Macaroni and Mozzarella Cheese
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| Macaroni and Mozzarella Cheese (20110424) |
Before making this macaroni and cheese I read an article about making real nacho cheese, a nacho cheese sauce recipe, the back of a macaroni elbow box, and a macaroni and mozzarella cheese recipe.
Pasta:
Boiled about 1.5 quarts of water in my 2 quart pot. Grounded in some salt. Added about 1/2 the box of San Giorgio Elbow Macaroni, net weight 1 pound. I added some olive oil. Usually I add the oil before throwing in the noodles but forgot.
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| Melted Butter (20110424) |
2 cups cheese (1 cup mozzarella and 1 cup Fritos Chili cheese dip) | 3 tablespoons butter | 3 tablespoons flour | A little more than a 1/2 cup milk
Sauce Steps:*
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melted butter and stirred in flour. Added salt and pepper. Poured in the milk and stirred until the mixture thickened. Stirring constantly, mixed in cheese (1 cup mozzarella, 1 cup Fritos Chili cheese dip). Continued to cook and stir until the cheese had melted and all ingredients were well-blended (it took about 15 minutes).
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| Added flour (20110424) |
Comments:
Too lazy to go out and get American cheese or cheddar, I just worked with the cheese I had on hand. Unfortunately, I didn't know how much Fritos Chili cheese dip I should have added. But I hadn't decided on the ratio of mozzarella cheese and Fritos Chili cheese dip. In the end, I added all I had of the Fritos Chili cheese dip with the goal of countering the mozzarella's property of quickly solidifying.
I ate between a third and a fourth of what I made. Then I ate the rest over the next two days, in addition to eating other things.
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| Melted cheese (20110424) |
The sauce (cheese) was kind of thick and powdery. From what I can recall, I've had this powdery tasting mac and cheese at Souplantation - though I haven't been to Souplantation in a long time.
The spiciness of the Frito chili cheese dip was a nice twist on the traditional mac and cheese flavor. Unfortunately, the resulting cheese wasn't smooth and the reason I enjoy Kraft mac and cheese is the smoothness of the cheese. The cheese was probably thick because of the mozzarella.
However, I suddenly realized that the smoothness might be due to the butter.
When I make Kraft mac and cheese I generally follow the instructions to the letter and the instructions call for a lot of butter, definitely more than the three tablespoons I put in today.
With that being said, I'm satisfied with the overall outcome. In the future, I'll consider using more butter to achieve the smoothness I want. I'll also remember to buy cheddar cheese.
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| Elbow Macaroni (front of the box) |
20111425:
The dish tasted better today cold with panko* sprinkled on top.
*I eventually used panko with success when making chicken and panko.
Inspires the Following:
Nacho cheese.
Macaroni and (cheddar) cheese.
Fried macaroni and cheese.
Macaroni and cheese with ground beef.
Baked macaroni and cheese (like a casserole).
Can try adding vegetables and other things...
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| Elbow Macaroni (back of the box) |
Relevant Links:
How To Make Real Nacho Cheese (eHow.com)
Nacho Cheese Sauce (AllRecipes.com)
Macaroni and Mozzarella Cheese recipe (AllRecipes.com)
Macaroni and Mozzarella Cheese recipe (AllRecipe.com):
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
7 slices processed American cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions:
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and stir in flour. Pour in the milk and stir until the mixture thickens. Stirring constantly, mix in cheese and salt. Continue to cook and stir until cheese has melted and all ingredients are well blended, about 15 minutes.
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