Mac Daddy Mac and Cheese

Hubby decided to 'practice' making a sinful mac and cheese yesterday in preparation for Thanksgiving. Although it turned out great it really wasn't what we where thinking we wanted for Thanksgiving.  This is more of a fancy pants mac than a down home traditional mac and cheese.  The topping, OH the Topping! We will be using this for all manner of things down the road.

My husband cooks in a very organized fashion so I couldn't help but take a picture! The full recipe is at the bottom.

Everything ready to go, just waiting for the pasta to boil!

The recipe called for "1 pound penne pasta".  We used 2 boxes.  I would recommend next time only one, maybe one and half so there is more sauce per noodle.  We also used whole wheat pasta, next time, go for the regular.

The sauce is so thick it just sticks to the pasta!

Real life mac and cheese, complete with bacon!

Served with a rotisserie chicken! Yummy!

This came from Mac Daddy Mac and Cheese

Mac Daddy Mac n' Cheese

Courtesy Guy Fieri May 2008

Prep Time:

20 min

Inactive Prep Time:

1 hr 0 min

Cook Time:

50 min

Level:

Easy

Serves:

8 servings

Ingredients

• 2 shallots, peeled  (we only used one, Texan shallots are HUGE!)
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 3 pieces bacon, diced, cooked, reserving 1 tablespoon bacon fat
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 4 cups heavy cream (we only had one small container of heavy cream so we used 2 cups half and half, turned out fine.)
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound penne pasta, cooked  (we don't have a reliable food scale so we used 2 boxes, I recommend 1 1/2 next time)
• 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 2 tbsp. melted butter
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place shallots and garlic in a small aluminum foil pouch and drizzle with olive oil. Roast 20 to 30 minutes or until tender. Remove from foil and chop. In a large saute pan, reheat reserved bacon fat over medium heat. Add roasted shallot and garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add flour and stir for 1 minute. Whisk in heavy cream and thyme. Reduce by a third. Stir in cheeses until melted, creamy and thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and gently stir in pasta. Place in a 9X13casserole dish. In a small bowl, mix together diced bacon, bread crumbs, butter and parsley. Top Mac n Cheese with Panko mixture and bake uncovered at same heat until bubbling and lightly browned on top, 20 to 25 minutes.

Dinner was delicious and we will make this again for gatherings certainly, a bit of work but the second time around will be faster I'm sure!  

What's your favorite sinful mac and cheese? 

Next on Fabrycated Mom: Earl Grey Tea Cookies

XOXO

-Lisa