OK, so today we are focusing on Cheese and Pork and what better way to celebrate these two foods than with Pancetta Cheesemonger's Mac 'n Cheese (courtesy of BonAppetit). WARNING: this mac 'n cheese is not for the weak-hearted. If you are not an artisan cheese fan and / or a fan of pork this recipe is not for you. Sorry, but go back to your "homestyle Kraft mac 'n cheese" oh yea, processed cheese. HA, I don't think so!
Here are my mini 1-serving Mac 'n Cheeses right out of the oven, heart-attack good!
Talking on the phone to my Gran and describing this mac 'n cheese dish, the first thing she says is "That sounds like a heart-attack of cheese." Yea, you could say that; but if you're going to eat mac 'n cheese you might as well indulge because let's face it, cheese isn't the healthiest food in the world, if only right. So being me, I of course had to tweak the recipe a little bit by adding Pancetta and more cheese, oh yes more cheese.
Serves 6-8 depending on size of dish.
You will need:
1 large pot of water with a helping hand of salt for boiling pasta
1 sauce pan for crisping the pancetta and making the cheese sauce
1 whisk, 1 wooden spoon
1 medium sized glass casserole dish or 6 - 8 individual oven-proof ceramic dishes
Preheat your oven to 375.
Start the water on to boil for the pasta - I used Penne - and cook al'dente.
Ingredients:
1 pound dried pasta
2 cups Greyere - grated
2 cups Sharp Cheddar - grated
1 to 1 1/2 cups Brie, rind removed and cubed (pop in the freezer for 15 mins max to help cut off the rind of this gooey cheese)
4 Tbsp. butter (plus extra to grease your baking dishes)
1/3 cup of AP Flour
2 tsp. Thyme
3/4 tsp. Nutmeg
1 tsp salt and pepper
4 cups whole milk or 3 cups 2% milk plus 1 cup heavy cream
2 cups breadcrumbs - panko or plain
*side note: I used cheese sticks in swiss/dijon flavor as my breadcrumbs and though it was delicious, I think the cracker cheese flavor over-powered the delicious flavors of the greyere, cheddar and brie.*
1. Cook your pasta till al'dente and drain, set aside.
2. In the sauce pan, sprinkle a little bit of olive oil and heat to medium-high heat. I buy the pre-cubed pancetta and use the whole pack. Crisp the pancetta in the oil and using a slotted spoon, scoop out the pancetta onto a couple sheets of paper towel.
3. There should be about 1 Tbsp. of fat left in the pan, combine it with the 4 Tbsp.s butter. Melt. Add the flour in and whisk making a roux, cook for 1 minute.
4. Heat your milk up in a microwaved safe bowl and pour the warm milk into the roux, keep whisking. 5. Turn the heat down to medium. Add the spices: thyme, nutmeg, salt and pepper, stir. The liquid, now a Bechemel will take about 4 minutes to thicken, stirring often.
6. Reserve 1 cup of cheese for the topping. Turn the heat off and stir in with a wooden spoon the cheese in batches of 2; taste the sauce to see if it needs more salt or pepper; don't forget to put the pancetta back in! Once the sauce is done, fold in the pasta then pour the mac 'n cheese into your pre-greased containers.
7. Sprinkle the remaining cheese and bread crumbs on top and drizzle with olive oil to help brown the bread crumbs. Place on a sheet tray (incase over flow of cheese) and put in the oven until light brown and bubbly, 20 minutes.
Carefully take out of the oven and let cool 5 minutes (that's forever in cheese time) to let cook so you won't burn the crap out of your mouth :)
There you have it.
The best mac 'n cheese probably like ever!!
Cheese and Pork, mm so good! Enjoy.
