My sister doesn't do recipes so much as mad scientist kitchen experiments. It wasn't easy to convince her to write down what she did step-by-step, so it would be morally wrong of me not to blog it for posterity.
This mac and cheese has four cheeses. You could vary amounts and types for different results, but as it stands this dish has a very smooth, Very Rich sauce that doesn't come across as overly cheesy. When I made it, I left out the ground beef (tastes fine the first time, but leftovers texture gets a little congealed because beef fat). Leaving out that fat made the mascarpone a little too prominent, so I haven't quite arrived at my ideal version yet (final version may use beef bouillon for flavor). However, the trottole pasta is a must. If you can't find it, substitute any large spiral shaped pasta. This is a lot of food that is very filling. Good recipe for potlucks, dinner parties, growing children, and anyone not counting calories.
Rachel's Mac & Cheese
1/4 cup flour
2-3 cups whole milk
1 14 oz package fontina
1 8 oz package mascarpone
1 10.5 oz package white cheddar
1/4 cup parmesan
1-2 lbs. ground beef
2 garlic cloves
1 package frozen peas
1 lb. cooked trottole pasta
Salt and pepper
1.5 cups bread crumbs
2-3 tbsp. butter
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Brown beef with garlic, salt, and pepper. Add peas to meat to warm through. Drain some fat, leave at least a tbsp for taste. Set aside. Cook flour and 1 tbsp. butter to make a roux. When flour is cooked (it's ok to let it brown a little, there's a lot of white in this recipe) add milk slowly, whisking until smooth on low heat. Bring mixture to a simmer. Add mascarpone to roux, stir until smooth. Remove from heat, add remaining cheeses slowly until all cheese is incorporated. The mixture should look like a thick alfredo sauce. Put pasta into oven safe casserole dish, top with meat and peas. Mix ingredients. Pour cheese over pasta. (You may want to do this in a separate bowl so you can mix everything then transfer to a casserole, but this recipe already uses a lot of dishes.) Brown butter and bread crumbs in a small pan. Top mac with bread crumbs and bake for 15-20 min or until bubbly.
This mac and cheese has four cheeses. You could vary amounts and types for different results, but as it stands this dish has a very smooth, Very Rich sauce that doesn't come across as overly cheesy. When I made it, I left out the ground beef (tastes fine the first time, but leftovers texture gets a little congealed because beef fat). Leaving out that fat made the mascarpone a little too prominent, so I haven't quite arrived at my ideal version yet (final version may use beef bouillon for flavor). However, the trottole pasta is a must. If you can't find it, substitute any large spiral shaped pasta. This is a lot of food that is very filling. Good recipe for potlucks, dinner parties, growing children, and anyone not counting calories.
Rachel's Mac & Cheese
1/4 cup flour
2-3 cups whole milk
1 14 oz package fontina
1 8 oz package mascarpone
1 10.5 oz package white cheddar
1/4 cup parmesan
1-2 lbs. ground beef
2 garlic cloves
1 package frozen peas
1 lb. cooked trottole pasta
Salt and pepper
1.5 cups bread crumbs
2-3 tbsp. butter
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Brown beef with garlic, salt, and pepper. Add peas to meat to warm through. Drain some fat, leave at least a tbsp for taste. Set aside. Cook flour and 1 tbsp. butter to make a roux. When flour is cooked (it's ok to let it brown a little, there's a lot of white in this recipe) add milk slowly, whisking until smooth on low heat. Bring mixture to a simmer. Add mascarpone to roux, stir until smooth. Remove from heat, add remaining cheeses slowly until all cheese is incorporated. The mixture should look like a thick alfredo sauce. Put pasta into oven safe casserole dish, top with meat and peas. Mix ingredients. Pour cheese over pasta. (You may want to do this in a separate bowl so you can mix everything then transfer to a casserole, but this recipe already uses a lot of dishes.) Brown butter and bread crumbs in a small pan. Top mac with bread crumbs and bake for 15-20 min or until bubbly.
