As you know, mac and cheese is one of my favorite foods. But it isn't something that can made and eaten everyday thanks to the butter, milk, and cheese usually required. And sometimes bacon.
I own exactly one "light" cookbook. It's from those good folks at America's Test Kitchen, so you know they are going to try to make the best possible light recipes they can possibly make and still call them light. Nothing will be tasteless or lacking. I've made a couple things from this cookbook, but for some reason, I hadn't tried the mac and cheese yet. Two nights ago, I did.
Everyday Macaroni and Cheese
from The Best Light Recipe
by America's Test Kitchen
Serves 5
salt
1/2 pound elbow macaroni
1 (12-oz) can reduced-fat (2%) evaporated milk
3/4 cup 2% milk
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/8 tsp garlic powder or celery salt (optional)
Pinch cayenne
2 tsp cornstarch
8 ounces 50% light cheddar cheese, grated (they like Cabot)
1. Bring 2 1/2 quarts water to a boil in a large saucepan. Stir in 2 teaspoons salt and the macaroni; cook until the pasta is completely cooked and tender, about 5 minutes. Drain the pasta and leave in the colander; set aside.
2. Add the evaporated milk, 1/2 cup of the 2% milk, mustard, garlic powder, cayenne, and 1/2 tsp salt to the now-empty saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Whisk the cornstarch and remaining 1/4 cup milk together, then whisk it into the simmering mixture. Continue to simmer, whisking constantly, until the sauce has thickened and is smooth, about 2 minutes.
3. Off the heat, gradually whisk in the cheddar until melted and smooth. Stir in the macaroni, and let the macaroni and cheese sit off the heat until the sauce has thickened slightly, 2 to 5 minutes before serving.
Notice anything about this recipe? No butter. The write up in the cookbook about their development of this recipe goes into detail about eliminating the traditional roux used to make the bechamel for the mac and cheese. They figured out that if they made a cornstarch slurry and instead of a butter based roux, that it worked just fine.
I was also wary of using the evaporated milk and reduced fat cheese. But I have great faith in ATK. The grocery store here had the Cabot 50% reduced fat cheddar, so I used that. Actually, according to ATK, they think that most of the time, using a 50% reduced fat cheese is okay. Just check the package to see if the fat content is about half of the regular product. I used this method to compare the reduced fat cheeses at the store. While hardly any are labeled as 50% less fat, most are in the right ball park. I was also surprised to see how the fat content varied between identically labeled reduced fat cheeses. As I grated the cheese, I tasted some straight up. It's really not too bad.
So how does this recipe really stack up according to the numbers? I'm glad you asked. The folks at ATK have a handy "makeover at a glance" box included for this recipe that pits the numbers of the traditional version against this light one. They based their original recipe on their own from Cook's Illustrated. (Incidentally, I've made another one of their mac & cheese recipes.)
Per serving
Classic: 650 calories
Light: 360 calories
Cholesterol
Classic: 200 mg
Light: 40 mg
Fat
Classic: 40 g
Calories 10 g
Saturated Fat
Classic: 27 g
Light: 6 g
The end result is a very yummy, creamy, cheesy, and flavorful mac and cheese. The sauce is saucy, similar in consistency to a fake cheese like Velveeta - but tastes so much better. It also tastes way better than Kraft mac & cheese, but really, only takes a teensy bit more effort and time to make than the Kraft version. It's worth that little extra effort.
This mac and cheese isn't baked. I would like to have the crunch of bread crumbs on top of this, so maybe next time I'll put a smidge more milk in and then top with bread crumbs and pop it in the oven for a few minutes to get that crunchy top. All in all, very good and very easy to make. One pot, no knife. Excellent.
Showing posts with label Mac and cheese. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mac and cheese. Show all posts
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Mac n' cheese, take two
A while back, I made a decadent macaroni and cheese recipe. It turned out really yummy, but I'm always looking out for new versions to try. I want a mac n' cheese that has cheese flavor, richness, and a creamy sauce.
Last night, I tried a new recipe. This one is included in the Cook's Country Best Grilling Recipes cookbook. Steve won a free copy of this book for guessing how much money is in America's Test Kitchen's annual recipe testing budget. Christopher Kimball himself wrote Steve to say he won and sent the signed note with the prize. He got second place and only missed first place by a couple thousand dollars. (The first place prize was free lifetime subscription to Cook's Illustrated.)
The cookbook is pretty good. It has color photographs of almost every recipe, and in addition to grilling techniques, tips, tools, and meats, it has a good amount of side dish recipes.
I changed the recipe just a little bit - I added bacon. Yeah, I didn't really need to but I had four lonely little slices in the fridge just begging to be used. This dish certainly didn't need the bacon, but it did add another flavor.
This recipe also differed from others I've tried as there was no cream. Butter yes, four kinds of cheese yes, but no cream. It did however call for three cans of evaporated milk. I used the 2% variety and I don't think it harmed the overall richness and creaminess at all. Actually, I wonder if it would be so rich it would be almost inedible if full fat evaporated milk was used . . .
The sauce turned out thick and coated everything. The cheeses blended and melted in a gooey yummy mess. And I could actually taste the cheese. Sometimes, I think mac & cheese recipes sacrifice cheesy flavor for creaminess. This recipe was creamy and cheesy. So good. Next time I'll also try using at least one low fat cheese to combat the fat in the other cheeses. In any form, mac and cheese is a once-in-a-while dish, not a weekly or even monthly dish.
I just had some leftovers for lunch - Steve and I will probably be eating this for lunch until Sunday - and even reheated it was just as good as it was last night.
Here's the recipe. This makes enough to feed 8-10 people, or lunch for two for a week.
Potluck Macaroni and Cheese
From Cook's Country Best Grilling Recipes
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
3-4 slices white sandwich bread, torn into large pieces
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt
1 pound elbow macaroni
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 (12-ounce) cans evaporated milk
2 teaspoons hot sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1 1/4 cups shredded American cheese (buy a 5 oz. block from the deli counter)
3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
4-5 slices of bacon (my addition)
1. Adjust an over rack to the middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter. Pulse the bread, melted butter, and Parmesan in a food processor to coarse crumbs, about 6 pulses. Transfer to a bowl. (or just leave it in the processor like I did so I didn't have to dirty another bowl.)
2. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and the macaroni and cook until almost tender. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. Drain the pasta and rinse with cold water until cool, then drain well.
3. If using bacon - in the same large pot used to cook the pasta, cook the bacon. Remove bacon when crispy to paper towels to cool. Crumble when cool.
4. Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons (or 2-3 if you used the rendered bacon fat) butter in the pot. Add the flour and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until light brown, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the evaporated milk, hot sauce, mustard, nutmeg, and 2 teaspoons salt and cook until slightly thickened, about 4 minutes.
5. Off the heat, whisk in the reserved pasta cooking water and cheeses (and bacon if using) until melted. Stir in the macaroni and transfer to a 13x9-inch baking dish. Top evenly with the bread-crumb mixture and bake until the cheese is bubbling around the edges and the top is golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Let sit for 5-10 minutes and serve.
Last night, I tried a new recipe. This one is included in the Cook's Country Best Grilling Recipes cookbook. Steve won a free copy of this book for guessing how much money is in America's Test Kitchen's annual recipe testing budget. Christopher Kimball himself wrote Steve to say he won and sent the signed note with the prize. He got second place and only missed first place by a couple thousand dollars. (The first place prize was free lifetime subscription to Cook's Illustrated.)
The cookbook is pretty good. It has color photographs of almost every recipe, and in addition to grilling techniques, tips, tools, and meats, it has a good amount of side dish recipes.
I changed the recipe just a little bit - I added bacon. Yeah, I didn't really need to but I had four lonely little slices in the fridge just begging to be used. This dish certainly didn't need the bacon, but it did add another flavor.
This recipe also differed from others I've tried as there was no cream. Butter yes, four kinds of cheese yes, but no cream. It did however call for three cans of evaporated milk. I used the 2% variety and I don't think it harmed the overall richness and creaminess at all. Actually, I wonder if it would be so rich it would be almost inedible if full fat evaporated milk was used . . .
The sauce turned out thick and coated everything. The cheeses blended and melted in a gooey yummy mess. And I could actually taste the cheese. Sometimes, I think mac & cheese recipes sacrifice cheesy flavor for creaminess. This recipe was creamy and cheesy. So good. Next time I'll also try using at least one low fat cheese to combat the fat in the other cheeses. In any form, mac and cheese is a once-in-a-while dish, not a weekly or even monthly dish.
I just had some leftovers for lunch - Steve and I will probably be eating this for lunch until Sunday - and even reheated it was just as good as it was last night.
Here's the recipe. This makes enough to feed 8-10 people, or lunch for two for a week.
Potluck Macaroni and Cheese
From Cook's Country Best Grilling Recipes
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
3-4 slices white sandwich bread, torn into large pieces
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt
1 pound elbow macaroni
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 (12-ounce) cans evaporated milk
2 teaspoons hot sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1 1/4 cups shredded American cheese (buy a 5 oz. block from the deli counter)
3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
4-5 slices of bacon (my addition)
1. Adjust an over rack to the middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter. Pulse the bread, melted butter, and Parmesan in a food processor to coarse crumbs, about 6 pulses. Transfer to a bowl. (or just leave it in the processor like I did so I didn't have to dirty another bowl.)
2. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and the macaroni and cook until almost tender. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. Drain the pasta and rinse with cold water until cool, then drain well.
3. If using bacon - in the same large pot used to cook the pasta, cook the bacon. Remove bacon when crispy to paper towels to cool. Crumble when cool.
4. Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons (or 2-3 if you used the rendered bacon fat) butter in the pot. Add the flour and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until light brown, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the evaporated milk, hot sauce, mustard, nutmeg, and 2 teaspoons salt and cook until slightly thickened, about 4 minutes.
5. Off the heat, whisk in the reserved pasta cooking water and cheeses (and bacon if using) until melted. Stir in the macaroni and transfer to a 13x9-inch baking dish. Top evenly with the bread-crumb mixture and bake until the cheese is bubbling around the edges and the top is golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Let sit for 5-10 minutes and serve.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Mac & Cheese: All the cheesy details
I previously posted on Facebook and here about a four cheese mac & cheese by Pithy & Cleaver. Well, last night I made this delectable and sinful comfort food. It took a while to prep my mise en place - I won't be winning any timed Top Chef-style challenges, that's for sure - but once everything was set in little prep bowls, the cooking didn't take too long and went smoothly.
The P&C recipe was easy enough to follow, but I found it needed some proofreading (a couple ingredients weren't mentioned in the step-by-step instructions) and additional cooking details. Overall, it was a complete, straightforward recipe which ended in a delicious result. I neglected to take a photo of my result, but let me describe it - dense, noodle-y, saucy, cheesy, crumbly crisp topping, and steamin' hot. I also have *a lot* of leftovers since it makes enough to feed about eight. Or two college football players.
During the cooking process, I began to get a little worried that everything would fit in my skillet. The recipe says to use a "large skillet." I was using my 12-inch All-Clad, which is the largest one I have. Everything is done in the skillet. It's really a one-skillet recipe if you don't count the boiling of the pasta in another pot. The final step in the cooking process is to add the cooked pasta to the cheese sauce in the skillet. Um, my cheese sauce was already flirting with the edge of the pan, and I didn't think it could hold a pound of cooked celentani. The suspense was killing me! I took the dare laid down by P&C, and poured the pasta in. All the pasta fit! Ta da! It was like a little magic pan, that All-Clad. I very carefully folded the pasta with the cheese until everything was coated.
I did need Steve's help when it came to pouring the luscious, gooey mix into the baking pan as I needed two hands covered in hot pads to lift the skillet. Steve scraped the innards out into the dish while I tipped them in. [Side note: I had an afterthought once the mac & cheese was baking - did I need to put it in the baking dish at all? My skillet can go directly in the oven. Anyone know if baking mac & cheese in an All-Clad skillet changes baking time, sticking-to-the-pan factor, etc? If it doesn't need to go in the baking dish, then this is one step closer to being a one skillet dish. Of course, the leftovers would still need to be transferred to something, and my leftovers are still in the baking dish, for which I have a snap on lid.]
After 20 minutes in the oven, the topping was golden brown and the sauce was bubbling. I dished it up right away and we dug in. Yum, yum, yum. This is not an every day or every week mac & cheese. It's far to full of fat and cholesterol to make often.
Good thing this mac & cheese was good since we now get to eat it all weekend. Except for Saturday night when Steve and I are dining with other members of TNTE club at Buttermilk Channel. Looking forward to some chicken and waffles!
The P&C recipe was easy enough to follow, but I found it needed some proofreading (a couple ingredients weren't mentioned in the step-by-step instructions) and additional cooking details. Overall, it was a complete, straightforward recipe which ended in a delicious result. I neglected to take a photo of my result, but let me describe it - dense, noodle-y, saucy, cheesy, crumbly crisp topping, and steamin' hot. I also have *a lot* of leftovers since it makes enough to feed about eight. Or two college football players.
During the cooking process, I began to get a little worried that everything would fit in my skillet. The recipe says to use a "large skillet." I was using my 12-inch All-Clad, which is the largest one I have. Everything is done in the skillet. It's really a one-skillet recipe if you don't count the boiling of the pasta in another pot. The final step in the cooking process is to add the cooked pasta to the cheese sauce in the skillet. Um, my cheese sauce was already flirting with the edge of the pan, and I didn't think it could hold a pound of cooked celentani. The suspense was killing me! I took the dare laid down by P&C, and poured the pasta in. All the pasta fit! Ta da! It was like a little magic pan, that All-Clad. I very carefully folded the pasta with the cheese until everything was coated.
I did need Steve's help when it came to pouring the luscious, gooey mix into the baking pan as I needed two hands covered in hot pads to lift the skillet. Steve scraped the innards out into the dish while I tipped them in. [Side note: I had an afterthought once the mac & cheese was baking - did I need to put it in the baking dish at all? My skillet can go directly in the oven. Anyone know if baking mac & cheese in an All-Clad skillet changes baking time, sticking-to-the-pan factor, etc? If it doesn't need to go in the baking dish, then this is one step closer to being a one skillet dish. Of course, the leftovers would still need to be transferred to something, and my leftovers are still in the baking dish, for which I have a snap on lid.]
After 20 minutes in the oven, the topping was golden brown and the sauce was bubbling. I dished it up right away and we dug in. Yum, yum, yum. This is not an every day or every week mac & cheese. It's far to full of fat and cholesterol to make often.
Good thing this mac & cheese was good since we now get to eat it all weekend. Except for Saturday night when Steve and I are dining with other members of TNTE club at Buttermilk Channel. Looking forward to some chicken and waffles!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Getting Caught Up
After a week off, I'm getting caught up with blogs. This one in particular caught my taste buds. I think I'll have to try it but counter the fat, cholesterol, and sodium massacre with grilled chicken and leafy green salad the rest of the week.
Laura over at Pinot and Prose has also thrown down a baking request seeing how she doesn't bake. I'm happy to bake anything if it gets me a seat at the table for her next Bacon Fest.
The Mardi Gras season is also coming to a close next week, and I have yet to make my annual King Cake. Must do that this weekend. I think it will be a cream cheese filled cake this time. Luckily, the tiny plastic baby that I hide in the cake didn't get lost in the move. Don't know what I'd do without that pink, plastic, bald baby. Will post recipe and photos when I do. My NYC friends are invited over when the cake is ready. It will be much more than Steve and I can eat.
Laura over at Pinot and Prose has also thrown down a baking request seeing how she doesn't bake. I'm happy to bake anything if it gets me a seat at the table for her next Bacon Fest.
The Mardi Gras season is also coming to a close next week, and I have yet to make my annual King Cake. Must do that this weekend. I think it will be a cream cheese filled cake this time. Luckily, the tiny plastic baby that I hide in the cake didn't get lost in the move. Don't know what I'd do without that pink, plastic, bald baby. Will post recipe and photos when I do. My NYC friends are invited over when the cake is ready. It will be much more than Steve and I can eat.
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