Killer Mac & Cheese with Bacon... and I mean KILLER!

         When flipping to the page where this recipe lies, there’s a picture that instantly makes your mouth water. You see this little bowl with cheesy macaroni and cheese and bits of perfectly cooked bacon mixed in. You almost feel like you HAVE TO HAVE IT! Not to mention you have probably made macaroni and cheese before. How hard could this be? You just cook some noodles and throw in that cheese packet, right? How misguided I was before this homemade macaroni and cheese. I believe I took a vow that night I made this to NEVER EVER EVER EVER have macaroni and cheese out of a box again.

          As I have said before, my love for cheese is a bit ridiculous. Where most people go for an afternoon snack of crackers, chips, nuts, or fruit, I can easily take down a block of cheese. So, when this recipe called for three different cheeses, I was ecstatic. Chef Burrell lays out the ingredients and instructions so simply again. EVOO, bacon, onion, salt, unsalted butter (didn’t even realize there was a salted nor an unsalted version), flour, milk, 1 pound of short pasta or shells, 2 cups grated cheddar cheese, 2 cups grated Fontina cheese, and 1 cup Parmigiano. Then these two interesting ingredients ¼ cup Dijon mustard and Tabasco... excited to see where these two end up? Because I was! Also to note, I made this on two different occasions so far and both times I couldn’t find Fontina cheese so I replaced with Gouda one time and then Edam cheese the second.... two fantastic cheeses and excellent replacements if you ask me!

         The first time I made these, I used some pasta I received for a Christmas present from the fabulous Marty and Lee (note: Marty is who got me this cook book to inspire me to do this blog... so Marty gets major snaps!). The pasta they gave me is short pasta, but they are in the shape of dog paws and bones... so a cute little touch to this Killer dish!

         I added little Chardonnay to the cooking mix tonight... you start with EVOOing (is that even a word? You get it!) a saucepan and adding your bacon and cook. Then, remove and pat with towels. Leave the bacon fat in the pan. (I think this must be a Chef Burrell secret because I bet this adds a ton of flavouring to the dish) Next, you add butter and onion in that same pan and cook onion until “soft and aromatic”. It’s so nice when Chef Burrell uses those key words because you totally know what she is talking about. Next you add flour and whisk in the milk, and salt. Bring to boil and let simmer until mixture gets thick. Meanwhile cooking your pasta on the side is important. Chef Anne suggests cooking the pasta for 1 minute under what directions say in order to get an al dente pasta.

         Meanwhile in your pan, add your 3 heavenly cheese and whisk. And now for the two special ingredients, you add the mustard and a “few shakes of Tabasco.” Then you stir in the cooked bacon and pasta and serve immediately! Not only did I make this for some close friends, I brought in leftovers both times for my colleagues to enjoy and all of them were pretty head over heels for this Mac & Cheese! Filling bellies and bringing smiles one Chef Burrell dish at a time.... all in the name of cooking like a Rock Star.