Macaroni And Cheese With Pancetta And Caramelized Onions Recipes

MACARONI AND CHEESE WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS AND BACON

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil, add macaroni and cook for 8 minutes (noodles will still be slightly hard). Drain noodles and transfer to a large bowl with 1/4 cup of butter and toss to coat. Whisk together the sour cream, egg, and cream cheese; add to the pasta and mix well. Stir in 3 cups of grated Asiago and 3 cups of grated Cheddar cheese, reserving the remaining 2 cups of cheese for the topping.
• Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate and chop into small pieces.
• Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Stir 2 tablespoons butter, the onion, and garlic into the bacon drippings in the pan and cook and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and add the brown sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes until the onions are very soft and golden brown. Mix the cooked bacon, parsley, and panko breadcrumbs into the onions, transfer mixture to a small bowl and set aside.
• Return the skillet to the heat and melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour, and stir until the mixture becomes paste-like and light golden brown, about 5 minutes. Gradually whisk the milk into the flour mixture and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook and stir until the mixture is smooth and thickened. Stir in the ground mustard, paprika, salt, pepper, and hot sauce. Remove sauce from heat and let cool for five minutes.
• Pour the sauce over the macaroni mixture, stirring well. Transfer to a greased 9x13 inch pan and sprinkle with the remaining 2 cups of Cheddar cheese. Top cheese with the onion breadcrumb mixture.
• Bake in preheated oven until bubbling, hot and golden brown on top, about 30 minutes.

MENA'S BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE WITH CARAMELIZED ONION

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Butter a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions, sugar, and salt. Cook, stirring often, until onions are caramel colored, 15 to 20 minutes. If mixture is too dry, add an additional tablespoon of butter. Set aside.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add macaroni and cook until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, cover and set aside.
• Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Stir in the bread crumbs and toast lightly for a few minutes, stirring constantly.
• Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons butter in a large pot over medium heat. Dissolve the dry mustard in an equal amount of water and add to the pot along with the garlic, and cayenne pepper. Stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Sprinkle in the flour and cook until golden, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the milk and broth. Bring to a simmer stirring constantly until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the Cheddar and Parmesan cheeses until melted. Stir in the onions and season with salt and pepper. Add the drained macaroni and stir until blended. Pour into the prepared baking dish and top with bread crumbs.
• Bake until golden brown and bubbling around the edges, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

FRENCH ONION MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. (If you're planning to bake the macaroni and cheese in a baking dish instead of a skillet, butter 9-by-13-inch baking dish or other 3-quart casserole.)
• Meanwhile, in a deep, large (12-inch) ovenproof skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions, thyme sprigs and bay leaf, if using, and season with salt and pepper. Cover with a lid, baking sheet or foil and cook, stirring once or twice, until the onions are softened, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Uncover and continue to cook on medium-high, stirring occasionally, until deep golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. If the onions look dry, add a few tablespoons of water at a time to prevent them from burning, scraping up any browned bits that are stuck to the bottom of the skillet. (You will need to do this several times.)
• While the onions are cooking, heat the oven to 450 degrees. Cook the pasta in the boiling water until 2 minutes shy of al dente; drain and set aside. Rub one side of each baguette slice with garlic.
• When the onions are a deep golden brown, discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaf and deglaze the skillet with the vinegar until evaporated, scraping up browned bits as you go, about 30 seconds. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. When melted, add the flour and cook, stirring, until the flour begins to stick to the bottom of the pan and has turned a light golden brown, about 3 minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, whisking often.
• Reserve 1 cup of the Gruyère. Carefully add the remaining Gruyère and all the Cheddar to the caramelized onion mixture and carefully stir until melted. If your pan is big enough, add the cooked pasta and stir to combine, or combine the sauce and pasta in the prepared dish.
• Spread the pasta mixture in an even layer in the prepared dish, then top with the baguette slices, garlic-side up. Sprinkle the toasts with the reserved 1 cup Gruyère and season with pepper. Place the skillet or dish on a sheet pan and bake until bubbly and brown in spots, 10 to 15 minutes. If you like a crispier top, broil for a few minutes. Let cool slightly, then garnish with fresh thyme leaves.

MAC AND TWO CHEESES WITH CARAMELIZED SHALLOTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter 11x7x2-inch glass baking dish. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and cook 5 minutes, stirring often. Reduce heat to medium. Cook, covered, until shallots are deep brown, stirring often, about 6 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook macaroni in large saucepan of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally; drain well. Reserve pan. Bring half and half and hot sauce to simmer in same saucepan over medium heat. Toss cheddar cheese and flour in medium bowl to coat; add to half and half mixture. Whisk until sauce is smooth and just returns to simmer, about 2 minutes. Mix in pasta. Season with salt and pepper.
• Spread pasta mixture in prepared dish. Top with shallots, then goat cheese. Sprinkle with pepper. Bake until heated through, about 15 minutes.

BAKED MACARONI & CHEESE WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the bacon until crisp, turning once. Drain bacon on paper towels; crumble. Drain bacon drippings into saute pan.
• Cook onion in bacon drippings for 8 to 10 minutes or until onion is tender and golden brown. Set aside.
• In a large saucepan cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain and return to saucepan. Stir in the crumbled bacon, onions, 1-1/2 cups of the mozzarella cheese, the gruyere cheese, cream, and pepper. Toss gently to combine. Spoon into a 1-1/2-quart casserole.
• Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree F ovenfor 20 minutes. Stir gently. Top with the remaining mozzarella cheese and sprinkle with crumbs. Bake for 10 minutes more or until top of casserole is brown and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes.
• Serve hot with a green salad.

MACARONI AND CHEESE WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS

Steps:

• In a large skillet cook bacon over medium heat until crisp, turning once. Drain bacon on paper towels; crumble. Reserve bacon drippings in skillet.
• Cook onion in reserved bacon drippings for 5 to 8 minutes or until onion is tender and golden brown. Set aside.
• In a large saucepan cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain and return to saucepan. Stir in the crumbled bacon, onions, 1-1/2 cups of the mozzarella cheese, the gruyere cheese, half-and half, and pepper. Toss gently to combine. Spoon into a 1-1/2-quart casserole.
• Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree F ovenfor 20 minutes. Stir gently. Top with the remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake for 10 minutes more or until top of casserole is brown and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes.

CARAMELIZED ONION MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Prepare macaroni according to package directions; drain and set aside.
• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sliced onions and 1 teaspoons sugar. Cook, stirring often, 15 to 20 minutes or until onions are caramel-colored.
• Layer half each of macaroni, onions, cheeses, and cracker crumbs in a lightly greased 13 X 9" baking dish. Layer with remaining macaroni, onions, and cheese.
• Whisk together eggs and next 3 ingredients; pour over macaroni mixture.
• Stir together remaiing cracker crumbs, melted butter, and, if desired, pecans. Sprinkle evenly over macaroni mixture.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until golden brown and set. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.