Recipes

Burnin’ Love Habanero Mac And Cheese

2 cups pasta shells, dry
1 lb Cheddar cheese, shredded
8 oz Habanero jack, shredded
4 slices thick bacon, cooked crisp
1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
4 tablespoons Mexican sour cream
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup half-and-half

Topping:

1/2 cup butter
2 cups panko bread crumbs

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cook pasta until “almost” aldente. Crumble cooked bacon.

In a large bowl, toss together pasta with the Habanero cheese and pour into the baking dish. In a large bowl mix together the flour, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, dry mustard, and sour cream, egg, crumbled bacon, heavy cream and half-and-half. Pour over the pasta and cover with shredded Cheddar. Bake uncovered until top is just beginning to brown, about 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a skillet over medium heat, melt butter, panko and toast until golden. Sprinkle on top of the macaroni and cheese and bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes more.

Enjoy.

Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 0 hr 15 mins
Cook Time: 0 hr 45 mins
Ready In: 0 hr 45 mins
   
Category: Main Course
Main Ingredient: Pasta
Cooking Method: Baking
Nationality: United States
Special Diet: One Pot Meal
Recipe Tags: macaroni cheese habanero
   

Chef's Note & Story

I love Mac & Cheese, always have. Even that scary Chernobyl-orange stuff in the box…love it!

Mac & Cheese was our comfort food (and, at 10 cents a box, sometimes our only food) when I was a kid.

Now, of course, I’m old enough to understand that it’s also a nearly-ideal complement for that most perfect of cuisines…barbeque.

So, when a friend posted about having tried a Habanero Pepperjack Cheese from Tillamook Cheese (right here in God’s country), my first thought was, “Holy crap…that would make a killer mac and cheese!”

And, sure enough, it did.

Just enough fire to earn your respect, without losing any of its creamy wonderfulness, here’s the recipe we came up with. A scoop of this, and a dollop of pulled pork between two slices of white bread, and you just might have a perfect meal.

For more of my favorite recipes, on and off the grill, visit: www.burninloveblog.com

  • Rhonda
  • Mye