MAC & CHEESE, ELEVATED

First gather your ingredients. This is about working with what you have—taking basic ingredients and elevating them into something special!

My list of available ingredients inspired me to make a fun chopped salad as a side. The mac & cheese simply got some of what I call ‘kitchen spa treatment’. 

INGREDIENTS & ASSEMBLY

Step 1. Preheat oven to 350F

Step 2. Trader Joe’s mac & cheese — Follow box directions, set aside for assembly

 

Step 3. Clarified butter (Ghee) — Heat in cast iron skillet 

 

Step 4. Panko bread crumbs — Quickly toss and toast in heated clarified butter, remove from pan and set aside for assembly

Step 5. Chives — Mince for mac & cheese

 

Step 6. Mix cooked mac & cheese with ¾ of minced chives. Spoon into cast iron skillet used to toast bread crumbs

Step 7. Sprinkle top of mac & cheese with toasted bread crumbs

 

Step 8. Cheddar Cheese - sprinkle on top of assembled mac & cheese topped with toasted bread crumbs; finish by scattering remaining minced chives on top

Step 9. Place pan in middle rack of preheated oven; bake for about 15 mins or until cheddar cheese is melted.

 

Step 10. Fresh corn on the cob - cut from cob and place in mixing bowl

 

Step 11. Green Onions - mince and place in bowl with corn

 

Step 12. English Cucumber - cut into small pieces and add to corn and onions

 

Step 13. Parsley - mince fine and add to bowl 

 

Step 14. Cherry Tomatoes - quarter and add to bowl

 

Step 15. Zhoug Sauce (Trader Joe’s), mixed with Greek Yogurt — spoon into bowl with assorted chopped and minced vegetable, blend and adjust with sea salt as needed 

 

Step 16. Romaine Lettuce - arrange whole leaves on plate and use as a boat for the chopped salad

 

WINE PAIRING

Virna 2015 Barolo, available at Trader Joe’s, is not what anyone would normally expect with mac & cheese, but it actually works well. Barolo is BIG and BOLD, but due to the high tannins in this Northern Italian wine, the fat from the mac & cheese tames the tannins and lets the fruit in the wine shine. It’s an AHA! moment. 

Disclaimer: The Barolo pic shows an empty bottle, sorry but we had already consumed it with the meal (( grin ))

Hope you enjoyed this little demonstration that takes the ordinary we can easily find in our fridges and pantries to make something beautiful and extraordinary. Beautiful food doesn’t have to be complicated. The artistry of plating makes everything taste better, even the humble box of mac & cheese. 

SALUT! 

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