Foodie Friday - Mac and Cheese

FOODIE FRIDAY!

Mac and Cheese

by Resident Chef James Wood

Happy Friday Everyone,

This week I will be making my version of mac and cheese. If you are on a diet, you might want to pass this one up…. even using it as a side dish might be deadly!

Anyways lets get to it, this is a pretty simple recipe and is really not that hard to make.

First off, here is your list of ingredients…

1 pound of Rigatoni
1 pound of Bacon (diced, cooked and reserve the fat)
2 cups of Whole Milk
4 ounces butter
8 ounces Sour Cream
4 ounces Cream Cheese
1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella
1/2 cup of Mexican Cheese Blend
1 Yellow Onion (diced)
5 clove Garlic (chopped)
1 bunch Parsley (chopped)
Juice of one Lemon
1/4 cup AP flour
1 cup of panko bread crumbs

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees

1)Cook off Pasta, Strain and Return to pot

2) Cut bacon into strips (I just take the whole pound, lay it down and cut it)

3)Place bacon into a medium sauce pot with 1/4 cup of water
and turn on medium low heat, stirring occasionally to render the bacon

4) While your bacon is cooking, prepare the rest of your ingredients…. Onions, Garlic, Parsley, etc…

5) When your bacon is done cooking scoop out and place on a paper plate to absorb excess fat.

6)Melt Butter in the bacon fat

7)Add onions and the garlic and cook until translucent

8) Add flour and stir constantly for 4-5 minutes making sure not to let flour burn to bottom of the pot

9)Add milk, cream cheese and sour cream and stir in until smooth

10) Using a stick blender if you have one, blend until smooth or transfer to blender and blend until smooth.

11) Add the rest of your cheeses, 1/2 the parsley, bacon and the smooth sauce to the pot and then stir until incorporated.

12) Put mixture into greased ramekins and top with panko and parsley then spray top with pan spray

13) Last, Bake in the oven for 20 minutes and serve

I served mine with a grilled pork chop and a salad. Enjoy and have a great weekend.