An Old Friend: Pepperjack Bacon Mac & Cheese

In light of my recent giveaway where I asked readers what their favorite recipes were, I decided to re-post one of my personal favorites.

Last April, I adapted Cooks Illustrated's 'Classic Macaroni & Cheese' to include two of Mr. Vittles favorite foods - pepperjack cheese and bacon.

Truthfully, I've never really shared his adoration for these two ingredients, but I must admit - this mac & cheese is... amazing.

Sorry to toot my own horn, but it's the truth.

Whenever we have macaroni & cheese somewhere else now, we both say "Meh.  It's no pepperjack bacon."

Yes.  Much like my brownie snobbery, we've become M&C connoisseurs.

(By the way - I typed the word "connoisseur" 4 times before the red squiggly underline telling me I spelled it wrong disappeared.)

Anywho... I originally posted about this back when I first started Vittles and Bits.  Since then, I've cut down on the amount of cheese sauce made, because I think it made the dish too soupy.  I like my mac & cheese to have a bit more structure. 

And let's face it - the only people that read my blog then were friends or family members.

Not to mention, the original picture I posted was god-awful.

(I've already replaced it.  Despite trying to educate myself, I haven't progressed much with my food photography - but the old one simply didn't do this dish justice.)

So in short - I just had to call the recipe to your attention.  It deserves the spotlight for a day. 

Yeah... it's that good.

Pepperjack Bacon Mac & Cheese

• 1 lb. elbow macaroni
• 1 T. salt
• 3 T. butter
• 3 T. flour
• 3/4 t. ground mustard
• 1/8 t. cayenne pepper
• 1/4 t. garlic powder
• 2 1/2 C. milk
• 8 oz. pepperjack cheese, grated
• 8 strips of bacon, crumbled or chopped in small pieces
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1 C. panko bread crumbs
  
  

Preheat broiler.  Cook elbow macaroni in 4 quarts water with 1 T. salt until tender (just past al dente stage).  Drain macaroni and set aside. 

In now empty pot, melt butter over medium heat until foaming.

Add flour, mustard, cayenne & garlic powder and whisk well to combine.  Continue whisking about 1 minute, until fragrant.

Gradually whisk in milk about a cup at a time, then bring mixture to a boil while whisking constantly.  (This is important - mixture must reach a boil to thicken fully).

Then reduce heat to medium & simmer, whisking occasionally, until consistency becomes that of heavy cream (about 5 minutes). 

Remove from heat and whisk in cheese, salt & bacon. Add drained pasta and return whole pot to burner over medium low, stirring mixture until steaming & heated through (5-6 minutes).

Transfer mixture to a broiler-safe, greased 9x13" pan and sprinkle panko on top.  Place in broiler on middle/lower rack and broil 3-5 minutes until crumbs are browned.

Allow to cool 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe Adapted from Cook's Illustrated's "Classic Macaroni & Cheese"

Taco Mac & Cheese Bake

Ok so I'm a little bit conflicted about sharing this recipe with you.

It's one largely of my own creation (very loosely based on the same Cooks' Illustrated recipe I used to craft Mr. Vittles favorite Pepperjack Bacon Mac & Cheese) and while the general idea was a good one, I'm not so sure the execution was top notch.

Not that it's inedible or anything.  It's just a little weird.

As I was stirring the meat into the pasta & cheese (one of the final steps of the recipe) a lightbulb went off in my head - this is like a made-from-scratch Hamburger Helper.

Not that I really know what Hamburger Helper even is.  Momma Vittles strictly forbade the helping of any hamburgers in her household, so I've only seen it in commercials. But this is what I imagine it to be like.

So like any self-respecting cook, when I had this epiphany, I stopped dead in my tracks and stared at my creation in horror.

What had I done?  

Surely this was a culinary abomination.  I was perhaps the Dr. Frankenstein of cooking. 

But I had come this far, and it was too late to turn back.  So I slapped the mixture in a dish, sprinkled some tortilla chip crumbs over the top, and sent it into the oven with my fingers crossed.

All in all, it was not so bad.  FYI- I think it would be a little more substantial if you used an entire pound of macaroni instead of 8 ounces.

But the only reason I even considered posting the recipe is because Mr. V gave it a solid thumbs up.

I asked him again, before I typed this post, just to make sure. "What did you really think about that taco thing the other night?"

"It was good," he said.

"You really liked it?" I asked, just for good measure.  "I'm a little conflicted about posting it."

"I LIKED IT."

Well then.  I guess he liked it. 

You'll have to decide for yourself.

Taco Mac & Cheese Bake 

• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 T. canola or olive oil
• 1 t. garlic, minced
• 1 lb. lean (93%) ground beef or turkey
• 1 10-oz. can Rotel diced tomato & chiles, undrained
• 1 packet (or 1/4 C.) taco seasoning
• 8 oz. elbow or other small macaroni (I used radiatore, what I had in the house)
• 3 T. butter
• 1/2 t. garlic powder
• 3 T. flour
• 1/4 t. chili powder
• 2 1/2 C. milk
• 1/2 t. salt
• 8 oz. grated Mexican cheese (I used Pepperjack for you-know-who!)
• 1 C. crushed tortilla chips

Cook macaroni in boiling salted water until tender (just past al dente stage).  While macaroni is cooking, heat oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Add onion & cook 2-3 minutes until softened.  Then add garlic and saute 30 seconds more.

Add ground beef to the pan and cook until no longer pink.  Drain fat (being careful not to drain out the garlic & onion in the pan.)  Add can of Rotel and taco seasoning, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer 10 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed.  Set aside.

Preheat broiler and adjust rack to mid-low position.  

When macaroni is cooked to tender, drain and reserve in colander.  Return now-empty pot to stove over medium heat & melt butter until foaming.

Add flour, garlic & chili powders and whisk mixture constantly for 1 minute.  Gradually whisk in milk, then bring mixture to a boil while whisking constantly, to thicken.  Reduce heat to med-low and simmer, whisking occasionally, until consistency becomes that of heavy cream (3-5 minutes).

Remove pot from heat, and whisk in cheese and salt.  Add drained pasta and beef mixture, and return pot to med-low burner.  Stir occasionally until heated through, another 3-5 minutes. 

Transfer to greased 13x9 baking dish, and sprinkle crushed chips over top.  Place in broiler for 3-5 minutes until tortilla chips are browned.  Cool 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe very loosely based on Cooks' Illustrated Classic Mac & Cheese

Pepperjack Bacon Mac & Cheese

If there was ever any doubt that I truly love my husband - my undying devotion has been proven.

Using a basic (but wonderful) Cooks Illustrated recipe, I have brought together 3 of Mr. Vittles' favorite things into one glorious dish:

• mac & cheese
• pepperjack
• bacon
  
  

And let me just tell you all, this received the prized and coveted eyebrow raise + emphatic "really good" rating from The Man himself.

In fact, I could barely make out the "really good" part as he was stuffing his face with mouthfuls of this creamy macaroni!

Ok, listen.  I don't see such reactions often, so allow me just a moment to revel in this achievement.

To prove its few & far between, the last time I received this level of praise was about a year ago.  I entered a contest for Food Network Magazine's secret ingredient (which, for that particular issue, was coconut) and created an original recipe for a Coconut Kona Ice Cream.

Which was A-MA-ZING, if I do say so myself.

More on that soon - don't worry, I'm more than free to share that recipe with you since I got robbed in the contest by some chick with a coconut scone recipe.

Scones?  Like, seriously... who even eats scones?

????

(I dunno, maybe you eat scones.  Sometimes I do too.  The real issue is actually that I was a big ol' loser in said contest, and am clearly still bitter).

Anyhoo - my point is, Mr. V was loving every second of the coconut-coffee ice cream combo.  Much like when he took a bite of my Pepperjack Bacon Mac & Cheese.

So enjoy!

And if you're a wifey like me, you can go make your husband even happier that he married you :)

Pepperjack Bacon Mac & Cheese

• 1 lb. elbow macaroni
• 1 T. salt
• 3 T. butter
• 3 T. flour
• 3/4 t. ground mustard
• 1/8 t. cayenne pepper
• 1/4 t. garlic powder
• 2 1/2 C. milk
• 8 oz. pepperjack cheese, grated
• 8 strips of (cooked) bacon, crumbled or chopped in small pieces
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1 C. panko bread crumbs
  

Preheat broiler.  Cook elbow macaroni in 4 quarts water with 1 T. salt until tender (just past al dente stage).  Drain macaroni and set aside. 

In now empty pot, melt butter over medium heat until foaming.

Add flour, mustard, cayenne & garlic powder and whisk well to combine.  Continue whisking about 1 minute, until fragrant.

Gradually whisk in milk about a cup at a time, then bring mixture to a boil while whisking constantly.  (This is important - mixture must reach a boil to thicken fully).

Then reduce heat to medium & simmer, whisking occasionally, until consistency becomes that of heavy cream (about 5 minutes). 

Remove from heat and whisk in cheese, salt & bacon. Add drained pasta and return whole pot to burner over medium low, stirring mixture until steaming & heated through (5-6 minutes).

Transfer mixture to a broiler-safe, greased 9x13" pan and sprinkle panko on top.  Place in broiler on middle/lower rack and broil 3-5 minutes until crumbs are browned.

Allow to cool 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe Adapted from Cook's Illustrated's "Classic Macaroni & Cheese"