Beer Mac and Cheese {Crazy Cooking Challenge}
When Tina {Mom’s Crazy Cooking} sent out an email asking food bloggers if they would like to participate in a Crazy Cooking Challenge to find the ULTIMATE of different types of recipes, I was all over it. We could cook any recipe we wanted, but it could not be an old blog post and it had to come from a personal blog. Easy enough since I follow so many! For the month of September we are highlighting mac and cheese recipes – the ultimate comfort food. I know, I know, like I need another Mac and Cheese recipe on the books, but I jumped in anyways. We will post on the 7th of each month, all at the same time each month (12 pm pst). If you would like to join in the fun or just see who is participating, go to the Crazy Cooking Challenge Info Page.
I got this recipe from How Sweet It Is, and I love her blog. If you haven’t found her yet, go dig through her recipe archives because they are addictive.
Most mac and cheeses look the same, but this one has a little kick. Your choice of beer. I love recipes that require me to drink…I mean cook with alcohol. Since I had to make this dish for one person, I scaled it down. Actually, I quartered it and as a main dish, it was the perfect amount for me. Win win for me because I got to make the dish and drink the rest of the beer. It was pretty tasty, and I will venture to guess that the type of beer you use really affects the outcome of this dish. I used a microbrew {Fat Tire}, which is a slightly amber ale, but I wouldn’t recommend going any darker. You want the cheese and beer to compliment each other, not have the beer take over. I think I even got a little buzz from eating this dish – or maybe that was because I drank pretty much the entire beer. Whatever.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups uncooked whole wheat elbow noodles
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 8 ounces milk
- 8 ounces beer (I used an amber beer – it was what I had on hand)
- 8 ounces freshly grated cheddar cheese
- 4 ounces freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- pinch of black pepper
- pinch of nutmeg
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
- *I added salt and cayenne to taste
- 10 large basil leaves, chopped for garnish
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Prepare water for pasta and boil according to directions, shaving 1-2 minutes off of cooking time since pasta will continue to cook in the oven.
- Heat a saucepan over medium high heat and add butter. Once melted and sizzling, whisk in flour to create a roux and cook until bubbly and golden in color, about 2 minutes. Add milk and beer into saucepan whisking constantly, then add cheeses and stir until melted. Turn heat down to medium and continue to stir, cooking for 5-6 minutes while mixture thickens. It will most likely NOT thicken like regular mac and cheese because of the beer, but you want it to thicken a little bit. Stir in pepper, paprika and nutmeg.
- Add noodles (once cooked and drained) to a casserole dish, then pour cheese over top, mixing gently to combine. Top with panko bread crumbs and an additional sprinkle of cheese if desired. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly and golden on top.
- Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes, then top with fresh basil.
IF YOU HAVE A MAC AND CHEESE RECIPE YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE, LINK UP TO MY MAC AND CHEESE QUEST!
Here are all of the bloggers participating in the Crazy Cooking Challenge. Be sure to pick out a few and see which mac and cheese they are cooking this month – then VOTE for the one you think is the ULTIMATE recipe:
Join us next month (same bat time, same bat channel) when we find the ultimate chocolate chip cookie!
Shouldn’t it be two beers, one for the cook and one for the recipe ;-)
My Crazy Cooking Challenge entry: Velvety Mac & Cheese.Lisa~~ Cook Lisa Cook
I like the way you think Lisa! Maybe (subconsciously) that is why I made a smaller batch
This sounds great! All the flavors sound wonderful…and it doesn’t look overly cheesy like some mac & cheese dishes are. I did Crock Pot Mac & Cheese: http://www.morethanmundane.com/2011/09/07/cooking-together-crockpot-mac-and-cheese/
Thanks for stopping by Krissa!
Love this recipe, Miranda! YUMMY! I’m all about incorporating beer into foods. What a lovely post!
Beer. Food. Together. Combined. Absolutely!
Three of my favorite things all in one–pasta, cheese and beer!
I know, right!
Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe! I love the combination of ingredients. Looking forward to trying this!
Oh my, this round-up of mac and cheese is like heaven to my mac-and-cheese-loving soul!
this was super awesome mac and cheese!! love it! I did this too! and a few! Popular Beer mac and cheese
Okay, this just moved to the top of my list! Bookmarked and all! Thanks!
Thanks for joining us for the first month of CCC, stop by and check out my Mac & Cheese Bites!http://momscrazycooking.blogspot.com/2011/09/macaroni-and-cheese-bites-crazy-cooking.html
Nice pick, Miranda! I love that blog too. Beer sounds perfect in mac and cheese!
Check out my mac and cheese post if you like
http://steaknpotatoeskindagurl.blogspot.com/2011/09/crazy-cooking-challenge-and-buffalo.html
You picked a winner, Miranda! I was anxious to see your entry since you are the mac & cheese queen collector!
Have a great weekend!
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Concetta
Sounds interesting – will have to try this some time:)
You had me at beer. Seriously, I had know idea that comfort food could get any better! Yum!
I’d like to know how many servings this makes? Sound great, I’d like to try it for a bbq party.
As written, it serves 4-6. I would say closer to 4. I halved the recipe (using 1 cup of pasta) and I fed myself as a main dish (I think I could have stretched it to two small sides). I would say if you doubled the recipe – or used a 1 lb box of pasta, it could serve 10. Remember to season with salt and/or cayenne to taste. Enjoy your BBQ!