Friday, September 16, 2011

Day 7: Bacon Macaroni and Cheese

Courtesy of: Emeril Lagasse via Everyday Food Magazine
Serves: 6
Prep and cook time: 45 minutes

Coarse salt
1/2 pound elbow macaroni
3 slices bacon, cut crosswise into ½ inch pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
3 large eggs
1 can evaporated milk (12oz)
¼ tsp cayenne
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/5 cups grated sharp cheddar
½ cup grated monterrey jack
½ cup finely grated parmesan

Preheat oven to 475. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook macaroni six minutes (it will be undercooked). Drain. Meanwhile, heat a small skillet over medium and add bacon. Cook until fat is rendered and bacon is crisp, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. With a slotted spoon, transfer bacon mixture to a medium bowl. Add macaroni and stir to combine.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and evaporated milk. Add ½ teaspoon salt, cayenne, nutmeg, and cheeses; mix well. Add macaroni mixture and stir well to combine. Transfer to an 8- or 9-inch square baking dish or a two quart gratin dish. With a spoon, gently spread mixture to form an even layer. Bake just until sauce is bubbling at edges, about 12 minutes. Let rest 10 mins before serving.

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Macaroni and cheese is HANDS DOWN my favorite food of all time. And I'm not ashamed to admit my very favorite version is good old Kraft from a box. Straight up comfort food. Panera's comes in a close second. Yum. Anyway, this recipe is really good and really easy. Especially if your sweet husband measures out all the ingredients for you ahead of time because you're worried about getting it all done while taking care of your toddler alone (thanks, honey!). I made this with the parmesan chicken in my other post and it was so yummy. A lot of yellow tones for one meal (especially since I only had corn on hand...broccoli would have been my preference), but total comforting goodness. I made one change:

1. Nutmeg. Not a fan. It calls for very little (1/8 tsp) and I still didn't put that much in. I maybe added 1/16 tsp. I really don't like it, and it still tasted awesome without it. So fear not, nutmeg haters.

Excited to have found a good (non-boxed) mac and cheese option. Although it would be kinda tough to mess up bacon, cheese and noodles, dontcha think?

3 comments:

Emily said...

Definitely going to be trying this one. Mmmm!

the deKorne family said...

i was just gonna say-you lost me at nutmeg. we are made for each other.

Matt and Abby said...

That looks fantastic. You certainly can't go wrong with mac and cheese and bacon. So impressed you are making these things with Calvin around!

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