Recipe: Baked Mac & Cheese

Whoa, it's been a while since a recipe has appeared here (or anything else). I'll chalk that up to "career development," meaning that I've been crazy-busy at work (fuckers!).

Anyway, this is a good one. Usually, I followed a recipe from the book and was pleased, but not overly pleased with the results. The recipe below is better than the ones I've tried before, and it's all because of a common secret ingredient: BACON! Using bacon in your dishes is totally badass!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb Elbow Noodles
• 1 lb Sharp Cheddar Cheese, grated
• 1 Onion, diced
• 3 Cups Milk
• 1/3 Cup Flour
• 5 Tbs Butter
• Cayenne Pepper
• Salt & Black Pepper
• 8 oz Bacon, cut into 1/2” pieces
• 1/3 Cup Bread Crumbs

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cook the noodles in boiling water until done. Try to time the noodle cooking to coincide with the cheese sauce cooking. That’s the kind of skill that will separate you from ordinary cooks: the ability to have everything done at once – and the ability to cook things that taste good.
2. In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook the bacon until “almost crispy.” You don’t want to overcook the bacon. Evacuate the bacon to a paper towel lined plate or bowl and save for later.
3. Dump all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease from the pan, and add onions. Cook in bacon fat until tender stirring occasionally - don't let the onion get too brown (about 8 minutes).
4. Add 3 Tbs butter to the onions and cook together until the butter has melted. Add flour. Cook the flour for ~3 minutes. This will create a roux which will thicken the sauce. Add milk and stir until the milk is hot and the mixture has thickened (about 5 minutes). Stir cheese into milk mixture until melted (about 30 seconds).
5. Taste cheese sauce – add 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, and 1/2 tsp black pepper. Taste again – adjust as necessary.
6. Drain the noodles and return to the noodle cooking pot (I do this because I cook my noodles in my largest pot). Dump-on the cheese sauce and mix. Add the bacon and mix some more.
7. Melt 2 Tbs butter in a bowl in the microwave (like 30 seconds on high). Add bread crumbs to the melted butter and mix-together with a fork. You’re looking for a “damp sand” texture – this will be the topping. Add more bread crumbs if necessary.
8. Pour the mixture into a greased 9x13” baking dish. Sprinkle-on the breadcrumb mixture and bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes.
9. Eat.

FAQs

• Greased baking dish - WTF? >> For this you can use cooking spray, or be like me and use butter. Just take a little hunk of butter and smear it all over the place with your fingers. It’s messy and fun. Extra bonus: butter tastes good!
• Bacon. Is this a “heart friendly” meal? >> Who gives a shit? This is a “good tasting” meal and we’ll leave it at that. A big problem with most baked macaroni & cheese dishes is that the flavor gets muted. There’s no chance of that happening with bacon in the mix.