{"id":20672,"date":"2018-03-22T08:49:36","date_gmt":"2018-03-22T12:49:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=20672"},"modified":"2018-03-22T08:49:40","modified_gmt":"2018-03-22T12:49:40","slug":"on-your-table-getting-out-of-your-comfort-zone-with-mac-cheese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=20672","title":{"rendered":"On Your Table: Getting out of your comfort zone with mac & cheese"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Cathy Branciaroli,<\/strong> Food Correspondent, The Times<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Macaroni & Cheese can satisfy anyone\u2019s appetite. This version takes a Mexican twist with chorizo cheese, poblanos and other tasty ingredients.<\/p><\/div>\n

Think you know macaroni and cheese?\u00a0 Comes in a blue box from Kraft Foods right?\u00a0 Family standby for decades?\u00a0 Well, yes, but so much more.<\/p>\n

Macaroni and cheese is everything someone could want to eat – hot, melted cheese blended in creamy harmony with elbow pasta.\u00a0 It\u2019s one of most families\u2019 all-time favorite comfort foods. And such a versatile dish. Whether it\u2019s Kraft classic or any of the many variations, it\u2019s hard to get enough. But how did we get to this place, anyway?<\/p>\n

Surprisingly enough, it was through Thomas Jefferson, American founding father, principal author of the Declaration of Independence and third president of the United States. Yes, that Jefferson.<\/p>\n

Once a fashionable European food, historians believe macaroni and cheese originated in Italy and France, later making its way to the rest of the world.\u00a0 Jefferson introduced it to America in the late 1700s after feasting on the dish in France. \u00a0He was so enamored that he brought home recipes as well as a pasta machine, served it at state dinners and a recipe even exists written in Jefferson\u2019s own handwriting.<\/p>\n

What he enjoyed was most likely an Italian-style pasta such as penne or pappardelle with a cheese sauce made from Swiss Gruyere.\u00a0 Today, the classic macaroni and cheese that Americans know and love is made with a sharp cheese, usually cheddar, grated and melted over elbow pasta and milk for a just right cheesy, creamy texture.\u00a0 But of course, not all macaroni and cheese is made alike.<\/p>\n

These days we have the culinary resources to make mac and cheese in endless creative combinations and this most American of comfort foods also can be Mexican, Indian, Italian, Greek, French or any cuisine in which cheese is a given.<\/p>\n

So a quest began in my kitchen to re-imagine macaroni and cheese with hints of another \u00a0cuisine.\u00a0 Having decided to go for a Mexican twist, I started with the cheese, using a shredded 4-cheese Mexican blend instead of cheddar.\u00a0 Chorizo sausages browned without their casings, roasted poblano peppers, a dash of cumin and chopped green onions added more south of the border flavors.\u00a0 To add diversity to the cheese mix I substituted cream cheese for some of the other typically used cheeses.<\/p>\n

My husband, a life-long classic mac n\u2019 cheese guy, gave the resulting dish his seal of approval.\u00a0 Hope your family enjoys it too.<\/p>\n

Macaroni and Cheese with Chorizo and Poblanos <\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ingredients<\/u><\/p>\n

10 oz elbow macaroni, boiled in salted water for ~6-8 minutes.\u00a0 They should be underdone<\/p>\n

\u00bd cup panko crumbs<\/p>\n

4 tbs butter<\/p>\n

\u00bd lb chorizo sausage taken out of casings<\/p>\n

1-2 poblano peppers<\/p>\n

2 chopped garlic cloves<\/p>\n

1 medium onion, diced<\/p>\n

1 bunch green onions, thinly cut, white and light green parts only<\/p>\n

2 cups of heavy cream and unsweetened evaporated milk (1 cup each)<\/p>\n

1 8 oz bag shredded Mexican 4-cheese mix<\/p>\n

6 oz grated parmesan cheese<\/p>\n

4 oz cream cheese cut into \u00bc in pieces<\/p>\n

4 oz shredded or grated gruyere cheese<\/p>\n

2 tbs cornstarch<\/p>\n

1 tbs olive oil<\/p>\n

1 tsp Adobo spice<\/p>\n

1 healthy dash cumin<\/p>\n

2 tsp dry mustard<\/p>\n

1 dash each salt and pepper<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Preparation<\/u><\/p>\n

Cook pasta, drain and set aside.\u00a0 Set oven to broil and place poblano peppers on a baking sheet under the broiler.\u00a0 Broil, watching carefully for skin to blister.\u00a0 Remove and place in a brown bag.\u00a0 When cool, peel off the skin and chop roughly.\u00a0 Set aside.<\/p>\n

Melt 1tbs butter in skillet over medium heat.\u00a0 Add panko and cook, stirring, until golden brown ~4 minutes. Remove and set aside. Break chorizo into chunks and brown in the same skillet.\u00a0 Remove and blot with paper towel on a plate to remove grease.\u00a0\u00a0 In a skillet, add 1 tbs olive oil.\u00a0 Saute onion till softened, adding chopped garlic about halfway through. Season with dry mustard, cumin, Adobo and salt\/pepper. Stir in cornstarch till absorbed.<\/p>\n

Preheat oven to 350 degrees<\/p>\n

Combine cheeses and heat in a double boiler or in microwave till melted, stirring occasionally.\u00a0 Add milk mixture and continue to stir or wisk till any clumps of cheese disappear.\u00a0 Mixture should thicken in ~ 5 minutes.<\/p>\n

Prepare 8×8 inch casserole or 10 inch skillet by coating with cooking spray.\u00a0 Combine macaroni, chorizo, poblanos, chopped green onions and cheese mix in a large bowl. Pour into baking dish.\u00a0 Top with toasted panko.\u00a0 Bake until golden brown and bubbling in the center, ~30-35 minutes.\u00a0 Let casserole cool ~20 minutes before serving.<\/p>\n

Cathy Branciaroli also writes about her adventures in the kitchen on her award-winning blog <\/em>Delaware Girl Eats<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Cathy Branciaroli, Food Correspondent, The Times Think you know macaroni and cheese?\u00a0 Comes in a blue box from Kraft Foods right?\u00a0 Family standby for decades?\u00a0 Well, yes, but so much more. Macaroni and cheese is everything someone could want to eat – hot, melted cheese blended in creamy harmony with elbow pasta.\u00a0 It\u2019s one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20674,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[3609,3912,7662,3731],"class_list":["post-20672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-cooking","tag-featured","tag-macaroni-and-cheese","tag-recipes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20672"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20672\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20673,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20672\/revisions\/20673"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}