Skip to main content

Mac N Cheese

Jalapeno Mac N Cheese

Mr. Fits and I are friends with an amazing couple who own two Gastropubs in Los Angeles called The Fat Dog.  A few weeks ago they asked me to come take some photos of their new joint in Hollywood for their website. I was more than super excited about this for the following reasons:

1. They are amazing, and interesting humans and I will take any excuse to hang out with them.

2. Their bar is full of pictures of bulldogs (my own bulldog included)

3. They make a Jalapeno Mac N Cheese that I have spent the last 3 years trying to duplicate.

Below is my best attempt at recreating my cheesy spicy muse.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound elbow macaroni

3 tablespoons butter

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup of onions, finely diced

3 tablespoons flour

3 cups milk

½ cup pickled jalapenos from a jar, diced

1 large egg

½ cup sharp cheddar, shredded

½ cup Smoked Gouda

½ cup Gruyere (or swiss, or jack if you have a hard time finding Gruyere)

1 tsp kosher or sea salt

1 tsp fresh black pepper

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Topping:

1 cup panko bread crumbs

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta until almost done.

While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pan, melt the butter. Cook the garlic and the onions until soft, about 4 minutes. Whisk in the flour, make sure it’s free of flour lumps. Stir in the milk, jalapeños (add a little juice from the jar, about 2 tsp), and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes. Allow to cool a bit. In a small bowl, beat the egg with a little of the milk mixture to temper, then add the egg to the pan and stir until combined. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt, pepper and stir. Fold the macaroni into the cheese mixture and pour into a baking dish. Top with remaining cheese. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs (add some jalapenos for garnish on top). Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.

[singlepic id=302 w=320 h=240 float=]