Macaroni and cheese, please

Next week’s Spokesman-Review Food section is mad for macaroni and cheese. A few Spokane restaurants will share their recipes for the melty,velvety comfort food.

Meantime, here are a few more recipes from a few (mostly) recent cookbooks to whet your appetite.

Cheers!

Super-Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

From “Comfort Food” by Ken Haedrich and the editors of The Old Farmers Almanac

½ pound elbow noodles

1 teaspoon olive oil

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, divided

1 medium onion, finely chopped

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups milk, divided

1 cup chicken stock

1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard

1 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

3 cups shredded extra-sharp cheddar

3 ounces cream cheese, in pieces, softened

¾ to 1 cup fine cracker crumbs or panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a large, shallow casserole.

Prepare the noodles according to the package instructions. Drain, transfer to a large bowl, drizzle with oil and toss to avoid clumping.

Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat, add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, or until soft. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute more, stirring. Add 1 cup of milk. Bring to a simmer. Add the chicken stock and heat gently for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the mustard, salt and pepper, to taste. Add the cheddar cheese, 1 cup at a time, and stir. Add more as it melts. Add the cream cheese and stir until melted.

Pour the sauce over the noodles and stir to coat. Transfer the mixture to the casserole. Sprinkle with cracker crumbs to cover evenly.

Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter in a pan over low heat and drizzle over the crumbs. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until bubbly.

Yield: 6

Macaroni and Cheese (with Tomatoes and Bacon)

From “How to Cook Like a Southerner” by Johnnie Gabriel

This staple recipe is one of the most popular side dishes served as Gabriel’s, the author’s bakery and restaurant in Marietta, Georgia.

1 (12-ounce) box elbow macaroni

½ cup (1 stick) butter, plus 2 tablespoons melted

1 teaspoon dry mustard

½ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup chopped sweet onion

3 cups whole milk

10 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

10 ounces extra-sharp cheddar, shredded

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon white pepper

5 Roma tomatoes, cored and chopped

1 cup chopped, cooked bacon

35 to 40 saltine or round butter crackers

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-by-13-inch casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.

Cook macaroni according to package directions for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the macaroni is al dente. Drain the macaroni and set aside.

Dry the pot and return it to the stovetop over medium heat. Add the butter and melt. Add the dry mustard, flour and onions, stirring constantly, and cook to a golden-colored roux. Whisk in the milk and allow to simmer for 5 to 6 minutes or until thickened, stirring often. Remove the mixture from the heat. Combine the cheeses and set aside 1 ½ cups. Add the remaining cheese mixture to the roux and stir until completely melted. Add the salt and pepper. Return the macaroni to the pot and stir to combine and coat all of the macaroni. Fold the tomatoes and bacon into the mixture.

Pour the macaroni mixture into the prepared dish. Sprinkle the reserved 1 ½ cups cheese on top.

Break the crackers into fine crumbs using a food processor or put them into a resealable plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin until they are fine pieces. Add the melted butter.

Sprinkle the cracker mixture over the top of the casserole. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the mixture is bubbly and lightly browned.

Yield: 10 to 12 servings

Shells and Cheese for Everyone

From “Perfect One-Dish Dinners” by Pam Anderson

Salt

1 pound medium sized pasta shells

1 pound grated sharp cheddar

1 container (16 ounces) cottage cheese

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan

1 container (16 ounces) sour cream

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup plain dry bread crumbs

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

3 tablespoons butter, melted

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 13-by-9-inch baking dish with vegetable-oil cooking spray.

Bring 2 quarts water and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil in a large soup kettle over high heat. Using package directions as a guide and stirring frequently at first to keep it from sticking, boil pasta, partially covered, until just tender. Drain.

Meanwhile, mix cheeses and sour cream in a large bowl. Add hot pasta and toss to coat. Adjust seasonings, including salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer to baking dish.

Mix bread crumbs, parsley and butter in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over shells and cheese. Bake until casserole is bubbly and crumbs are golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Serve.

Yield: 8 to 12

Grand Ewe with Golden Raisins, Pine Nuts and Macaroni

From “Melt: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese” by Stephanie Stiavetti and Garrett McCord

10 ounces elbow macaroni

1½ cups milk

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

¼ teaspoon sea salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 cup golden raisins

8 ounces Grand Ewe sheep’s milk Gouda, rind removed, shredded

¼ cup mascarpone

1 cup coarsely chopped pine nuts, toasted lightly, divided

Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain through a colander and set aside.

To prepare the mornay sauce, heat the milk in a small saucepan over medium heat. As soon as the milk starts to steam and tiny bubbles form around the edges of the pan, turn off the heat. Place the butter in a medium saucepan and melt over medium flame. Add the flour and stir with a flat-edge wooden paddle just until the roux begins to take on a light brown color, scraping the bottom to prevent burning, about 3 minutes. Slowly add the milk and stir constantly until the sauce thickens enough to evenly coat the back of a spoon – a finger drawn along the back of the spoon should leave a clear swatch. Stir in salt, pepper and golden raisins. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, add Gouda and mascarpone, and stir until completely melted. Season with more salt and pepper to taste.

Pour sauce over pasta and stir in half of the pine nuts. Serve in bowls, topped with the remaining pine nuts for garnish.

Note: Alternative cheese options include Ewephoria sheeps’-milk Gouda, Cypress Grove Lamb Chopper, or Trader Joe’s generic sheeps’milk Gouda. If all else fails, you can use a regular cows’-milk Gouda, which – according to Stiavetti and McCord – “will still shine.”

Mac ‘n’ Cheese from the Cask and Larder

From “The Southern Foodie’s Guide to the Pig” by Chris Chamberlain

12 ounces Havarti

3 ounces Gouda

3 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano

6 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup all-purpose flour, sifted

4 cups whole milk

4 ounces India Pale Ale

4 tablespoons pickled mustard seeds (recipe below) (optional)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon ground white pepper

1 teaspoon hot sauce

1 pound dry elbow macaroni, cooked according to package directions

Ham-cheddar crumble (recipe below)

Shred the Havarti and Gouda and grate the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Set aside to allow the cheese to warm to room temperature while preparing other ingredients.

Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour until fully combined, reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking, stirring often until the raw flour taste is cooked out and the flour is a light blond color, 10 to 15 minutes. Whisk in milk and bring to a simmer, stirring often, until the mixture has thickened to wallpaper paste consistency, about 5 minutes. Whisk in cheeses and beer until just combined and remove from heat. Take care to not overheat the cheese sauce as it can become gritty and bring out the bitter flavor of the beer.

Fold in pickled mustard seeds, if desired. Season to taste with salt, white pepper and hot sauce. Combine pasta with cheese sauce in a serving bowl or casserole dish and sprinkle with ham-cheddar crumble. Serve immediately.

If serving later, put in oven-safe casserole dish. When ready to serve, preheat oven to 375 degrees, add the crumble and cook until just warmed through.

Pickled Mustard Seeds

From “The Southern Foodie’s Guide to the Pig” by Chris Chamberlain

1 cup white vinegar

2 tablespoons kosher salt

½ cup water

½ cup sugar

4 tablespoons dried yellow mustard seeds

Combine vinegar, salt, water and sugar in small saucepan and simmer on medium heat to dissolve salt and sugar. Add mustard seeds. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until seeds soften and nearly double in size, about 30 minutes. Pour into a container and refrigerate. This will keep indefinitely in the refrigerator.

Ham-Cheddar Crumble

From “The Southern Foodie’s Guide to the Pig” by Chris Chamberlain

½ cup very finely diced ham or bacon bits

½ cup cheese straw crumbs or crumbled cheese crackers like Goldfish Crackers

Preheat oven to 375

Place the ham or bacon bits in a single layer on a baking sheet and cook until crisp, about 10 minutes. Cool and combine with cheese crumbs.