I can’t believe it’s Labor Day weekend. Where did summer go? I had all sorts of big plans for grilling and preserving and cooking up the flavors of our most bountiful season, but then poof, just like that it was gone. Not that I can complain too much: now it’s time to think about braising, tailgating, and all my favorite recipes that come with the fall.
That’s the beauty of this holy-crap-it’s-amazing baked macaroni and cheese — each and every bite carries the deep, smoky flavors of the August grill, but it is rich and hearty enough to hold you over all fall and winter long. I’ve been mastering my mac and cheese recipe for years now, and to be honest, I didn’t think it could be improved upon. One bite with my latest changes may have changed my mind!
This mac and cheese is easier than you could ever imagine, although it isn’t really for the faint of heart. (I usually swear to myself I’ll only make it once per year, but people request it so often and I can’t seem to say no.) Three cheeses each contribute to its perfection: cheddar adds the sharpness we’ve come to expect, white American adds creaminess that no others can, and smoked Gouda provides a subtle smokiness throughout. Heavy cream ties the dish together, with a splash of liquid smoke to send all the flavors over the edge. And what good is a baked mac and cheese without a crunchy topping; panko crumbs and butter add the perfect final contrast.
Try my smoky mac and cheese recipe this holiday weekend and I promise you’ll never go back to whatever version you were making before. You’ll be thanking me come tailgate season, too. It has a guaranteed spot on my starting roster and surely yours as well.
Smoky Mac & Cheese
Active Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Ease of preparation: Easy
12 ounces egg noodles
8 ounces smoked Gouda, shredded
4 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
4 ounces (6 slices) white American cheese, torn into very small pieces
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke (I used hickory flavored)
Kosher salt and white pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup panko crumbs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Bring a large pot of water to boil and season generously with salt. Add the pasta and cook until al dente (just tender) according to package instructions. Drain in a colander without rinsing, and return pasta to the pot.
While the noodles are still warm, add the Gouda, cheddar, and American cheese and stir until the cheese starts to melt. Add the heavy cream and season generously with salt and pepper. Pour the noodle mixture into a greased 8- by 11-inch baking dish (or one of a similar size).
Melt the butter and toss with the panko crumbs, and sprinkle mixture over the top. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and cook uncovered for an additional 15 minutes. Finish off under the broiler if you want to brown the topping just a bit more. Remove macaroni and cheese from the oven and cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Nealey moved from Alabama to the West Coast to follow her dreams, only to realize once there how much she missed good ol’ country cooking. So she took to the kitchen and began re-creating the dishes of her past, but this time without any help from a can. What started out as a hobby turned into an obsession, so she quit her day job to pursue cooking, and eating, fulltime. Dixie Caviar is where you can follow her pursuits of all things Southern.
More Southern Favorites From Nealey
- Texas Sheet Cake
- Creamy Corn Hush Puppies
- Pulled Pork Nachos
- Peach Cobbler
- Grilled Banana Bread Ice Cream Sandwiches
- Bourbon Banana Puddings
Check this out…
[...] that is the end of this article. Here you’ll find some sites that we think you’ll appreciate, just click the links over[...]……
Read was interesting, stay in touch……
[...]please visit the sites we follow, including this one, as it represents our picks from the web[...]……
Title…
[...]we prefer to honor quite a few other online web pages on the net, even when they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Beneath are some webpages really worth checking out[...]…
Souls in the Waves…
Good Early morning, I just stopped in to visit your site and assumed I would say I enjoyed myself….
Title…
[...]Every after inside a whilst we pick blogs that we read. Listed below would be the most recent internet sites that we select [...]…
Great website…
[...]we like to honor many other internet sites on the web, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[...]……
Gems form the internet…
[...]very few websites that happen to be detailed below, from our point of view are undoubtedly well worth checking out[...]……
Websites we think you should visit…
[...]although websites we backlink to below are considerably not related to ours, we feel they are actually worth a go through, so have a look[...]……
Websites we think you should visit…
[...]although websites we backlink to below are considerably not related to ours, we feel they are actually worth a go through, so have a look[...]……
Awesome website…
[...]the time to read or visit the content or sites we have linked to below the[...]……
Check this out…
[...] that is the end of this article. Here you’ll find some sites that we think you’ll appreciate, just click the links over[...]……
Gems form the internet…
[...]very few websites that happen to be detailed below, from our point of view are undoubtedly well worth checking out[...]……
Title…
[...]Every once inside a although we choose blogs that we study. Listed beneath are the most current web pages that we pick [...]…
Title…
[...]always a huge fan of linking to bloggers that I really like but don’t get quite a bit of link love from[...]…
Title…
[...]we prefer to honor numerous other world wide web web pages on the net, even though they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[...]…
Related……
[...]just beneath, are numerous totally not related bogs to ours, however, they are surely worth going over[...]……
Websites we think you should visit…
[...]although websites we backlink to below are considerably not related to ours, we feel they are actually worth a go through, so have a look[...]……
Title…
[...]although web-sites we backlink to beneath are considerably not related to ours, we feel they’re actually really worth a go by means of, so possess a look[...]…
Sites we Like……
[...] Every once in a while we choose blogs that we read. Listed below are the latest sites that we choose [...]……
Title…
[...]that is the end of this report. Here you will uncover some web pages that we feel you will appreciate, just click the links over[...]…
Websites you should visit…
[...]below you’ll find the link to some sites that we think you should visit[...]……
Sources…
[...]check below, are some totally unrelated websites to ours, however, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[...]……
Read was interesting, stay in touch……
[...]please visit the sites we follow, including this one, as it represents our picks from the web[...]……
Blogs ou should be reading…
[...]Here is a Great Blog You Might Find Interesting that we Encourage You[...]……
Sites we Like……
[...] Every once in a while we choose blogs that we read. Listed below are the latest sites that we choose [...]……
Title…
[...]Here are several of the web-sites we suggest for our visitors[...]…
for you to add images (and find…
them later if you want to add the image to a different page or post), videos, optin forms to capture leads, a picture slideshow from your flickr account. you name it, it can be done with wordpress.one word explains why wordpress…
Title…
[...]Here is a great Weblog You may Uncover Interesting that we Encourage You[...]…
Related……
[...]just beneath, are numerous totally not related sites to ours, however, they are surely worth going over[...]……
SEO Content – komBAS…
[...] wird, ist aber absolut nicht das Ende der Fahnenmast der Forderungen von Suchmaschinenbetreibern! Die zu erstellenden [...]…
Title…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]…
Hmm…..
Great write-up, I’m regular visitor of one’s blog, maintain up the nice operate, and It’s going to be a regular visitor for a lengthy time. “Time has a wonderful way of weeding out the trivial.” by Howard Aiken….
Read was interesting, stay in touch……
[...]please visit the sites we follow, including this one, as it represents our picks from the web[...]……
Superb website…
[...]always a big fan of linking to bloggers that I love but don’t get a lot of link love from[...]……
Hello…..
Thank you for sharing excellent informations. Your web site is so cool. I’m impressed by the details that you have on this site. It reveals how nicely you understand this subject. Bookmarked this web page, will come back for more articles. You, my fri…
Title…
[...]although websites we backlink to beneath are considerably not connected to ours, we really feel they may be really really worth a go through, so have a look[...]…
Title…
[...]usually posts some pretty interesting stuff like this. If you are new to this site[...]…
Title…
[...]very handful of sites that happen to be detailed beneath, from our point of view are undoubtedly nicely really worth checking out[...]…
You should check this out…
[...] Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a few unrelated data, nevertheless really worth taking a look, whoa did one learn about Mid East has got more problerms as well [...]……
Title…
[...]the time to study or go to the material or sites we’ve linked to beneath the[...]…
Gems form the internet…
[...]very few websites that happen to be detailed below, from our point of view are undoubtedly well worth checking out[...]……
Title…
[...]Every the moment in a whilst we choose blogs that we study. Listed beneath are the most current sites that we opt for [...]…
Title…
[...]Here is a superb Blog You might Discover Intriguing that we Encourage You[...]…
Title…
[...]please take a look at the websites we adhere to, such as this one particular, because it represents our picks from the web[...]…
Title…
[...]usually posts some really interesting stuff like this. If you’re new to this site[...]…
Title…
[...]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a few unrelated data, nevertheless seriously worth taking a appear, whoa did one particular discover about Mid East has got additional problerms also [...]…
Title…
[...]usually posts some really intriguing stuff like this. If you are new to this site[...]…
Title…
[...]The information mentioned in the post are a number of the top offered [...]…
Title…
[...]here are some links to web sites that we link to for the reason that we believe they may be really worth visiting[...]…
Recommeneded websites…
[...]Here are some of the sites we recommend for our visitors[...]……