September 12, 2008

Mac and Cheese Lorraine

Oh, Rachael Ray: when will you learn that we aren't all professional chefs? This meal says "mac and cheese" in it and "lorraine" - in this case that means smoked bacon - so it must be simple and delicious, yes? Well, it's also too complicated for one person to manage easily. So grab your favorite cooking buddy and come along. This meal is three parts: two simple and one difficult. All of these parts can (and should) happen simultaneously, which is why I recommend a cute and capable partner.
The gentleman that I am, I took charge of the pasta and bacon and left the hard part to Marcella. Simply boil your favorite short-cut pasta and a fair quantity of smoked bacon. Remove the bacon from the frying pan or skillet and then add and caramelize the onions (about 10 minutes or so). For the last minute, add the white wine and cook it together or skip this part if you don't have white wine ready. The complex part is the cheese sauce. Melt the butter into a saucepan over medium heat and whisk in the flour. Oh, and that part is impossible; good luck. After a minute, whisk in the chicken stock and milk. Bring this to a boil, cooking for a few more minutes until thick. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the cheese. Add nutmeg, mustard, and more salt and pepper. When this is finished, mix together the pasta and onions and stir in the sauce. Top each with bacon and enjoy!
The ingredients for Rachael Ray's Mac and Cheese Lorraine are:
  • a pound of short-cut pasta
  • a half pound of bacon, chopped up (more bacon is always better)
  • a tablespoon of olive oil for the pan in which we cook the bacon
  • two onions (less, if you want, but this much is actually OK), quartered and thinly sliced
  • a half cup of dry white wine (optional)
  • two tablespoons of butter
  • two tablespoons of flour
  • a cup of chicken stock
  • a cup of whole milk
  • two cups of shredded Gruyère (this cheese just keeps showing up, doesn't it?)
  • a little grated nutmeg
  • a tablespoon of Dijon mustard

1 comment:

Unknown said...

rachel ray is a professional sucka