In addition to just talking about food I will be going to a small cake decorating session with Duff Goldman from Charm City Cakes! As many of you know I love decorating cakes and what could be more fun then decorating them with a pro? Especially one that lives in my state!
One of the things I'm already loving about Mixed Con are the pre-conference cooking contests! I've already entered one of the cookie contests and I wanted to enter the Dreamfields macaroni and cheese contest as well. I've had a lot of good macaroni and cheese dishes in the past few years and used what I liked from each of them to create my own fabulous dish.
I enjoy a combination of cheeses in my macaroni. For this version I used Parmesan, cheddar, and fontina. I also added in cream cheese for additional creaminess. To add more flavor and a hint of salt I tossed in some crisp bacon. I often find the use of cream to be too heavy in an already heavy pasta dish and instead opted for low fat milk and some flour to thicken it up. Then I added a crunchy topping for some texture.
The end result was delicious. The macaroni and cheese was creamy and cheesy. All the different cheeses have their own flavor but they came together in this dish and paired well with the bacon and crunchy topping. I made a huge batch of it and neither my husband nor I minded eating the leftovers for the next few days.
Four Cheese and Bacon Macaroni and Cheese (a Hezzi-D original)
12 oz. Dreamfields elbows
4 slices bacon
2 shallots, peeled and minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
¼ c. flour
2 ½ c. 2% milk
½ c. shredded fontina cheese
½ c. shredded cheddar cheese
4 oz. cream cheese
1 t. salt
1 t. fresh ground black pepper
¼ t. nutmeg
For the topping:
1 T. butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ t. black pepper
½ t. salt
1 t. paprika
½ c. seasoned breadcrumbs
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking
spray.
2. Cook the elbow noodles according to
the package directions. Drain and pour
into the baking dish.
3. Cook the bacon in a medium skillet
until it is browned on both sides.
Remove from the skillet and drain on paper towels.
4. Pour 1 tablespoon of bacon grease
into a large saucepan. Heat over medium
heat. Add in the shallots and sauté for
3 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook
for an additional minute.
5. Pour the flour into the pan and mix
well to blend.
6. Slowly add in the milk a little at a
time, stirring with a whisk until blended.
Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until
thickened.
7. Remove from heat and immediately stir
in the cream cheese, mixing until it is completely blended. Add in the other cheeses and stir until combined. Sprinkle in the salt, pepper, and nutmeg and
mix well.
8. Crumble the bacon and add to the
cheese sauce.
9. Pour the cheese sauce over top of the
elbow macaroni and stir until combined.
Set aside.
10. Melt the butter for the topping for 30 seconds
in the microwave. Stir in the garlic
cloves, salt, pepper, paprika, and breadcrumbs.
The mixture should be crumbly.
11. Sprinkle the topping over top of the
macaroni and cheese. Put in the oven and
bake for 30 minutes.
This post linked to:
Totally Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, Trick or Treat Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesdays, Tuesday Talent Show,























