Paula Deen Mac And Cheese

[Cooking Goddess]

...I've made versions with meat mixed in with the pasta and sauce. One of the kid's favorites was with chunks of smoked kielbasa and green beans. Crumbled Italian hot sausage works well, too.

The sausage sounds good Steve. Do you use Italian cheeses with it too? I could see this with some mozz and parm/romano.

Whenever we have leftover ham AND I make mac & cheese it seems like the ham likes to climb into the dish with the mac...

 

[Steve Kroll]

The sausage sounds good Steve. Do you use Italian cheeses with it too? I could see this with some mozz and parm/romano.

Yes, I've made that one with mozzarella and parm, but I've also used pepper jack, and that's pretty tasty with the sausage, too.

 

[CarolPa]

My husband likes tomatoes in mac and cheese, but I don't like anything added to it. Just pasta and cheese sauce. When my mother made it, it formed a burnt crust of cheese on top and my brother and I used to fight over that. I can't seem to get that same effect.

 

[CraigC]

My husband likes tomatoes in mac and cheese, but I don't like anything added to it. Just pasta and cheese sauce. When my mother made it, it formed a burnt crust of cheese on top and my brother and I used to fight over that. I can't seem to get that same effect.

Spread cheese on top after baking and pop it under the broiler until you get the color you're looking for.

 

[Addie]

My husband likes tomatoes in mac and cheese, but I don't like anything added to it. Just pasta and cheese sauce. When my mother made it, it formed a burnt crust of cheese on top and my brother and I used to fight over that. I can't seem to get that same effect.

Pop it under the broiler for a few minutes. But you may be better off with the memory than trying to recreate it.

I too put tomatoes in mine.

 

[CarolPa]

Spread cheese on top after baking and pop it under the broiler until you get the color you're looking for.

The color my mother achieved was so dark brown it was almost black! LOL

 

[CraigC]

The color my mother achieved was so dark brown it was almost black! LOL

Have you ever made parmesan crisps/tuiles? You place a heaping tablespoon of grated parm on a cookie sheet on top of a silpat. Then bake in a 350 F, preheated oven until bubbly and golden. Remove from oven and let cool. It will have a cracker like texture. Really goes well with mushroom risotto!

 

[CarolPa]

Have you ever made parmesan crisps/tuiles? You place a heaping tablespoon of grated parm on a cookie sheet on top of a silpat. Then bake in a 350 F, preheated oven until bubbly and golden. Remove from oven and let cool. It will have a cracker like texture. Really goes well with mushroom risotto!

I had to google "silpat." Now it's on my wish list for Amazon, to be included in my next order!

 

[Andy M.]

Have you ever made parmesan crisps/tuiles? You place a heaping tablespoon of grated parm on a cookie sheet on top of a silpat. Then bake in a 350 F, preheated oven until bubbly and golden. Remove from oven and let cool. It will have a cracker like texture. Really goes well with mushroom risotto!

They should still be pliable when you first take them out of the oven. You can quickly form them over the bottom of a small glass to make a mini bowl for an appetizer.

 

[medtran49]

They should still be pliable when you first take them out of the oven. You can quickly form them over the bottom of a small glass to make a mini bowl for an appetizer.

But you have to be careful that what you put in them doesn't have much (if any) liquid cause they will soften over time. I like my risotto to be just very slightly on the runny side and even in just the short time it takes to eat, they start to get soft on the side down in the risotto.

You can also use parchment paper. I don't use wax paper though as I think it gives off a funny taste.

Oh, and I do them at 375. Craig doesn't make them and he got temp wrong. He also forget to mention you have to watch them once they start getting close to being done cause they go from perfect to over-cooked quickly and it is a major taste difference. They should be a light golden brown.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

The color my mother achieved was so dark brown it was almost black! LOL

That's how our daughter likes the cheese on the top of lasagna.

 

[Addie]

But you have to be careful that what you put in them doesn't have much (if any) liquid cause they will soften over time. I like my risotto to be just very slightly on the runny side and even in just the short time it takes to eat, they start to get soft on the side down in the risotto.

You can also use parchment paper. I don't use wax paper though as I think it gives off a funny taste.

Oh, and I do them at 375. Craig doesn't make them and he got temp wrong. He also forget to mention you have to watch them once they start getting close to being done cause they go from perfect to over-cooked quickly and it is a major taste difference. They should be a light golden brown.

Because Parm or Romano cheese is so inexpensive here in Boston, I can afford to get carried away. I use my 8" non-stick pan with two heaping tablespoons of grated cheese. It allows for thickness. Then when they are bubbly, I remove from heat and place over a cereal bowl for forming. Makes a perfect salad bowl placed on a salad plate. I just place the tomato slices around the bowl on the salad plate. It makes for a prettier presentation and keeps the cheese bowl dry.

 

[jennyema]

Because Parm or Romano cheese is so inexpensive here in Boston, I can afford to get carried away. I use my 8" non-stick pan with two heaping tablespoons of grated cheese. It allows for thickness. Then when they are bubbly, I remove from heat and place over a cereal bowl for forming. Makes a perfect salad bowl placed on a salad plate. I just place the tomato slices around the bowl on the salad plate. It makes for a prettier presentation and keeps the cheese bowl dry.

I do it in a skillet, too.

I think it's technically a "frico"

And it's delicious !!!!

 

[Addie]

I do it in a skillet, too.

I think it's technically a "frico"

And it's delicious !!!!

Jenny, my girlfriend in Atlanta can't buy Italian hard cheeses off the wheel for less than $30.00 a pound. The most I ever paid at DeMoula's in Chelsea has been $6.99 a pound. And yes, it has the right markings on the rind. Well worth it for every bite! I just sent two more pieces to my girlfriend so she can make her salad bowls for her Christmas dinner. It certainly has impressed her friends. (How can she afford to have real cheese on hand all the time?) Whatever the name may be, the salad bowls are delicious and well worth the time and money.

 

[bakechef]

Jenny, my girlfriend in Atlanta can't buy Italian hard cheeses off the wheel for less than $30.00 a pound. The most I ever paid at DeMoula's in Chelsea has been $6.99 a pound. And yes, it has the right markings on the rind. Well worth it for every bite! I just sent two more pieces to my girlfriend so she can make her salad bowls for her Christmas dinner. It certainly has impressed her friends. (How can she afford to have real cheese on hand all the time?) Whatever the name may be, the salad bowls are delicious and well worth the time and money.

Cheeses are fairly expensive here, but she must be shopping at the wrong stores if she is seeing $30 a pound! Trader Joes, and club stores are the places around here to buy it.

Grocery stores in general are way overpriced when it comes to cheese, at least around here!

 

[Addie]

Cheeses are fairly expensive here, but she must be shopping at the wrong stores if she is seeing $30 a pound! Trader Joes, and club stores are the places around here to buy it.

Grocery stores in general are way overpriced when it comes to cheese, at least around here!

BC, the last time I visited her, we went on a hunt for Imported Romano cheese. Every store we went into they didn't have it or they didn't know what it was. And for the Parm, all we could find was those little pieces put out by Stella already wrapped. And none of the labels said "Imported." My deli department has a huge wheel of each and because we are so close to Europe, imported foods are much cheaper here.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Grocery stores in general are way overpriced when it comes to cheese, at least around here!

That's what I've found to be the case for the most part too. The grocery store Addie refers to though seems to be very attentive to offering a price that is fair to the customer. I'll miss them when we move.

Hey Addie, Italy is about 4,000 miles from Boston. If the cheese is cheap because we're so close, how come Cabot cheese seems way more expensive than it should for as close as Vermont is? Even delicious Wisconsin cheese should be cheaper. There has to be another reason.

 

[Caslon]

Levity. Oprah Winfrey said she gained major poundage indulging on her favorite food fetish (at the time)... Macaroni and Cheese.

 

[Addie]

That's what I've found to be the case for the most part too. The grocery store Addie refers to though seems to be very attentive to offering a price that is fair to the customer. I'll miss them when we move.

Hey Addie, Italy is about 4,000 miles from Boston. If the cheese is cheap because we're so close, how come Cabot cheese seems way more expensive than it should for as close as Vermont is? Even delicious Wisconsin cheese should be cheaper. There has to be another reason.

Boston is the closest port to Europe. That is why foreign airlines like to land here. The fees are lower than NY. Also the same for ships. We also have a very large Italian community in Boston and surrounding communities. So fees for imports from Italy are lower.

The fees that have to be paid are for landing, or tying up at docks. They also have to pay a fee for each person they bring into the airport. The ships have a fee based on their tonnage.

How do I know all this? I worked at Logan Airport and the head count papers used to come across my desk. MassPort is also in charge of all the shipping. There is more involved, but to complicated to go into here.

Cabot Cheese is shipped throughout NE on a daily basis with their own trucks. Always fresh. I have no idea why Wisconsin cheeses are so expensive.

 

[bakechef]

I would imagine that having a large Italian population has something to do with it. With a large demand the Italian population is going to go where the price is best. I can imagine that charging outrageous prices for Italian products would be very bad for your store, so they likely run on a much lower profit margin on those items. Here we don't have that demand since we don't have a large population of and particular ethnic group, so international foods demand a premium price. When I moved here 17 years ago the availability of ethnic foods was much less than it is now, this is because of a mass migration of northern folks about 20 or so years ago, when our tech industry boomed. We can get just about anything now, for a price!