Horseradish Mac N Cheddar With Bacon Food

MAC 'N CHEESE WITH BACON AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the macaroni and cook for 8 to 9 minutes, until al dente. Drain.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a small saucepan heat the milk with the thyme sprigs and 2 garlic cloves. Melt the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly, to keep lumps from forming. Strain the solids out of the milk and whisk it into the butter and flour mixture. Continue to whisk vigorously, and cook until the mixture is nice and smooth. Stir in the 4 cups of the cheese and continue to cook and stir to melt the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Add the cooked macaroni and the parsley and fold that all in to coat the macaroni with the cheese mixture. Scrape into a 3-quart baking dish and sprinkle with the remaining 1 1/2 cups cheese. Bake for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
• While that bakes, heat a saute pan. Add the bacon, render the fat and cook until crispy. Add onion, garlic and thyme leaves and cook for about 5 minutes to soften the onion. Season with salt and pepper.
• To serve, scatter the bacon mixture over the mac and cheese. Use a big spoon to scoop out servings, making sure you get some of the smoking bacon mixture on each spoonful.

BACON AND CHEDDAR TOASTS

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F.
• Stir together cheese, bacon, onion, horseradish, salt, and pepper in a bowl with a rubber spatula until blended well.
• Spread about 1 1/2 tablespoons mixture evenly to edges of each slice of bread with a small offset spatula or butter knife. Arrange slices in 1 layer on a large baking sheet and freeze, covered with wax paper, until firm, about 15 minutes.
• Trim crusts off bread and reserve for another use (see cooks' note, below), then cut each slice into 4 squares. Bake toasts on baking sheet until beginning to brown on edges, about 20 minutes.

BACON HORSERADISH DIP

Steps:

• Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine horseradish, sour cream, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Stir well. Stir in bacon; cover and refrigerate one hour. Stir and top with parsley before serving.

HORSERADISH MAC 'N' CHEDDAR WITH BACON

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook until just shy of al dente.
• Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the bacon on a broiler pan until crisp, 25 to 30 minutes (I just use the ready cooked bacon and microwave it until it is crispy). Chop the bacon Preheat the broiler.
• Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour for 1 minute, then wisk in the milk; season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Cook until reduced, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 cups of cheese until melted, then remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the horseradish and teh bacon.
• In a casserole dish, combine the pasta with the sauce and top with parsley, scallions and remaining 1/2 cup cheese Broil until browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Serve with a few pickles.

BACON AND HORSERADISH DIP

Steps:

• Cook onion and garlic in 1 tablespoon bacon fat from bacon, or use oil; cook over medium heat until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
• Place onion mixture in bowl; add bacon.
• Stir in cream cheese, sour cream, horseradish, mustard, pepper, and salt; mix well until blended.
• Refrigerate at least 2 hours to allow flavors to blend.
• Serve chilled or at room temperature (dip spreads easily at room temp., but be careful not to allow spoilage).

BACON HORSERADISH SPREAD

Steps:

• In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and cream until smooth. Beat in bacon, cheddar cheese, horseradish, green onion, lemon juice Worcestershire sauce and pepper. Refrigerate, covered, 2 hours. Serve with dippers.

CHEDDAR-BACON MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Cook macaroni as directed on package. Meanwhile, melt butter in large saucepan on low heat. Stir in flour; cook 2 min. or until bubbly. Gradually stir in milk; cook on medium heat until mixture comes to boil, stirring constantly. Simmer on low heat 3 to 5 min. or until thickened. Add 1 1/2 cups cheese; cook and stir 5 min. or until melted.
• Drain macaroni. Add to sauce with bacon; mix lightly. Spoon into 1 1/2 quart casserole; top with remaining cheese.
• Bake 20 min. or until heated through.