Superbowl Series: My Kind of Cupcaking

I know that Cupcakes and Cashmere, a coveted blog in the world of blogging, posted a recipe for macaroni and cheese cupcakes long ago, and since then it has been replicated by many (FYI C&C copied its recipe here!) Well, but isn't imitation the ultimate form of flattery anyways?

Just to set things straight, this isn't you run-of-the-mill Kraft stuff, nor is it made with expensive, hard-to-find cheeses. Let's just say that it certainly wouldn't be sassy macaroni and cheese if there weren't a few ingredients to make it a little spicy and little healthier!

This recipe is pretty much the epitome of me. It's the beautiful marriage of my love for cupcakes, in  the holiest of matrimony's with my undying quest to make the best macaroni and cheese around town. I'd like to say that I'm pretty close, if not right on the dot, with this amazing recipe!

What I love MOST about making macaroni and cheese, in cupcake form (duh!), is that it's much easier to serve and also store (I mean if you even have leftovers!). These cheesy cupcakes are perfect, I mean, seriously, made, for tailgating or game day party...hence I'd like to initiate the mac n cheese cupcake alongside infamous game day hot wings. YES, it stands next to wings at any Superbowl menu. So what's even better about making these into cupcakes rather than serving it individually? Utensils are optional! Because these pups can be devoured at room temperature, not need to fuss about shamelessly scrapping your plate for the last tiny morsel of ooey gooey cheese, you probably had that bite, long ago, when you ate it in cupcake form!

Love that I don't, need to worry about food sitting out at my party and guests complaining of unsavory, tepid food.

Did I mention that I added my BFF of winter vegetables?! Yes, I did add butternut squash to give this mac n cheese and even creamier texture, without adding on the extra cheese...and calories, of course. They boys won't know they are enjoying vegetables on game day (talking as if boys are like little kids!), but really now, people will be guessing how your mac n cheese stayed so, incredibly creamy, after baking it in the oven and letting it sit past halftime.

While you'll want to try and keep the all the focus and positive vibes on the game (Go Niners!), something tells me everyone will be hitting the food table again and again... :)

Note: Because I made these cupcakes healthier, using  whole wheat pasta and butternut squash, the dish is a bit dryer/denser than usual. Therefore, adding a tad more cheese on top (using your judgement here, I'm trusting you don't go overboard!) is advised!

Jalepeno and Butternut Squash Mac N Cheese Cupcakes

Adapted from Food Doodles

Ingredients: 

• 1 box whole wheat, elbow macaroni pasta, cooked to package instructions or until al dente
• 10 oz. of aged sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 cup of butternut squash puree
• 1 cup milk
• 1 Tbl butter
• 1 1/2 Tbl flour (whole wheat works as well!)
• 2 jalepenos, diced and seeds removed (unless you want this to be really hot!)
• 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tsp olive oil
• Cooking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and slicing butternut squash in half, lengthwise. Be sure to chop off the stem first. Using a spoon, remove the seeds. 
2. Place squash in a baking dish filled with 1/2 inches of water (making a water bath here, basically) and place in the oven until it's tender and your knife easily goes through the squash. The squash will be done at this temp in about 30-40 minutes. 
3. While squash is roasting in the oven, chop jalepenos in half and with a spoon, remove seeds, just like you did with the squash, then dice them into small pieces You don't want to be handling these seeds to much because they will sting if you later touch your eyes with your hands (YES! even after washing them several times!) 
4. When squash is finished roasting, carefully transfer to a cutting board as it will be very hot. The squash should be tender enough that you can scrap it right out the skin with a spoon. Lower temperature to 350 degrees for the cupcakes.
5. Once you're done scraping away butternut squash into a bowl, use the back of the spoon to "mash" it into a puree of sorts. Set aside. 

    6.  Start boiling your pasta and once it's done drain and set aside.
    7.  In the same pot as your pasta, add 1 Tbl butter on medium heat. Cook jalepenos and butter until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Add your flour and mix well.
    8.  Bump up the heat of your pot to medium high and whisk in your milk with jalepeno, butter and flour mixture. Whisk continuously until the milk mixture begins to thicken. You might need to bump up the heat to a boil so it can get to this point.

    9.  This is when you add your 1 cup of puree, keep the temperature to a boil and whisk until combined. Whisk in grated cheese and change to low heat. Once well combined, set aside cheese and squash sauce off of the stove flame.  

   10.  Add pasta to cheese sauce and mix well with a spoon. 

   11.  In a small bowl mix Panko breadcrumbs, olive oil and salt and pepper. Set aside.

   12.  Spray cupcake tins, liberally, with cooking spray. Spoon in mac and cheese mixture and top with breadcrumbs.

   13.  Place in the oven for about 30 minutes at lowered temperature of 350 degrees.

   14.  Once they are nicely browned, remove them from the oven and let them cool for a few minutes before popping them out of the tin with a butter knife.

   15.  Serve warm or room temperature. This recipe makes 2 dozen (24) macaroni and cheese cupcakes!

Redo Remix: This is the BEST Mac n Cheese, slightly amended version

So I felt like my attempt at the "best mac n cheese" was such a failure, the only thing I could do to make it right is to make it ALL over again! Guess what!?! I felt amazing about it after! In fact, I got several compliments on its, light yet creamy texture...all I gotta say is #winningwithgoatcheese.

I wrote a pretty, detailed, list of what I would do differently and I followed it to the tee, making sure to half the recipe (yes, I even used a calculator to make sure I know what half of 1/3 really was). 

A few changes I made included: omitting broccoli, using regular pasta instead of whole grain, leaving out the dried thyme, using less breadcrumb topping, sticking with just white cheddar, amongst other mishaps I redeemed myself from. It felt great, like I made the BEST mac n cheese....I think this could be a side dish winner for this year's Thanksgiving feasting.

Seriously, maybe it was my ego, but I sighed a, big, sigh of relief when this recipe gone wrong,  went right and turned out fabulously. 

Although I have the original recipe on this site, I wanted to add the amended version, in which I HIGHLY, recommend you try instead! 

Ingredients: 

• 6 oz package of center cut bacon ( 1/2 package)
• 1 box shell or elbow macaroni (cooking until just al-dente, or 2-3 suggested cooking time)
• 2 3/4 cups of whole milk, warmed until warm (VERY IMPORTANT STEP!)
• 1 1/2 tbs unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp dry mustard
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 6 oz shredded sharp white cheddar, divided
• 4 oz herb goat cheese of your choice ( I used a brand called Cypress Grove, its pretty mild, especially since I'm not using any thyme in this recipe)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup seasoned Italian Panko breadcrumbs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter or spray casserole dish and set aside.
2. Boil pasta to directions specifications, shaving 2-3 minutes off of suggested time. Drain pasta and set aside.
3. While pasta is boiling, in a shallow skillet (this is where we will be making our cheesy sauce) cook half package of bacon, until crispy. Set aside cooked bacon on a plate covered with paper towel and let oil drain, then cut into small pieces, when cooled.
4. Saved about 1 -  11/2 tbs of bacon fat, throw the rest away. In the same skillet, melt butter in medium heat. Slowly whisk in flour, about 1 minute, until thick and well-incorporated with the butter. 
5. Add warm milk and begin to whisk flour, butter and bacon fat on medium high heat until this mixture, or roux, thickens and begins to bubble (this takes about 3-4 minutes). 
6. Remove roux from heat and add dry mustard, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Add in 3/4 of white cheddar, reserving the rest of the cheese for pre-breadcrumb topping. Add in total amount of goat cheese and parmesan. Mix until cheeses are melted completely. The sauce should be soupy at this point. Add pieces of bacon. 
7. Stir in cooked pasta to the sauce and mix well. Transfer to greased casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining white cheddar and 1/4 cup of Panko breadcrumbs. 
8. Place in oven for 25 minutes. Make sure breadcrumbs are browning but not burning. Bake for an additional 5 minutes with foil cover if breadcrumbs are not browning. Serve immediately or eat leftovers for a week like me! :)

The true meaning of comfort food

We all have our own favorite dish that we instinctively reach for when stressed, in crisis or just full of joy. Either way, I was needing some soul food, literally food for my soul. Now, some of you may know that I have a particular penchant for macaroni and cheese, where finding the perfect mac n cheese is on my lifelong list of goals and bucket list, so to say (perhaps an odd one at that). This is the second time I've made this recipe, with a few tweaks to it here and there, it's still not perfect, but I gave it all my love anyways. 

Here's is exactly what I learned this time around and will not repeat the next time I make this self-proclaimed (and I really believe it in my heart), "best mac n cheese" recipe:

• Do not add dried thyme. I'm not sure if fresh thyme would have been a milder flavor, but I think herbed goat cheese is plenty of herb to take in. 

• Do not use sharp white cheddar/gruyere blend. God bless Trader Joe's for making all of us twenty-something year olds lives easier, but buying two cheese in one wasn't the best idea for this recipe! (Although, this would be excellent to melt into a cheese fondue). While I liked the idea of buying  two cheeses for the price of one, I'm not sure if I liked the nutty aftertaste in my mac n cheese. It's overpowering, with all the herbs already going on. Next time, I shall defer to the original recipe's suggestions, which call for parmesan, sharp white cheddar and herb goat cheese.

• In an effort to be healthy I added broccoli.  WOMP! If this was a creamier, yellow cheddar mac n cheese, broccoli would have been a fitting addition...not so great with goat cheese here. Mental note made. 

• Again, in another effort to be healthy I used wheat pasta. I mean it's MACARONI AND CHEESE WITH BACON...what was I thinking!! This particular recipe couldn't be that much healthier just because I used a whole grain elbow macaroni pasta. 

• Less flour in my roux. Roux's are tricky business, in one minute, flat, you can ruin your roux. I'm not kidding, as I've done this many times before. For those of you who have no clue what I'm talking about here, a roux is a type of butter, flour, milk, base or thickening agent for creamy sauces like a bechamel, alfredo or, say... a macaroni and cheese. My roux called for 1/2 cup of flour, which seems like a lot, so decided to agree on 1/3 cup, not exactly the right math. Typically, roux's have a few tablespoons of flour, I think I masked a lot of the cheesy flavors happening by adding too much flour, causing my mac n cheese to be really dense and thus lacking in flavor.

• I'm 50/50 about using Italian seasoned Panko breadcrumbs. Dare I say it was too crispy for my taste!? Maybe just using less of it would have been better. 

Well, I'm certainly a harsh critic on myself, but I truly believe I can make the best, darn, homemade mac n cheese, with a little bit of luck and persistence for nailing down the right recipe. 

Homemade Herb Goat Cheese Macaroni and Cheese with Bacon

Bacon, goat cheese and red wine... I'm in heavan!

adapted from Recipe Girl

Ingredients:

Breadcrumb Topping: 

• 2 cloves garlic 
• 3/4 cup Italian-style Panko breadcrumbs

Mac n Cheese: 

• 12 oz. (1 package) center-cut bacon, chopped into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tbl butter
• 1 pound whole grain pasta (elbows or shells), cooked until very al dente ( a little crunchy, as it will cook further in the oven)
• 3 1/2 cups whole milk, heated until warm
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1tbl dried thyme 
• 1 tsp mustard powder
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt, or more to taste
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 12 oz (or 4 cups) sharp white cheddar/gruyere cheese blend, shredded & divided
• 8 oz herb & garlic flavored Chevre cheese (goat cheese), crumbled
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 3 to 4 quart casserole dish.

2. Cook pasta until almost al dente, strain and set aside. 

3. Prepare breadcrumbs: in warm skillet, brown Panko breadcrumbs for 3-4 mins, until light brown. Set aside to sprinkle on top of mac n cheese later.

4. In a large skillet, sauté bacon until it is almost crisp. Remove bacon to paper towels to drain. Spoon out oil from pan, reserving about 1/2 tablespoon of bacon drippings. Add 2 tablespoons butter to the bacon drippings and heat to medium. When butter sizzles, add flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Slowly pour hot milk into flour-butter mixture while whisking. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until mixture bubbles up and becomes thick. 

5. Remove pan from heat and stir in thyme, mustard powder, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Then stir in 3 cups cheddar/gruyere and Chevre and Parmigiano cheeses.

6. Stir cooked pasta and cooked bacon into the cheese sauce. Pour mixture into prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining cheddar onto the pasta. Scatter breadcrumbs over the top.

7. Bake until browned on top, about 30 minutes. Check at 15 minutes to make sure the breadcrumbs aren't browning too quickly (if they are, just place a sheet of foil loosely over the top). 

I "sort of" tried to half this recipe. Perhaps the next time around I will do a better job of that. Needless to say, this dish was still good, but it has the potential to be better! It still came out of the oven looking like a winner!