Homemade Mac and Cheese! Yummers!

[Cameraman Jenn]

Ok, so I am making a new round of baked mac and cheese and in it I am putting red pepper, broccoli and applewood smoked ham. I have lots of cheeses to choose from in the fridge so I thought I might see if anyone had opinions.

The choices:

Cheddar
Romano
Parmesan
Havarti
raw milk goat pepperjack
gouda
goat chevre

What blend do you guys think I should try with the listed above accoutrements?

[Menolly]

How sharp is the cheddar? If a more milder cheddar, then go with the pepperjack. But if extra sharp or even sharper (my favorite), mellow it out a little with the Havarti and chevre in the casserole itself, and sprinkle some parmesan and romano on the top.

I think I would leave the gouda out, but that's strictly preference.

[Savor Dam]

Wow, Jenn. Such a plethora of good choices.

The first three are staples of most Mac and Cheese recipes. While I think you don't want to completely abandon them, I really want to know how the others work out.

Havarti is not something I have tried in melting applications, but it is a major go-to for sandwiches. Have you melted it before?

Pepperjack, definitely Gouda too.

Chevre is something I have mostly used in salads, after being introduced to it by She-Who-Puts-Chevre-In-Salads. Again, I have not melted it before.

[Cameraman Jenn]

It's plain sharp cheddar but I like your thinking. Gouda is out, havarti and chevre are in with romano and parmesan and panko as a top crust. Thank you so much! I will post the taste testing results once it is being consumed. I'm thinking about the next batch as well and I'm thinking bacon, sundried tomato and spinach. What cheeses would you guys suggest for that?

Edit: SD, I've melted chevre before and it's good. Havarti melts nicely as well. I'm trying to work on my "grownup" mac and cheese gourmet style repertoire. It's quite fun actually.

[Menolly]

hmm...
Gouda may actually go with the bacon and sun dried tomatoes. Spinach is a nice addition, but I don't think the flavor profile is strong enough, unless you're putting a ton in, to let it influence your cheese selection.

[lorin]

Ok, so I am making a new round of baked mac and cheese and in it I am putting red pepper, broccoli and applewood smoked ham. I have lots of cheeses to choose from in the fridge so I thought I might see if anyone had opinions.

The choices:

Cheddar
Romano
Parmesan
Havarti
raw milk goat pepperjack
gouda
goat chevre

What blend do you guys think I should try with the listed above accoutrements?

Mac and Cheese sans the Mac. Just melt all the cheese and feed it to me intravenously.

[Menolly]

As a low carber, I would say to sans the mac and use lightly steamed tiny cauliflower florets instead, but intravenous cheese sounds like a plan as well.

[Obi-Wan Nihilo]

To me bacon and sundried tomatoes says a little feta or possibly fontina, drawing on a white pizza theme.

This thread is very delicious by the way, I'm suddenly starving now. THANKS

[Menolly]

Fontina could work with the bacon and tomatoes, but for my taste I think the feta would be too salty with the stronger flavors from the other ingredients.

[Obi-Wan Nihilo]

Just curious, do you think feta is totally unusable in a mac and cheese setting, or does it depend on the ingredients? Genuinely interested.

[Menolly]

For me? Probably totally. I find feta doesn't melt well, and tends to be salty.

[Obi-Wan Nihilo]

You're a feta hata, aren't you Mennolly?

[Damelon]

I would have put the Gouda in the mix. I would think it would go well with the ham. Not so sure about the havarti, maybe because I have an overall meh attitude towards it.

[Menolly]

You're a feta hata, aren't you Mennolly?

Nah.

I love it in Greek salad, and it sort of works as an inexpensive substitute for kasseri or kefalotyri cheese in saganaki.

[Cameraman Jenn]

Ok, so the flavor was amazing but I didn't compensate enough for the amount of extras so it was a bit dry. I'll do better next time.

[aliantha]

I had a thought, but the "feta hata" line derailed my train of thought -- thanks a heap, Ron....

Oh! Now I remember! I recently had a mac and cheese dish that had mashed cauliflower mixed in with the cheese sauce. It was amazingly good. No idea what cheeses they used, sadly. I could see how you could swap out the macaroni for cauliflower florets -- I think that would be pretty darned tasty.

[Cameraman Jenn]

I've heard of the cauliflower sub before. Maybe I'll try that next time. I do love me some cauliflower.

[sgt.null]

jen - apple slices and a brick of sharp cheddar.

boil off your macaroni.
layer mac on bottom casserole dish.
add butter, black pepper, apple slices and grated cheddar.
add another of mac and repeat.
keep adding layers til you reach the top.
bake in oven until all the cheese melts, crusting the uncovered top layer.

enjoy.

[Obi-Wan Nihilo]

[Zarathustra]

I tried Alton Brown's baked mac and cheese, but it's a bit difficult to get right. You have to make a béchamel sauce, temper in egg, etc. I got it to come out great once, and mediocre twice. Then I tried his stovetop recipe, liked it MUCH better, and decided to always go the easier route from now on.

Baked

Stovetop