2 posts tagged “macaroni”
He's not the only one who's been making some changes. I have been tinkering over the past year with the recipe and I think I have finally found the perfect version. The first modification I made was keeping some of the squash in chunks instead of pureeing it all in with the cheese sauce. I liked the orangeness and richness that the pureed squash lent to the cheese sauce, but I missed the contrast of sweet and salty that you get from carmelized chunks of squash, which was lost in the blended texture. So I settled on a version with half the squash pureed and half roasted in chunks.
Also I experimented with reducing the amount of butter and in the end, I chopped off an entire tablespoon. (OK not that impressive, but considering the original recipe I adapted it from had an entire stick of butter, I think getting it down to half that is pretty good.) Since I reduced the butter, I also had to adjust the amount of flour, milk, and broth in the sauce. But I chose not to reduce the cheese amount at all, because, cmon it's mac and CHEESE.
Over time I decided I liked a little more kick in the sauce so I increased the amount of cayenne by a 1/4 teaspoon.
The final change I made was to bake the casserole in the oven rather than crisping the top under the broiler. I kept on getting little burnt fringes when I did the broiler, and I find that the oven browning is more reliable plus it gives the noodles time to absorb more of the cheesy flavor. It takes a little longer but it's worth it in my opinion. If you roast the squash the day before it's still a pretty quick dish to make.
Ingredients:
1 butternut squash
1 pound elbow macaroni
4 Tablespoons butter
1/3 cup flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg plus more for sprinkling
heaping 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 pound sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (about 4 cups)
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1 slice of bread - OR - 1 cup panko crumbs
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Slice squash in half and discard seeds . Peel one of the squash halves and cut into 1-inch cubes. Spray the half and the chunks with cooking oil and sprinkle with a little nutmeg. Place the squash half, cut side down, on a baking sheet and scatter the squash chunks next to it in a single layer. Roast for 45 minutes until very tender.
While squash is cooking, make breadcrumbs by putting 1 slice of bread in the food processor and pulsing until it creates fine breadcrumbs. Set aside.
After removing squash from the oven, reduce the heat to 350.
When squash has cooled, set aside the chunks of squash. Peel skin off the squash half and discard. Puree squash half in food processor until it has a smooth consistency. Set aside.
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Salt generously. Boil pasta to al dente - about 6 minutes. Drain pasta and set aside.
Melt 3 Tablespoons butter (set aside 1 Tablespoon) and slowly stir in the 1/3 cup of flour to form a paste.
Off heat, SLOWLY whisk in 1 1/2 cups of milk. Return to medium low heat until sauce fully blends and thickens.
Add pureed squash to the thickened sauce.
Add mustard, salt, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper. Stir in 3 1/2 cups of cheese (set aside 1/2 cup for the topping) and 1 cup of stock, alternating cheese and stock by cupfuls. Taste sauce, adjust seasonings if needed.
Combine pasta, squash chunks, and cheese sauce in a large casserole dish, toss to coat evenly.
Melt the remaining Tablespoon of butter and blend with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese and the breadcrumbs to form topping. Sprinkle mixture over the macaroni.
Place macaroni uncovered in a 350 degree oven until cheese sauce is bubbling and breadcrumb topping is lightly browned, about 20 minutes.
Serves 8, leftovers freeze well if you're so inclined. Reheat frozen portions in a 350 oven for 20-30 minutes or just nuke it.
Did you know I'm responsible for an internet sensation? Well, I am. (If something that became very popular on a private internet message board can qualify as a sensation, that is.)
After you go through with planning a wedding you are left with this surplus of project energy and no project to work on. Some turn to scrapbooking. Some take up sewing or antiqueing. Some buy a house or have a baby. Me, I channelled my nesting instinct into the kitchen.
Apparently I'm not the only one, because the Cooking forum is one of the most popular ones on that non-wedding message board. Among the dozens of discussions on cooking, there are threads about cookbooks, kitchen equipment, holiday menus, party food, crockpot cooking, packing your lunch, two virtual cooking workshops, and my favorite, "What's for Dinner." On What's for Dinner, people just write about what they're planning on making for dinner, and share recipes. It's a great inspiration for those of us who tend to fall back on a few old favorites, especially on hurried week nights. It's also where I started an internet sensation.
It
all started with a quest for healthier macaroni and cheese. I had
somehow come across the idea of adding butternut squash to mac and
cheese in order to cut fat and up the fiber and vitamins of this homey
favorite. I couldn't remember where I had seen the recipe, so I tried
googling it and came across this great foodie blog, my madeleine.
Well, the recipe she detailed was far from healthy, with a whopping 10 tablespoons of butter and a pound of cheese. But it did have extra vitamins and fiber, right? At any rate I'm a sucker for the salty/sweet combo, and butternut squash and cheddar cheese fit that bill perfectly. I gave the recipe a try, and it was without a doubt the best, yummiest mac and cheese I had tasted in my life. The cheese sauce is the CHEESIEST ever. The roasted squash is caramely and nutty and sweet. The topping is nice and crispy and golden without being dried out or leathery. And it has a nice, dense texture that holds together well when you serve it.
Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash
- 1 pound elbow macaroni - I use Barilla whole-grain macaroni (the yellow box)
- 5 Tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 cups milk
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
- 1 pound shredded medium sharp cheddar (about 4 cups)
- 1 3/4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 slice of bread (I use rye bread because that's what we usually have around, but any kind will do.)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Slice squash in half and discard seeds. Place, cut side down, on a baking sheet and roast for 1 hour until very tender.
While squash is cooking, make breadcrumbs by putting 1 slice of bread in the food processor and pulsing until it creates fine breadcrumbs. Set aside.
When squash has cooled, peel skin off and discard. Puree squash in food processor until it has a smooth consistency. Set aside.
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Salt generously. Boil pasta to al dente - about 6 minutes. Drain pasta and set aside.
Melt 4 Tablespoons butter (set aside 1 Tablespoon) and slowly stir in 1/2 c flour to form a paste.
Off heat, SLOWLY whisk in 2 cups of milk. Return to medium low heat until sauce fully blends and thickens.
Add pureed squash to the thickened sauce.
Add mustard, salt, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper. Stir in 3 cups of cheese (set aside 1 cup for the topping) and 1 3/4 cups of stock, alternating cheese and stock by cupfuls. Taste sauce, adjust seasonings if needed.
Combine pasta, squash and cheese sauce in a large bowl, toss to coat evenly. Transfer mixture to an oven-safe dish.
Melt the remaining Tablespoon of butter and blend with remaining cup of cheese and the breadcrumbs to form topping. Sprinkle mixture over the macaroni.
Place macaroni under the broiler until topping is nicely browned - about 2-4 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
