Bacon and Cheddar Macaroni & Cheese

Is there anything more comforting than mac and cheese?  No, there isn't, don't even think about it.  It's one of those facts of life much like the fact that everybody likes Italian food.  There are different degrees of comfort, however, and if you want the absolute best form of mac and cheese comfort you can get, this recipe stands high above all others.  What makes it so great, you ask?  Bacon!  Which brings to mind another fact of life and that is that everything tastes better with bacon.

This is another recipe from my new favorite cookbook, Mother's Best by Lisa Schroeder with Danielle Centoni, and it is the last recipe I'm going to publish from the book because I insist you buy your own (not to mention the fact that the amount of typing is massive).  You'll thank me later.

Bacon and Cheddar Macaroni & Cheese

1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for salting the pasta water

2 cups firmly packed shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (about 1 2 pound; Love Note 3)

1 pound fusilli (corkscrew) or other pasta, preferably De Cecco

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3/4 pound bacon, diced (about 1 cup cooked; Love Notes 1 and 2)

1/2 cup sour cream, for garnish

3 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions, (white and green parts), for garnish

Bring a medium (6- to 8-quart) pot of water to a boil. Salt it generously (it should taste like the sea). Stir in the pasta and cook according to the package directions. Drain (but don't rinse, or you'll rinse away starches that will help thicken the sauce) and return to the empty pot.

Meanwhile, place a large (12- to 14-inch) saute pan over high heat for several minutes. When hot, add the bacon and saute until browned and crispy (lower the heat to medium-high if necessary to prevent scorching), about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and, using a slotted spoon or spatula, remove the bacon from the pan and drain on paper towels.

Pour off the fat from the pan (into a metal can or heatproof cup, not down the drain or you'll potentially clog your pipes) and return the pan to medium-high heat. Add the heavy cream and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Lower the heat to medium and continue to simmer until the cream is reduced slightly, about 3 minutes.

Add the Cheddar cheese and bacon. Stir well and cook over medium-high heat, stirring now and then, until the cheese has melted and the mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. Season with the salt and pepper.

Stir the sauce into the cooked and drained pasta in the pot. Place over medium heat and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes to thicken the sauce and allow the pasta to absorb the flavors, stirring now and then.

Serve in individual bowls topped with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of sliced scallions.

Variation: Lorraine Mac & Cheese: You can easily change up this recipe by using the classic flavors of a quiche Lorraine for inspiration. You just have to add caramelized onions and substitute Swiss cheese for the Cheddar.

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons grease from the cooked bacon. Add 2 cups of finely sliced yellow onions and saute over medium heat until soft, brown, and caramelized, about 20 minutes. Pour in the 3 cups of cream and continue with the recipe (step 3), substituting firmly packed shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese for the Cheddar.

If you have cooked, crumbled bacon and caramelized onions on hand, the recipe is even easier. When stirring the cheese into the reduced cream, just add 1 cup bacon crumbles and 1 2 cup caramelized onions, too. Then proceed with the recipe.

Love Notes: At Mother's, we prepare a lot of our components in large batches ahead of time, like the bacon crumbles in this recipe. It's a real time-saver, and a good idea for home cooks, too. To make things easier, try fitting the work into a recipe you're already cooking, like this one. That way you're not getting pots and pans dirty just for the heck of it. For example, cook twice the amount of bacon and save the rest in the fridge or freezer for salads, scrambles, or sandwiches.

Dicing slippery, floppy bacon is tough, unless you firm it up with a 10- to 15-minute stint in the freezer. Stack the strips to make the job go even faster.

Avoid preshredded cheese. It may seem like a time-saver, but much of the cheese's flavor has dissipated, and the starchy coating on the outside will interfere with the sauce.

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Almond Poppy Seed Pancakes

I have become completely enamored of yet another cookbook.  Sorry.  I just can't help it.  Honestly, I would have thought that by now just about every combination of ingredients had already been put together in recipe form, but boy was I wrong.  The latest addition to my cookbook collection is Mother's Best: Comfort Food That Takes You Home Again by Lisa Schroeder, proprietress of the wildly popular Portland, Oregon, restaurant, Mother's Bistro & Bar, and Danielle Centoni.  Lest you think I add cookbooks to my collection willy nilly, let me tell you that before another cookbook comes into this house it is checked out from the library, thoroughly viewed and reviewed, recipes are tested, and when I find that I want to make nearly every recipe in the book, I buy it.  This was one of those cases. 

A great lover of anything almond, I was completely taken in by these pancakes that call for almond paste as one of the ingredients. As I find anything with almond paste to be swoonably delicious, I had to make these.  Happily I had exactly what I needed leftover from a recipe I'd tried earlier, so let this be a lesson to you to never discard extra almond paste.  Without a doubt these are the best pancakes I've ever eaten (and one look at my thighs will tell you I'm a seasoned veteran when it comes to pancake consumption).  They take a bit of time to prepare, but the wait is well worth it.  I cut the recipe and half and used 1/4 cup to measure the batter onto the griddle rather than the 1/2 cup called for in the recipe, so had lots left over.  I froze the extras -- they freeze beautifully! -- and have had them any number of times since, each time they are just as delicious as the first.  If you like almond, you owe it to yourself to make these.  Or maybe surprise mom with a batch for Mother's Day.

Almond Poppy Seed Pancakes

Makes 16 pancakes

3-1/2 oz. almond paste 

2 cups whole milk 

1 cup (8 oz.) sour cream 

1 Tbs. almond extract 

4 large eggs 

3 cups all-purpose flour 

1/4 cup granulated sugar 

1 Tbs. baking powder 

1-1/2 tsp. kosher salt 

1/2 cup poppy seeds 

4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted 

Vegetable oil or clarified butter, for brushing the griddle 

1 cup sliced almonds, toasted 

Whipped butter, for serving 

Maple syrup, for serving 

Heat the oven to 200 degrees F. Place the almond paste in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on low speed while adding the milk, a little at a time, to loosen up the paste until it's smooth and not lumpy. Alternatively, you can process the almond paste with a little of the milk in a food processor until smooth (add just enough milk to help the almond paste thin out).

Add the sour cream, almond extract, and eggs. Whisk or process until well-blended and smooth.

In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and poppy seeds. Whisk well to thoroughly combine.

Slowly pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients while gently stirring, and mix just until combined. (Don't overmix or you will activate the gluten in the flour and the pancakes will be chewy, like bread, instead of fluffy.) The mixture will be a little lumpy (and that's OK; if you have pockets of flour bigger than a dime, smash them against the side of the bowl to break them apart without having to stir the batter more). Pour in the melted butter and gently mix just until incorporated. (Sometimes melted butter solidifies when added to cold ingredients. Adding it now helps disperse it evenly in the batter and smooth out some of the lumps.)

Place a griddle or wide (preferably 14-inch) saute pan over medium heat for several minutes. If using an electric griddle, set the heat to 350 degrees F.

Sprinkle the griddle with a few drops of water; they should bounce around before evaporating. If they sizzle away quickly, the heat is too high. If they just sit there and slowly steam, the heat is too low. When the griddle is properly heated, brush with oil or clarified butter, and then wipe with a paper towel so it's evenly greased. (Big spots of oil or butter will promote uneven browning and your pancakes will have dark and light spots.)

Ladle 1/2 cup of batter per pancake onto the griddle, an inch or two apart. Sprinkle evenly with 1 Tbs. toasted almonds.

Cook until bubbles begin to pop on the surface of the pancakes, the edges look a little dry, and the underside is golden, about 2 minutes. Flip them over and continue cooking until the pancakes are cooked through, about 1 minute more. (If the undersides of the pancakes are browning or burning before the tops get a chance to form bubbles and dry out, the heat is too high. If it's taking much longer than 2 or 3 minutes for the bubbles to form, the heat is too low.)

Repeat with the remaining batter. Keep the pancakes warm on a heatproof platter or baking sheet in the oven.

Serve with whipped butter and maple syrup.

From Mother's Best: Comfort Food That Takes You Home Again, pp. 287-290.  BUY IT!  Go NOW!

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Real Food Wednesdays

What’s Cooking Wednesday
No Whine Wednesdays
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