Spicy Baked Macaroni & Cheese

People, Planes & Pollo…

En route to Italy, my hubby and I sat in a row of four seats across the center of the plane. When we boarded and found our places, there was a pleasant woman from Tehran seated directly to my right. We exchanged idle chitchat, smiles and nods, and quickly went on to get as comfortable and distracted as we could with the hopes of settling in for our overnight flight…

If you have ever been on a long flight you know how the food can help to move things along…luckily, dinner came sooner than expected.

Now, the flight attendants taking care of the folks on the right side of the plane were moving along at a faster clip than the attendants on the left, causing my neighbor to receive her meal before I did. She tapped me on the arm and expressed how uncomfortable she was to eat before I received my meal…I told her to please go ahead, eat while it’s warm! However, there was no part of her that was going to break bread until the stranger to her left had her bread too…she kept looking to see if my food was coming, virtually apologizing for the slow pace of the delivery. My food finally arrived and we got to Eat. Happily. Together.

Her gesture made my flight. Her warmth made my day. People rock!

I know you’re probably wondering what we ate…Dominick had the pasta and I had the pollo (chicken)…Dom won. (We have this little game where whenever we get a meal out, we judge whose is the best, ultimately making that person the winner. The winner of what, I’m not sure – I guess meal choice bragging rights!) I’ll say it again, Dom won. He likes when I say that! His pasta was a baked macaroni & cheese…not bad!

Wait a minute…wait just a minute…he didn’t win…we both won!

In honor of Alitalia’s winning meal and Seat 16 D’s kindest neighbor…I give you…

Spicy Baked Macaroni & Cheese!

Speaking of kindness, there is no other mac & cheese recipe that I would share other than that from my sister-in-law, Ann! Ann is an Auntie who is nothin’ but fun, always has been, always will be, and when she brings her homemade mac & cheese along…all the better!

Spicy Baked Macaroni & Cheese

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• Author: Ann Sageer (The Original)
• Yield: 4 1x
• Category: Dinner

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Ingredients

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• 1 cup dried elbow macaroni
• 1/4 cup chopped onion (optional)
• 4 Tbsp. butter
• 1 Tbsp. flour
• Black pepper to taste
• 1 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Pepper Jack cheese (American, Cheddar)
• 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs

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Instructions

1. Cook macaroni until al dente (firm).
2. Saute onions in 1 Tbsp. of butter until tender, not brown.
3. Stir in the flour and black pepper. Add the milk.
4. Cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly.
5. Add cheese, stir until melted.
6. Stir in the macaroni.
7. Transfer to a greased, 1 quart casserole dish.
8. In a separate small pan, melt 3 Tbsp. of butter and stir in breadcrumbs.
9. Scatter crumbs over top of casserole.
10. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes (or until hot and bubbly).
11. Let stand for 10 minutes.

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Thanks, Aunt Ann!!!!

Begin by measuring your pasta. This recipe calls for one cup, however, I cooked for a tiny army this weekend, so I tripled the recipe, which actually meant using the whole pound of elbows.

If you find anything that smells better than onions frying in butter – please let me know!

Once your onions brown, add your flour, pepper and milk. Yes, this is a basic bechamel sauce. De-lish!

Once the milk thickens and begins to bubble, add your cheese. We prefer our mac & cheese with a little kick! Pepper Jack works beautifully…but if you prefer yours with a more mild, traditional flavor, American or Cheddar cheese (or a combination of the two) will work just fine!

Voila! Shredded cheese set adrift in a basic bechamel sauce…

Stir, stir, stir…Cheese sauce!!!

Once your cheese sauce is complete, mix with cooked pasta and place in a sprayed casserole dish. Top with crunchy Italian seasoned panko bread crumbs and place in a 350 degree oven. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes.

I’m not sure what makes me happier, melty cheese sauce or Italian seasoned panko bread crumbs.

Try not to eat all the crunchy bits before delivering it to the table, please.

Crunchy, cheesy goodness.

Oh my!

CRUNCHY, CHEESY GOODNESS!

Salute!