BLT Mac ‘n’ Cheese
By Laura Werlin
Life in the cheese world is pretty rough. I mean, there I was, nibbling on a piece of cheese one day when onto my screen popped an email asking me to create a mac ‘n’ cheese recipe using Wisconsin Cheese. Talk about a no-brainer. I’m a gigantic fan of Wisconsin Cheese, and mac ‘n’ cheese? Uh, hello. Love the stuff.
Even though I created a pretty darned good mac ‘n’ cheese recipe for my book, The New American Cheese (if I say so myself), I figured there might be ways to enhance or, heaven forbid, improve that recipe.
I began to think of ingredients that would harmonize with the Wisconsin Colby I planned to use. My immediate thought: two more Wisconsin Cheeses - Gruyère and Sartori Reserve BellaVitano, a crumbly Parmesan-like cheese that’s so sweet it tastes almost sugary. It’s the ultimate sweet-salty combo.
I then thought, why not turn my second-favorite sandwich - a BLT - into a mac ‘n’ cheese? (My first favorite? Grilled cheese, of course). I began to think of ways to do that that would not only make sense but that would also taste fantastic.
First up the “B” of the BLT. Although I could have used pancetta or prosciutto, I opted for the traditional smoky, crispy bacon. Yum. Next, was the “L.” I went back and forth between arugula and spinach, and while I opted for arugula in the recipe, you can use spinach if you prefer. That capital “T” loomed large. I wanted to use fresh tomatoes, but as I suspected, they were ridiculously watery. Instead, I decided to use the sun-dried variety, which turned out to be great - salty and sweet.
Finally, I had to decide whether to make a butter-flour-milk (béchamel) sauce or make the whole thing easier by bathing the macaroni in lots of cream and milk. I went the easy route and opted to open cartons of calories and goodness not to mention save a time-consuming step in traditional mac ‘n’ cheese-making. And heck, I thought, why not top the whole thing with sour cream? I mean, we’re talking the Dairy State here, which is the state of mind I’m in most of the time anyway.
To put this whole concoction together required a few steps, just as good mac ‘n’ cheese always does, but I tried to consolidate those steps as best I could. The first thing I did was cook the sun-dried tomatoes and macaroni together in the boiling water. This reconstituted the tomatoes, which - prevents them from being teeth-breakingly chewy.
Next, I cooked the bacon in the microwave rather than on the stovetop. Even though microwaving the bacon takes about the same amount of time as cooking it on the stove, it makes a little bit less of a mess. Plus you don’t have to tend to it, which leaves you free to prepare the other mac ‘n’ cheese elements.
Unless you have a food processor with a grating disk, plan to spend a little time grating the cheeses. Even though there’s no quick way to do it, you can make it easier on yourself by using a box grater and grating the cheese onto waxed or parchment paper. Then all you have to do is lift the paper off your work surface, fold up the sides, and funnel the cheese into your mixing bowl. That’s a lot easier than transferring the cheese strand by strand.
Once the cheese is grated, you’re ready to assemble and cook. Basically all you have to do is whip a couple of eggs (this helps lighten the casserole during baking), add the cream, half-and-half, milk, spices and the rest of the ingredients. When you add the greens, you’ll see that it looks like a lot of greens, but they’ll blend right in.
Next up, top the casserole with sour cream, swirl it just a bit so that it’s distributed over the casserole, and then top the whole thing with the bread crumbs and the BellaVitano Cheese. I’m in the must-use breadcrumbs camp, but not everybody is. To me, it adds a necessary crunch. And really, why not add more carbs as long as you’re at it?
The end result? Pure, cheesy heaven. It’s crunchy and smoky (thank you, bacon), silky (all that dairy in one bite), nutty and golden and gooey because of the Colby, which of course, is a Wisconsin original. The greens add a different kind of texture - kind of chewy - and best of all, they allow you to think you’re eating health food. Believe me, you are. Nothing is better for the spirit than mac ‘n’ cheese, right?
BLT Mac ‘n’ Cheese
Serves 8 to 10
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon butter
3/4 pound (about 3 cups) elbow macaroni
3 ounces sun-dried tomatoes, julienned or coarsely chopped
Olive oil for drizzling
5 slices bacon
2 large eggs
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup half-and-half
3/4 cup whole or low-fat milk
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or less for a milder flavor)
2 1/2 cups (10 ounces) Wisconsin Colby Cheese, coarsely grated
2 cups (8 ounces) Wisconsin Gruyère Cheese, coarsely grated
3 ounces arugula or baby spinach (about 3 cups, packed; cut off any long stems)
4 ounces sour cream
1 cup (4 ounces) BellaVitano Gold Cheese, finely grated
3/4 cup breadcrumbs, toasted
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with the butter; set aside.
Bring a 4- to 6-quart pot of salted water to a boil; add macaroni and sun-dried tomatoes and cook 4 minutes (the pasta will be underdone but will cook fully once it’s baked). Drain the pasta and tomatoes and place them back in the pot. Stir in a little olive oil to keep the pasta from sticking. Set aside.
Cook the bacon in a medium sauté pan until very crisp or place bacon on a microwave-safe plate, cover with a paper towel and cook on HIGH for about 4 minutes. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate, cool slightly, and crumble into small pieces. Set aside.
In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Whisk in the cream, half-and-half, milk, salt and cayenne. Stir in the Colby, Gruyère, cooked macaroni mixture and arugula.
It will look like a lot of arugula, but it will mix in.
Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole. Dot with spoonfuls of the sour cream and top with grated BellaVitano Gold followed by the breadcrumbs.
Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until the cheese and breadcrumbs are golden brown and the casserole is bubbling. Let stand 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
