Inspired by the cold weather in Green Bay this weekend, I decided we would have a "Little Mermaid" theme day! We were having "Ariel's Shells and Cheese." The plan was to have "Ursula Smart Dogs" as well...but I forgot!
I was super excited to try out my brand spanking new Dutch oven that I bought at Kohl's this weekend. It was ON SALE for $39.99 and I had a 30% off coupon, so it was $28.00 before tax!
For those that don't enjoy cooking, you may not enjoy this post, because it is pretty cooking-heavy. I made this for the Packer game, so modified a few different recipes I had to suit everyone's tastes. Don't be freaked out, this recipe is SUPER easy and SO delicious!
I will share the recipe I used first, and then show you how everything turned out!
Ingredients:
1 pound pasta (I used Orecchiete)
3 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons flour
1 Tablespoon powdered mustard
3 Cups milk
1/2 cup diced yellow onion
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 egg
8 ounces each: Gruyere, Fontina, Edam cheese (or you can use 24 ounces of cheddar if you have little ones)
Salt & Pepper to taste
Topping:
3 Tablespoons butter
1 Cup Italian-style bread crumbs
Directions:
Set oven to 350 degrees F.
Cook pasta according to package directions to "al dente." Drain and set aside.
In Dutch oven, (if you don't have a Dutch oven, you can use a normal saucepan and transfer to a covered baking dish later) melt butter. Whisk in flour and mustard and keep moving for about 5 minutes. Make sure its free of lumps! Add onion and paprika. Stir in milk, about one cup at a time. Simmer for ten minutes, stirring often.
Temper in your egg. Stir in cheese, about a handful at a time, making sure that cheese is completely melted before adding more. (Trust me on that, otherwise you will have a melted mass that won't incorporate into your sauce, and there is no way to recover from that!) Leave about 1/2 cup of cheese for later! Taste sauce, and season with salt and pepper accordingly. Add in your pasta and gently fold into sauce. If you are using a sauce pan, transfer everything into a covered baking dish. If using a Dutch oven, leave everything right where it is. Top with remaining cheese and remove from heat if using a Dutch oven.
In a sauté pan, melt remaining butter and toss in bread crumbs until coated. Sprinkle over cheese. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Enjoy!
Alright, now time for a photo tutorial!
Ingredients and equipment! You will need a good cheese grater (I use the box variety!) Don't feel compelled to use fancy cheese for this recipe. It tastes equally delicious using straight up cheddar! If you are using a Dutch oven, you will want a plastic whisk to avoid scratching. And never mind the wine there, that was just for drinking, not for cooking!
Dry pasta. I used Orecchiete. I think regular shells get a bit mushy in this dish. Orecchiete is a bit thicker and still holds cheese sauce really well. You can use whatever type you prefer though!
LOTS of shredded cheese (seriously ladies, get the kids or your man to help out, that is a LOT of work to shred two pounds of cheese!) You can use pre-shredded cheese if you must, but shredded cheese in the bag is coated in starch to prevent it from clumping together. This often makes it a pain in the butt to melt and incorporate into other things, so fresh off the block is really the way to go, unless its a cooking emergency and all you have is pre-shredded. 3 cups of milk (I use whole milk, because if you're going to go, you should go all out, right?) You can use skim, but remember, the higher the fat content, the creamier your sauce. Then we have 1/2 Cup diced yellow onion, butter, flour, salt, dried mustard, fresh ground black pepper, paprika and a whole egg. Crack your egg into a bowl with room for an additional cup of liquid, and room to stir. This is a must when you have to temper in your egg.
Topping ingredients. Bread crumbs and butter! Yum!
And now to the fun part. The first step is to make a roux. You can't skip this step, or your sauce won't thicken, but don't worry, its much easier than it sounds. First, melt your butter.
Then, whisk in your flour and dried mustard. You want to keep it moving over medium heat for about 5 minutes. When it's done it will have loosened up a little big and be nice and creamy, and look like this...
Then, whisk in your paprika and diced onion.
Then stir in your milk...
You will want to simmer, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes. Then its time to temper in your egg. Again, don't be worried about this step, it's really easy. Whisk your egg well. Using a small bowl, or a one-cup measuring cup, scoop out about a cup of sauce.
While you are whisking your egg, drizzle in the sauce mixture while constantly whisking the egg. Once all of your sauce mixture is incorporated into your egg, whisk the mixture back into your sauce pan.
Add in your cheese, one big handful at a time, stirring well after each addition.
Gently fold in your pasta.
Top with remaining cheese.
Melt your remaining butter in a sauté pan.
Toss bread crumbs to coat, and then top macaroni mixture.
Cover...
And then bake for 30 minutes at 350.
When its done, uncover right after you remove from the oven to prevent your oven from forming a vacuum tight seal.
Serve and enjoy...!
I hope you all enjoy making this as much as I did! If you have some hot dogs laying around, cook them according to package directions. Using a knife, cut the bottom 2/3 of the dog into eighths to form 8 "tentacles."
You can also cut thick slices of French bread, smear with pre-made pesto sauce and top with shredded mozzarella or provolone cheese and bake until cheese is melted!
If you are feeling really adventurous, you can make your macaroni "Wisconsin Style" which basically means, boil your pasta in beer instead of water. The flavor with some cheddar cheese is really incredible. One of my friends does not drink at all, so we made this batch sans alcohol, but seriously, the beer way is equally amazing!
Enjoy!
so I don't have any advice but I still keep trying, someday I might actually get some good shots.
