Some weeks ago I was looking through the section at my grocery store reserved for meats that most folks rarely cook with. Things like pig’s feet and beef heart which are placed at the far end of the meat cooler. I never see anyone perusing the stuff. Tucked behind a bit of intestine, I noticed a package of pork jowl bacon. I wasn’t really sure what that was but it looked like bacon. Into the shopping cart it went. It came in a big slab that I had to cut myself.
Its first use in my house was in some collard greens that I cooked in a pretty traditional southern style. Wow was that flavorful. Unsmoked and a bit less salty than regular bacon, this had a pure taste. It was unmistakably and exquisitely pork. I have since used it in several dishes where I thought bacon was called for. I must admit, I like it better.
Now on to the Mac and Cheese. While out of the box Mac and Cheese is a popular American tradition in most households, it could not be further from its home made cousin both in flavor and ease of preparation. From the box to the plate is about 10 minutes from the store-bought variety and everything can be done right from the same pot. While I don’t find this horribly tasty, it’ll do in a pinch. Homemade Mac and Cheese, though, is just heaven. A sea of bubbling cheese with crunchy brown bits of breadcrumbs nestled about is enough to put anyone in a good mood. Unfortunately though, you do have to work for it a bit. I would call the home made variety an intermediate dish. Not completely simple to prepare and a bit time consuming, I messed quite a few attempts up before stumbling upon the correct concoction. The recipe I offer here is my most recent and it took about 2 hrs and required 3 pans and a few kitchen gadgets. (I cheated and used a food processor attachment instead of a box grater for the cheese.) Every bite, though, was worth the effort. From scratch Mac and Cheese just tastes like someone loves you. Silky, creamy, cheesy and packed with such succulent decadence, I can’t contemplate a more heartwarming dish.
Here are a couple of tips. You can use the amounts that I give you below but they are an estimate of what I made. The real key to the cheese sauce isn’t so much the type of cheese but the consistency when added to the macaroni before baking. It should be a bit more watery that you might think because much of the liquid gets absorbed by the noodles in the oven. If it’s too thick from the start, your cheese will end up kinda gloppy in the final dish. I’ve done this before and while the taste is still wonderful, the texture is a bit off putting. For the macaroni, you want a version that acts as a vessel to hold the cheese to it. I used shells because they are these little cups with ridges and it worked perfectly. Macaroni has the hollow center that does a nice job and is much more traditional. Rigatoni would be great too. As far as the cheese goes, the sky’s the limit. Lisa often complains that I have so many different cheeses that they have their own dedicated spot in the fridge. That’s true, they do. In this dish I used 4: Monterey Jack, cheddar, smoked provolone (over the top good) and Swiss.
Why did I choose these? Because I had them and I thought they’d go well together. I was right but it was just a guess. Another tip is to add some new flavors to the dish. Just the cheesy version stands up all by itself but you can be as creative as you like. I used the aforementioned bacon and some roasted Poblano peppers. What I ended up with was a scrumptious meal that had small crunchy bacon-y bits (because I rendered the pork jowl bacon first) and the sweet heat of the roasted Poblanos. Shrimp or Lobster would be good. Maybe some diced tomato would too. Since most of my recipes are pretty off the cuff, your own creative style would suit this just fine. Here is my version and it was yummy.
Macaroni and Cheese with pork jowl bacon and roasted Poblano peppers
2-3 large Poblano peppers
½ cup of pork jowl bacon, cubed into ¼ inch pieces (regular bacon would be just fine too)
1 lb pasta shells or elbow macaroni
½ stick (4 tbsp) butter
3 cups half and half
½ cup cheddar cheese, grated
½ cup Monterey Jack cheese, grated
½ cup smoked provolone, grated
½ cup Swiss cheese, grated
1/3 cup bread crumbs (I make my own in a food processor with a bit of garlic powder and salt but Panko crumbs would be good too. Regular store bought would be OK but that’s always a very last resort, in my opinion)
Place the peppers in a 450 degree oven and cook until all of the skin is dark brown or black, about 30 minutes. Remove and place in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap so the peppers can steam a bit. Allow to rest at least 30 minutes to cool. Take each pepper and remove the brown/black skin so that the green flesh is what you have left. Discard the seeds and rinse the pepper flesh clean then dry with paper towel. Dice peppers finely and set aside for later.
Place the cubed bacon in a skillet that is preheated to medium low. You want to avoid too much sizzle because we want these to render over 10-15 minutes and not cook like traditional bacon bits. If you are using regular bacon, you want it just a bit underdone. When done, move to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain the excess fat.
In a large pot of salted boiling water, add your shells. Turn heat down and cook for about 7 minutes until shells are al dente. Drain and set aside.
In a large saucepan, melt the butter and add the half and half. Bring to just a scald and add the cheese. Stir until all the cheese is melted. I use a whisk to determine the right consistency. If the sauce is right, it will fall away from the whisk as it is lifted out. Think tomato soup thick: a bit liquidy. If too thick, add a bit more half and half.
In a casserole dish, combine the bacon, Poblanos, shells and cheese sauce. Depending on the size of your casserole, you may or may not use all of your cheese sauce. Place in a 350 degree oven and cook for 30-45 minutes. Remove and sprinkle bread crumbs over the top and cook an additional 10 minutes.
Serves 8-10
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