Sasha's Kitchen: Southern Pimento Mac & Cheese

Mac & cheese is that perfect comfort food when the rest of life seems just too complicated and too much of a mess, at times. I have my own signature mac & cheese that I love, but could not resist a recipe that I came across in Bon Appetit for some southern style pimento mac & cheese.  Pimento cheese is a southern style cheese made with cheddar and pimento-type peppers, basically blended into a paste. More or less, that is the basis behind the flavor of this mac & cheese recipe. I adapted the proportions a bit from the original recipe to get things to my liking, but this is adapted from the recipe in this month's Bon Appetit.  I used some lower fat cheeses and a bit larger proportion of pasta so my version is perhaps just a tad bit healthier. Still tastes amazing! I had pimento for the first time  few months ago when I was in Atlanta, and this dish is really true to taste.

Southern Pimento Mac & Cheese
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
3 T butter
2/3 cup parmesan cheese
3/4 cup drained peppadew peppers in brine, 1 T brine reserved
1/4 tsp ancho chili powder
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups light cheddar cheese, grated
1 1/4 cups whole milk mozzarella
1 box (16 oz) mini-shell pasta

Bring 1/2 of a cup of water, 1 1/2 cloves of garlic and the bell pepper to boil. Then lower heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Toss the panko in a skillet and brown lightly over medium heat (about 5 minutes). Transfer to a bowl and combine with 1 T of butter, and 1/4 cup of parmesan, and set aside.

Put the bell pepper/ water mixture in a blender. Add the peppadew peppers and one tablespoon of the brine, and also the rest of the garlic, ancho chili powder, grated cheddar and remaining parmesan.  Blend until smooth, and season with salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 400 and butter an 8 cup baking dish. I used one of my lovely Emile Henry ones.  Cook the pasta until al dente. Stir the pimento sauce in, and add the shredded mozzarella, stirring to combine. Spoon into baking dish and top with the breadcrumb mixture. Bake about 25 minutes until the topping is crisp.

In the mood for more Southern Food? I made some Mardi Gras cupcakes today . . .

Sasha's Kitchen: Southern Pimento Mac & Cheese

Sasha's Kitchen: Signature Macaroni & Cheese

Macaroni & cheese is one of the best all time comfort foods. Its not one of the most healthy pasta dishes out there. In the next week or two, I will be sharing two recent lowfat, healthy pasta dishes. This is not one of them, but oh is it amazing to eat every once and a while. Although not traditional, I made it for Thanksgiving, and it made for a perfect side dish to the maple glazed turkey.  You can make it a little bit healthier, if you use lowfat cheese, I guess. But I personally recommend making it as a side dish for a large group and just indulging once a year or so.

Sasha's Mac & Cheese
1 box elbow macaroni
2 T butter, melted
1/3 cup flour
3 cups skim milk
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
8 oz pepper jack cheese, grated
3 oz cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup Japanese-style panko bread crumbs
2 diced tomatoes
2 tsp ancho chile powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
salt and pepper to taste

First, cook the macaroni. Combine the flour and skim milk in a pot and cook over medium heat until it thickens, for about 10 minutes. Sir in the grated cheeses and spices. Once the cheeses are melted and combined, remove from the heat. Mix in the diced tomatoes and panko. Combine this mixture with the pasta. Top with additional panko and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, until the top is crunchy. This was a big hit among the side dishes at our Thanksgiving table - it was a terrific last minute addition to the Thanksgiving menu that everyone really enjoyed.

Sasha's Kitchen: Signature Macaroni & Cheese

Sasha's Kitchen: Spicy Ancho Chile Mac & Cheese

I was inspired to create a good spicy macaroni & cheese dish after my husband and I tasted a delicious macaroni & cheese, served with a spicy duck rilette on Valentine's Day at a local Brooklyn restaurant called the Jakewalk.  Initially, I was going to do mine with a duck rilette also (even though duck rilette could perhaps be the one thing less healthy than mac & cheese!).  However, that is going to have to wait for another day.  For tonight's recipe, I decided to use primarily pepperjack cheese to add some heat and pepper-flavor.  I also added heat with cayenne pepper, while using tomato mainly for texture and color.  The ancho chile powder adds a smokiness to the overall flavor, as well as color to the dish.

This dish is surprisingly easy to make.  I made enough for two nights at least, mainly because I seem to think I am cooking for an army of people, rather just for two.  Also, the duck wasn't missed at all - this dish had enough kick and spice to steal its own spot in the limelight.


Sasha's Spicy Ancho Chile Mac & Cheese
1 lb box fusilli pasta
4 T butter, melted
1/3 cup flour
3 cups skim milk
1 tsp cayenne pepper
8 oz pepper jack cheese, grated
3 oz cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup panko bread crumbs, plus extra on top
2 diced tomatoes
2 tsp ancho chile powder
2 sprigs of thyme
salt and pepper to taste

First, cook the pasta.  Then, combine the flour and skim milk in a pot and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes until it thickens.  Stir in the grated cheese, spices and thyme leaves (removing from the sprigs).  Add the tomatoes and the panko.  Toss with the pasta and place in a casserole dish.  Top with additional panko and bake at 350 F for about 30 minutes until the macaroni & cheese is crunchy on top.  The end result has some heat, but is not on fire, which was just perfect for me.  I would have used regular macaroni but my husband requested that I do the dish with fusilli instead, which wound up looking really  beautiful.

I had enough to fill my heart-shaped Emile Henry casserole dish, but also some extra which I used to fill my set of ramekins.  I guess I'll be eating macaroni & cheese for lunch tomorrow . . . and the day after that . . .

Sasha's Kitchen: Spicy Ancho Chile Mac & Cheese