Friday, March 25, 2011

Whiskey and Smoke Mac and Cheese

Full of caramelized onions flavored with whiskey & smokey mozzarella, Matt calls this variation of our homemade mac & cheese the manly version.
Whiskey and Smoke Mac & Cheese
The St. Patrick's Day Burgers from Burb! Where Food Happens were on our menu for the week & they are topped with the whiskey caramelized onions. Then it hit me, "oh, those whiskey onions would be good in mac & cheese too!" Matt had picked up some smoked mozzarella to go on our pizza & we both realized that smokey flavor would be great with the whiskey. Thus, this dish was born.

The whiskey & smoke flavors were actually both pretty subtle. The whiskey aroma was definitely there in the onions & every now & then you got a nice little bite of its flavor in the pasta. Next time I would look for a smokier cheese as the one we bought was a little wimpy. Maybe we should try smoking our own?! Still this was a great batch of mac & cheese, actually Matt especially thought it was fabulous

Whiskey & Smoke Mac & Cheese
The alcohol gets cooked out of the whiskey & the flavors are subtle so this is still a mac & cheese you could serve to your kids.

Batch of Whiskey Onions from Burb! Where Food Happens
1 lb pasta, we use rotini but elbow or small penne would work too
1 T unsalted butter
2 T all-purpose flour
1 c milk
1/2 c heavy cream
5 oz smoked mozzarella, chopped
4 oz white cheddar, chopped
1 t spicy brown mustard
salt & pepper

Caramelize the onions according to the recipe. They'll take you about 45 - 60 minutes. You should end up with about 1/2 c onions.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Cook the pasta according to directions. Drain & set aside.

In a large saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour. Stir while cooking for 1 minute, do not let brown. Slowly whisk in the milk & cream. Continue whisking until the sauce is hot, smooth & slightly thicken. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the cheese & mustard. Stir until the cheese is melted.

Mix the cheese sauce, pasta & onions together. Make sure to mix well so the onions are not in one big clump.

Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown on top.

6 servings. (If you are being healthy with your serving size though Matt & I ate half a batch for dinner last night.)

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15 comments:

  1. LoMarch 25, 2011 at 2:09 PM

    I am totally drooling. First -- because those onions were so good I wanted to eat the whole batch straight out of the pan (but Peef stopped me). And second -- because this concept sounds absolutely amazing. What's better than mac & cheese? Mac & cheese with whiskey braised onions. *slurp*

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  2. Maris (In Good Taste)March 25, 2011 at 4:00 PM

    What an awesome twist to one of my fav dishes! I bet it was delicious. On my to do list now!

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  3. vanillasugarblogMarch 25, 2011 at 4:16 PM

    oh hello! whiskey onions, yes please. double batch and let em sit overnight please. love it.

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  4. Alicia FoodycatMarch 26, 2011 at 6:20 AM

    That is amazing! Definitely going on the menu at our house.

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  5. LoriMarch 26, 2011 at 6:20 PM

    Any recipe that starts with Whiskey has my full attention. This sounds like the ultimate comfort food!

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  6. Natasha @ Saved by the Egg TimerMarch 28, 2011 at 10:16 AM

    I need to try this! Those whiskey onions will be going into my recipe rotation immediatley!

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  7. Chris and AmyMarch 28, 2011 at 2:28 PM

    OMG what a great idea. The perfect twist on the perfect dish. We'll be trying this very soon!

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  8. Jenn @leftoverqueenMarch 29, 2011 at 2:50 PM

    Whiskey? Yes, indeedy!

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  9. Tangled NoodleMarch 29, 2011 at 10:16 PM

    Y'know, the hubs would love this Manly Mac 'n' Cheese!

    I love that I can readily find once-exotic ingredients here in Manila, but the ones that I took for granted back in the US - sharp cheddar & other cheeses, heavy cream, milk, WHISKEY! - are now the *exotic* or *pricey* ingredients. So a lovely simple comfort food for Mac 'n' Cheese becomes quite the treat. This version is well worth the extra effort to find the makings, though! 8-D

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  10. ElleMarch 30, 2011 at 11:14 AM

    oh yeah-this looks fantastic! Whiskey onions? Smoked cheese? All over it!

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  11. graceMarch 31, 2011 at 1:52 PM

    so does it make me more manly than the average gal to crave this more than any other mac and cheese? :)

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  12. Alicia FoodycatApril 1, 2011 at 11:29 AM

    I'm in the process of cooking my whisky onions for this - I am using smoked cheddar and some smoked bacon to bump up the smokeyness.

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  13. GiffApril 4, 2011 at 10:16 PM

    Whisky and smoke. Gotta try this!

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  14. StephanieApril 5, 2011 at 3:44 PM

    AMAZING! Even my picky eater ate this! I used a combination of Smoked Gouda, Bacon Cheddar, & Smoked Brick from the Cheeseman Store. (It's local to me, but I think she'll ship, too.) It came out nice & cheesy!

    http://cheesemanstorecom.food.officelive.com/default.aspx

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  15. Deeba PABApril 19, 2011 at 3:59 AM

    This is as good as mac & cheese get...YUM!!

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