Cheese Crisps And Mock Goldfish Crackers Food

HOMEMADE GOLDFISH CRACKERS

Steps:

• Pulse the flour, butter, cheese, salt, and pepper together using a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
• Pulse in 3 to 4 tablespoons of water, one tablespoon at a time, and only enough so that the dough forms a ball and rides the blade.
• Remove, wrap in plastic, and chill for 20 minutes or up to 24 hours.
• Roll the dough out on a cookie sheet to 1/8-inch thickness. (If you roll it thicker, it will still work, but the crackers won't be quite as crunchy.).
• Using a pizza cutter slice dough into 1 inch squares or using a cookie cutter cut out as many crackers as possible.
• Bake at 350 F until golden and crisp - 15 to 20 minutes.

MOCK GOLDFISH CHEESE PUFFS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Stack the slices of cheese and cut into 16 small squares.
• Separate the pieces and place next to each other on a flat surface.
• Combine the salt, chili powder and garlic powder.
• Sprinkle seasoning mix onto cheese.
• Toss the cheese to thoroughly season both sides of cheese.
• Arrange the cheese squares on a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving a little space between the squares.
• Bake about 7 - 7 1/2 minutes, until well-browned and crispy.
• Cool completely (they will crisp a bit as they cool).
• Store in airtight container on countertop.
• Note: watch carefully as undercooking will yield soggy puffs and overcooking will yield burnt crisps.

GOLDFISH-CRUSTED MAC AND CHEESE MEDALS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
• Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in 1/2 cup flour and cook until tan in color, about 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and bring to a simmer, whisking every couple of minutes, until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the Cheddar, melting cheese and Parmesan in batches, whisking after each addition. Whisk until smooth, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• Meanwhile, add the macaroni to the boiling water and cook according to the package directions until al dente. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Stir in the cheese sauce. Pour onto a wax paper-lined rimmed baking sheet, spread it to the edges and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Remove the macaroni from the fridge. Place wax paper on another baking sheet and spray with nonstick spray. Cut out gold medals with a 2- to 2 1/2-inch round cutter or the top of a glass. You should have 16 medals. Spray another sheet of wax paper with cooking spray and place the sheet sprayed-side down over the medals. Place in the freezer for at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Stir the ranch dressing and siracha together in a small bowl. Place the fish-shaped snack crackers in a food processer and pulse until you have fine crumbs.
• Pour about 2 inches of oil into a large pot and place over medium-high heat. Clip a deep-fry thermometer to the side of the pot and heat to 350 degrees F. Place a wire rack over a sheet pan.
• Set up a breading station with the remaining 1 cup flour in one shallow bowl, the eggs in a second shallow bowl and the Cheddar cracker crumbs in a third shallow bowl. Remove the medals from the freezer, coat them in flour, dip in the egg wash and coat in the cracker crumbs. Fry about 3 at a time in the oil until crisp, about 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon or spider and drain on the rack. Sprinkle with salt.
• Serve the gold medals with the ranch sauce. If you like, you can place the medallions on plates and squeeze or pipe sriracha medal ribbons, and/or pipe numbers (1, 2 or 3) onto the medallions.