Smoky Macaroni Food

SHANNON'S SMOKY MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Fill a pot with lightly-salted water and bring to a boil. Stir the macaroni into the water and return to a boil. Cook and occasionally stir until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes; drain.
• Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the flour to the melted butter and whisk continually for 1 to 2 minutes to make a roux. Whisk 2 cups of the milk into the roux until smooth and then add the remaining milk. Raise the heat to medium-high and continue cooking and stirring until thickened, but not boiling. Stir the Gouda, Cheddar, Swiss, and 1 cup Parmesan cheese into the mixture; once the cheeses have melted completely, fold the drained macaroni into the mixture to coat. Pour the macaroni mixture into a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Stir 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, and cayenne pepper together in a small bowl; sprinkle over the macaroni. Drizzle the olive oil over the bread crumbs.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Allow to rest 10 minutes before cutting.

SMOKY MACARONI CHEESE

Steps:

• For the infused milk, pour the milk into a saucepan and add the bay leaf, onion, cloves and allspice. Bring almost to the boil then remove from the heat and leave to infuse and cool.
• Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the macaroni and cook for 6-7 minutes, or until just shy of al dente. Drain.
• Meanwhile, make the sauce. Heat the butter in a large saucepan. Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent. Turn up the heat and let the onion brown a little. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for a further 2 minutes. Stir in the flour until you have a roux (it will be lumpy because of the onion). Pour in the wine. Stir to form a thick paste and gradually add the milk, stirring between each addition, until it is all incorporated and there is a smooth béchamel sauce. Pour in the chicken stock and stir in the chipotle paste.
• Preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7.
• Mix the smoked and mature cheddars together in a small bowl and add two thirds of the cheese to the sauce. Stir until the cheese is melted into the sauce and then add the macaroni. Stir to combine and transfer to a large baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bake for 30-35 minutes, until piping hot, browned and bubbling. Serve in warmed bowls.

SMOKY FOUR CHEESE MACARONI BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
• Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and cook for 3 minutes until it begins to soften. Add the garlic, and continue cooking until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 2 minutes more. Slowly stir in the flour, and cook, stirring constantly for 5 minutes.
• Stir in the half-and-half and milk, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in mustard powder and liquid smoke; simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1 cup of Parmesan cheese, along with the cream cheese, Swiss, Monterey Jack, and Cheddar cheeses; stir until melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then stir in the drained macaroni noodles. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs over the macaroni
• Bake in preheated oven until bubbly and brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to stand 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

SMOKY SPINACH MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
• Add shallots and garlic; cook 1 minute.
• Add flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
• Gradually add milk, cream, salt, and pepper, stirring constantly with a whisk until blended.
• Bring to a boil; cook until thick (about 2 minutes).
• Add cheeses; stir until melted.
• Add spinach and macaroni to cheese sauce, stirring until well blended.
• Spoon mixture into a 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray.
• Sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
• Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until bubbly.

SMOKED MACARONI SALAD

Steps:

• In a large pot of heavily salted water, cook the macaroni according to package directions for al dente. Drain and add to a large bowl along with 2 tablespoons of the mayonnaise, and the celery and green onions. Toss well.
• In a medium bowl, combine the remaining mayonnaise and the cider vinegar, mustard, bourbon, honey, salt, pepper and liquid smoke. Stir until smooth, then add to the macaroni. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.
• Refrigerate for 1 to 3 hours to allow the flavors to meld. Garnish with green onions before serving.

SMOKY CHIPOTLE AND CHEDDAR MAC

Steps:

• Place a pot of water on to boil for macaroni. When it boils, salt water and cook pasta until a little under done, just shy of al dente.
• While pasta cooks, place a small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and chorizo. Brown the chorizo then add the canned tomatoes to the pan and heat them through. Remove from heat and reserve.
• While chorizo begins to cook, heat a medium sauce pot over medium-low heat. Add 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, then add onions and chipotles and cook 3 to 5 minutes to sweat it out and turn the juices sweet. Raise heat up a bit, add the flour and whisk together until mixture bubbles up. Cook 1 minute more. Whisk in milk and stock and raise heat up a little more to bring the sauce to a quick boil. Once it bubbles, drop heat back to a rolling simmer sauce to thicken, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Drain macaroni or pasta. Add cooked pasta back to the large pot.
• Add cheese to milk sauce and stir to melt, a minute or so. Stir in chorizo and tomatoes and season sauce with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over cooked pasta in large pot and toss to combine. Transfer to a large serving platter, garnish with chives and serve.

NO-BOIL SMOKER MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Prepare a grill for medium indirect heat (about 375 degrees F if your grill has a thermometer; for a gas grill, leave one or two burners on low or off; for a charcoal grill, bank the coals on one side of the grill). Prepare a smoker tube with smoking pellets according to the manufacturer's instructions and set on the grill to begin smoking (see Cook's Note).
• Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour to make a smooth paste. Cook, stirring, until the mixture smells nutty but hasn't browned, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the smoked paprika, then whisk in the milk and cream. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened and smooth, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the adobo and salt. Off heat, whisk in half of the shredded Cheddar and Gouda and all of the processed cheese cubes to make a smooth sauce.
• Spread the uncooked macaroni in a disposable 9-by-13-inch foil baking tin and pour the sauce over. Stir to coat the pasta in the sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining shredded cheese. Cover tightly with foil and place on the indirect part of the grill. Close the grill. Cook until the pasta is al dente, about 30 minutes. Remove the foil, close the grill and cook 10 minutes more. If cooking on a gas grill, turn off the grill, close the lid and let rest in the grill with the smoker tube for 10 minutes more before serving. (On a charcoal grill, just remove the baking tin and serve.)

SMOKY BEAN & CHORIZO MAC 'N' CHEESE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large heavy-based frying pan or flameproof casserole dish set over a medium heat and fry the chorizo for 5 mins until crisp. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside on a plate lined with kitchen paper.
• Add the onion and fry for 8-10 mins, or until sticky and golden. Add the garlic, paprika, chipotle paste and ground coriander, then tip in the tomatoes, sugar and beans. Stir everything together and simmer, uncovered, for 15 mins or until reduced. Stir the chorizo back into the pan and season to taste.
• Meanwhile, make the cheese sauce. Melt the butter in a pan until foaming, then stir in the flour and cook for 2 mins. Stir in the mustard. Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the milk, a little at a time. Return the pan to the heat and cook for 3-4 mins more, whisking continuously until thick and smooth. Grate over some nutmeg, stir in 200g of the cheddar and season to taste.
• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6. Cook the pasta in a pan of boiling water for 2 mins less than the pack instructions. Drain and toss with the cheese sauce. Tip the cheesy pasta into a large baking dish, then drop the smoky bean mixture into it in spoonfuls. Top with the remaining cheddar and the mozzarella, then bake for 25 mins, or until golden and bubbling.
• Meanwhile, make the guacamole. Put the avocado flesh in a bowl with the lime juice and zest, and roughly mash to a chunky texture. Stir through the chilli and half the coriander and season to taste. Serve the mac 'n' cheese with guacamole on the side, with the remaining coriander scattered over.

SMOKY MAC 'N CHEESE

Steps:

• Prepare Dinner in large saucepan as directed on package, adding sausage links to the boiling water for the last 5 min. of the Macaroni cooking time.