk until smooth and turn the heat down to low.

5) Whisk in shredded cheeses and a pinch of salt and pepper to taste.

6) Combine cheese sauce with elbow macaroni and stir in bacon mixture. Pour the macaroni and cheese back into the cast iron skillet and top with grated Parmesan and/or bread crumbs.

7) Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes until cheese is browned.

8) Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

This delicious recipe brought to you by Macheesmo
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Just tried this and it was great. The only recommendation is to us a #9 skillet. I used a #8 and had to take some out before cooking. It is even better the next day as leftovers. The bacon and onions added greatly to the Mac & Cheese.:icon_thumbsup::icon_thumbsup:
 
I have yet to make homemade Mac and cheese, but that recipe dose look like a good place to start. Hey what doesn't taste better with bacon.
 
You guys!!! Love mac and cheese--may have to try this one! And have had the problem with #8 skillet just not being quite big enough for recipes that call for using one--#9 seems to do well.
 
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