Friday, July 29, 2011

Mac & Cheese

First, a thanks to you all for the birthday wishes passed along yesterday!  I had a great birthday.  Caleb surprised with me a gorgeous bouquet of flowers; I received cards, calls, texts, presents, and love all throughout the day; and Caleb and I had a wonderful evening together.  I love how special I always feel on my birthday!

Second, I need to talk to you about mac & cheese.  It's one of my favorite foods and definitely my ultimate comfort food.  I try different recipes for mac & cheese all of the time, it's basically become a little hobby.  Recently I made two recipes that were SO easy and delicious I had to share.  The recipes are the same except for a different cheese and different topping.  (Sorry for the lack of my own photo, I was in such a hurry to try them I didn't get a good picture.))

via


Fontina Mac & Cheese 
1 lb small or medium pasta shells
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
1 cup heavy cream
8 oz Fontina cheese, grated
salt
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions, just 1 minute shy of al dente. Meanwhile, dice 4 tablespoons of the butter and place in a large mixing bowl. Warm the cream in either a saucepan or in the microwave.  Cover to keep warm.

Once the pasta is cooked, add to the bowl with the butter and toss to coat well. Stir in the warm cream and Fontina until the cheese starts to melt.  Add salt to taste.

Pour into a buttered 2-quart casserole dish.  In a small bowl, melt the remaining 1 Tbsp of butter.  Add the panko and Parmesan.  Toss with a fork to coat evenly with butter.  Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the pasta in the dish.  Bake at 400 degrees until sauce is bubbling and top is turning golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.  Serve immediately.

Muenster Mac & Cheese
1 lb pasta shapes
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
1 cup heavy cream
8 oz Muenster, grated
salt and pepper
1/4 cracker crumbs (I used Ritz)

Cook pasta according to package directions, just 1 minute shy of al dente. Meanwhile, dice 4 tablespoons of the butter and place in a large mixing bowl. Warm the cream in either a saucepan or in the microwave.  Cover to keep warm.

Once the pasta is cooked, add to the bowl with the butter and toss to coat well. Stir in the warm cream and Muenster until the cheese starts to melt.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pour into a buttered 2-quart casserole dish.  In a small bowl, melt the remaining 1 Tbsp of butter.  Mix in the cracker crumbs.  Toss with a fork to coat evenly with butter.  Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the pasta in the dish.  Bake at 400 degrees until sauce is bubbling and top is turning golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.  Serve immediately.

source:  recipes from annies eats  (here and here)

29 comments:

  1. I love mac & cheese! There is nothing better than homemade mac & cheese. Glad you had an awesome birthday!

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  2. while i don't love mac and cheese (you know, my cheese aversion), i do love greasy food, particulary on a day like today where i guess you could say i'm "tired" ;) have a wonderful weekend!

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  3. I love Mac & Cheese and your sound fabulous!! When I make it for my family I do 3 different versions because we all like it different ways!! I am going to have to do a post about it someday.

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  4. So glad you had a good birthday Sherri!
    And Thank you for sharing this recipe! I am making my menu list and needed some ideas!

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  5. Happy to hear you had a great day!! This is like the perfect comfort food meal! Yumm

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  6. hmmmmmm, mac and cheese. so glad you had a great birthday. Thanks for this fab recipe. i plan on making some mac and cheese at my son's 1st birthday in the next couple of weeks!

    xoxo, chrissy
    The Perfect Palette

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  7. My 18 month old loves homemade mac & cheese, which is great because there aren't many things he will eat (and I might love it too :)! Thanks so the recipes can't wait to test them out!

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  8. The Fontina Mac & Cheese recipe sounds so delicious! I love making homemade baked mac and cheese but I've never tried this recipe. I'm so excited to! Thanks for posting :)

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  9. Happy (belated) birthday to you! I haven't discovered my "signature" mac & cheese dish yet, thanks for sharing these I'll have to try! It's one of my favorite dishes to make in the fall and winter.

    Stephanie
    eshebystephanie.blogspot.com

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  10. ooooo i love any type of mac and cheese, especially the type with crunchy bread crumbs :) I'm so glad you had a good birthday!!

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  11. Yay!!! Sounds like you've had a great birthday week :-) Now you need to upgrade your "week" to a month, but don't tell your hubs that I suggested that ;-) These mac and cheese recipes have my stomach growling; they sound scrumptious!

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  12. I love mac and cheese!need to try these asap! first time on your blog, and love it! following you now :)


    Happy Friday!

    XXX,

    Fashion Fractions

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  13. ack!! must have this tonight!! so yum.

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  14. I could seriously live off of mac and cheese.

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  15. That mac and cheese looks amazing, definitely bookmarking this!

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  16. oooh yummmm!! Looks amazing!!

    becca
    http://blondeslogic.blogspot.com

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  17. you're so cute!!!! Can you please just teach me how to cook?!! thanks:)

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  18. I think I'm drooling... hahah yuuum

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  19. Sounds like you had a fantastic birthday! I love mac and cheese too and have made it a hobby to try out all the different versions. It's so fun. :)

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  20. happy b-day girly! sounds like it was a great one~ and these recipes looks insane delish happy weekend~

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  21. Happy belated birthday! I have to agree with you on the mac and cheese, defintaly one of my favorite comfort foods. My hubby can make a mean bowl of baked mac and cheese with japanese bread crumbs (my mouth is watering just thinking about it!) Both your recipes look delish and that pic came out gorgeous.

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  22. Whoa that looks good! Have a great Sunday!

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  23. I have not had mac and cheese in I don`t even know how long. This recipe is fabulous though and I definitely think i`ll be making it once the weather cools down some.

    xo

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  24. Mmmm LOVE mac & cheese! Happy belated birthday!

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  25. Muenster mac and cheese?? Why didn't I think of this. Oh man, it's on my recipe list for next week!

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  26. Mac & cheese is definitely one of my favorite meals (I might still be 6 years old) :-) Hope you had a wonderful birthday!!

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  27. Yum! This is one of my absolute favorite comfort foods :)

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