Lorraine Pascale Mac And Cheese Food

GLAM MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water. It needs to be cooked to just less than al dente, as the pasta will be cooked again in the oven. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain the pasta, return it to the pan and set aside.
• Fry the pancetta in a medium skillet over medium heat until it just starts to brown and crisp up, then add the thyme and scallions and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Add the skillet's contents to the pasta.
• For the sauce, put the butter, flour, nutmeg and mustard powder in a small saucepan set over medium heat and cook, stirring, until the butter has melted. Mix the milk and cream together in a pitcher and add a little to the flour and butter in the saucepan, stirring well. Keep adding the milk mixture bit by bit, stirring well each time (be sure to get into the "corners" of the pan, as flour often lurks there). Once the sauce has fully come together, turn up the heat and boil for a minute or two. The sauce will thicken considerably. Remove the pan from the heat.
• Add two-thirds of both of the cheeses to the sauce while it is still hot and combine well. (It may be a bit lumpy, but that is fine.) Season to taste with salt and pepper and add to the pasta mix. If the cheese sauce thickens too much, add some of the pasta water. Stir everything together and spoon into 4 large ramekins or a shallow 3-quart casserole dish.
• Sprinkle the top with the rest of the cheese and the breadcrumbs and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the cheese starts to bubble and the topping goes brown. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.

MACARONS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (170 degrees C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Put the confectioners' sugar, ground almonds, and 1 1/2oz (40g) egg whites together in a large bowl and mix to a paste.
• Put the water and superfine sugar in a small pan and heat gently to melt the sugar, then turn up the heat and boil it until the mixture starts to go syrupy and thickens. I don't use a thermometer but it would read 239 degrees F (115 degrees C).
• Whisk the remaining egg whites in a small bowl until medium-stiff peaks form, then pour in the sugar syrup, whisking until the mixture becomes stiff and shiny.
• For colored macarons, add a few drops of food coloring. Tip this meringue mixture into the almond paste mixture and stir gently until the becomes stiff and shiny again.
• Spoon into the pastry bag. Pipe a little mixture under each corner of the parchment paper to stop it sliding around. With the bag held vertically, pipe 1 1/2in (4cm) flat circles onto the lined sheet, about 34 in (2cm) apart, twisting the bag after each one. The mixture should be quite loose to give a smooth finish. The piping will leave a small "tip" on each circle so, when they're all piped, give the sheet 2 to 3 slams on a flat surface to flatten them.
• At this stage, sprinkle with shredded coconut if you want. Let stand for 30 minutes to form a skin, then bake in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes with the door slightly ajar, until firm. Remove from the oven, then lift the paper off the baking sheet and let the macarons cool on the paper.
• When cool, sandwich the macarons together with whipped cream. They can be kept for a couple of days, if they hang around that long.

MAC AND CHEESE LORRAINE

Steps:

• Heat water for pasta, salt water and cook pasta to al dente.
• While pasta water comes to boil, heat extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan, in a deep skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add bacon and crisp, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Add onions and cook 10 minutes until soft and beginning to caramelize. Add wine and cook out, 1 minute.
• While onions cook, heat a sauce pot over medium heat. Add butter, melt and whisk in flour. Cook 1 minute then whisk in stock and milk and bring to a bubble. Thicken a few minutes then season with salt and pepper. Melt in cheese stirring it in a figure-8 motion with a wooden spoon. Add nutmeg and mustard and adjust salt and pepper.
• Drain pasta, toss with onions and stir in cheese sauce to coat. Top with crispy bacon and serve.