Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Mac and Cheese

We had several odds and ends of cheese in the fridge (Jarlsberg, chipotle cheddar, mozzarella, white cheddar), so I thought I should use it in some mac and cheese for Saturday's dinner. Although I wanted a baked mac, I just made my usual stovetop mac using Alton Brown's recipe because I was too lazy to make a white sauce (plus we didn't have enough milk).  

Because the chunk of chipotle cheddar was sizable, I wanted to emphasize that Tex-Mex vibe. I sauteed half a chopped onion with one Mexican chorizo and added that to half of the prepared mac and cheese (the other half I tucked away in the fridge for future use).  I also added three scallions, chopped, a handful of chopped cilantro, and topped the dish with some crushed Garden of Eatin' Red Hot Blues spicy blue corn tortilla chips.

After 15 minutes in the oven at 350F, I got this chewy, cheesy, purple mac.

It's not as custardy as baked mac and cheese should be, but it had a texture very similar to my mom's (the gold standard), and she used a roux and fairly al dente macaroni.  Mr Minx and I thought it was delicious, and I might just add this tasty dish to my regular repertoire.

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