Asadero Mexican Mac with Salsa Verde

Make a cheese sauce from scratch? Without a doubt, if you say macaroni and cheese, I immediately think of popping open the blue box and smacking the little silver packet against the kitchen counter to pack together the orange “cheese” powder.  I admit it, I grew up eating box macaroni and cheese and loved it (don’t judge me, you clearly have never met my mother).  As a teenager, who actually thinks – “how do you make a cheese sauce?”

Okay, so I don’t eat instant cheese sauce out of a box anymore, but it doesn’t change the fact that my girlish teenage crush on cheese has evolved into an adult love affair.   I’ve traded in my silver packet for the real stuff – real dairy, real butter, and real cheese.  I was thrilled when I received the invitation from Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board to use their lovely Wisconsin Cheese in a Satisfied recipe.

So how do you make a cheese sauce from scratch?  There are actually many ways to make a cheese sauce.  As a French trained chef, the first that comes to my mind is Mornay sauce (butter+flour+milk+cheese) … but Mac and Mornay? Just doesn’t sound quite right.  And whenever I’ve made a Mornay sauce with pasta, it tastes like just that, sauce “with” pasta. The sauce is delicious on its own but never completely marries itself with the noodles, becoming one … like a married couple with separate bank accounts.  You see, the best thing about box macaroni and cheese is the slippery noodles that are completely one with sauce.  They have fallen in love and you can’t tell where one ends and the other begins­—the flavor is inseparable.

To create a velvety smooth sauce, almost custard like in texture, I discarded the way of Béchamel (butter+flour+milk) and chose eggs. This egg-based cheese sauce is made in a similar way as Pasta Carbonara, but not Italian at all.  I started this recipe idea with Wisconsin Asadero Cheese, and from there I ran south of the border with a Mexican theme:  chilies, cumin, oregano, and Salsa Verde.

First, I boiled the noodles in salted water until just under al dente.  While those were cooking, I combined the eggs with the half and half, chilies, Salsa Verde, and Mexican seasonings.  Once the pasta came out of the water, I returned it to the warm pot with butter over low heat (you don’t want scrambled eggs), and added in the egg mixture and cheese. I continued stirring slowly until the cheese melted and the eggs thickened the liquid to a velvety, creamy and spicy cheese sauce.  Cook for just five more minutes on the stove top and then into an oven proof dish.  I finished the macaroni with a little more Wisconsin Cheese on top and a quick stop under the broiler for a bubbly melted cheese finish.