Macaroni Crazyness!
The other day I was on stumble and stumbled on Buzzfeed. Normally Buzzfeed just has funny pictures, but this time it had a recipe for mac and cheese pie with a bacon lattice. So I thought, why not? Calli came over Monday night and I made some, but I couldn’t find my pie pan, so I used a spring form pan. (Don’t do it, or you’ll understand what oven fire means….) Besides that crazyness, it turned out really well! I did cheat and I bought a pie crust because everyone knows how much I fight with pie crusts, and the ready made Pillsbury crusts actually work really well. I also used different cheeses than they did, which I’ll put in the recipe. If you have some time and want to feed a decent amount of people with a really good mac and cheese, I’d suggest this. You can use whatever cheese you want, so your options are endless.
Mac and Cheese pie with a Bacon Lattice
(From Buzzfeed)
For the crust (If you make your own)
3½ cups all-purpose flour (from the freezer if possible)
1 cup (2 sticks) very cold unsalted butter, cut into ½” cubes
¼ cup cold vegetable shortening
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp. kosher salt
1 Tbsp. scant apple cider vinegar + enough ice water to make ¾ cup liquid
For mac ‘n’ cheese filling
5 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 cups dried macaroni
4 Tbsp. of butter (½ a stick)
4 Tbsp. flour
2.5 cups heavy cream
2 tsp mustard powder
1 egg yolk
1 pound grated cheese —roasted garlic cheese, Vermont Cheddar, and Gouda
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the bacon lattice
8 slices bacon
1 Tbsp. brown sugar (optional)
. Measure out all of your ingredients for the crust and make sure your butter and shortening are very cold. (It helps to put them in the freezer after they’re measured and cut into pieces. It also helps to keep the flour in the freezer.)
For mac ‘n’ cheese filling
1. Boil pasta in generously salted water until just al dente, following directions on package.
2. Cook bacon pieces in sauté pan until just crispy, drain on paper towels and set aside.
3. In a large pot, melt the butter. Then stir in the flour. Whisk to combine and cook for 1-2 minutes. Now you’ve got what is called a “roux” — equal parts butter and flour cooked together. Add the cream and whisk again, let cook, whisking occasionally, for 5-10 minutes until it thickens. Now you’ve got bechamel sauce.
5. Temper egg yolk into the bechamel: To do this, take a little of your hot bechamel and put it into a bowl with the egg yolk. Whisk so that the egg heats up gently. Then dump the warm egg/bechamel mixture into the hot pot of bechamel, and whisk.
6. Add all the cheese and stir to combine. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
7. Add macaroni and cooked bacon pieces to cheese sauce, then add more freshly ground pepper to taste.
To assemble
1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Fill the baked pie crust with the mac ‘n’ cheese. You’ll use all but 1 or 2 cups.
3. Weave a lattice with 8 bacon slices (4 in one direction and 4 in the other direction — keep them long as long as possible because they will shrink when they cook).
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