Lovely Mac and Cheese with Swiss Chard

A comfort food guest post, contributed by Bridget Sandorford

I was the only kid in school who hated macaroni and cheese. They called me crazy; I blame Velveeta. Now that I have my own kitchen, I’ve developed a few ideas of my own about good, “old-fashioned” mac and cheese.

Ingredients

3 tbsp butter

1 large, chopped yellow onion

3 garlic cloves, minced

¼ cup all purpose flour (I sneak about 1/8 cup of whole wheat in there, just because)

3 cups milk (skim, 2%, almond, or soy milk—they’re all good)

2 cups grated Gouda cheese, additional ½ cup finely grated Gouda

2 cups grated Edam cheese

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

¼ tsp nutmeg

One bunch (about a pound or two) of Swiss chard, tough stems removed

16 oz elbow macaroni

3 tbsp olive oil

1 cup panko or homemade bread crumbs

1 tomato, sliced

¼ tsp oregano

Directions

1. Melt 3 tbsp of butter in big pot over medium heat and add onions. When onions are clear (not burned), add minced garlic and flour. Stir until thoroughly mixed. Gradually add milk. Stir occasionally until the ingredients begin to boil. Add the 2 cups of Gouda and 1 cup (not both) of Edam. Stir until the mixture is relatively consistent and stir in the cayenne and nutmeg. Salt and pepper to your personal taste.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter a 13x9 casserole or Pyrex.
3. Wash the chard and steam (don’t boil or you’ll lose the nutrients to the water) over a pot of water. About five minutes after the water begins to boil, add a handful of salt and the macaroni to the pot (allowing the chard to continue steaming). When the macaroni is al dente, remove the chard and save the macaroni in a wire colander. Squeeze water from the chard with a towel (it will be very hot) and cut into small bits.
4. Stir macaroni into cheese sauce and mix. Pour half of the mixture into the prepared casserole. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup of Edam and then the chard. Follow with remaining cheese sauce and spread flat. Place the tomato slices on top and sprinkle oregano.
5. In another pot, melt 3 tbsp olive oil and pour in panko. Stir in ½ cup Gouda. Sprinkle the crumbs over the casserole and bake until they are golden, between 30 and 40 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes and serve with a pretty parsley sprig. The tomatoes tend to slide around but try to get a slice!

Photo Credit: Author's Personal Work.

Bio: Aside from school and working part-time as an Assistant Chef, Bridget Sandorford is the resident Culinary Schools blogger where recently she’s been researching Washington DC culinary colleges as well as Orlando culinary colleges. Her passion for food has followed her research into many different areas, such as nutrition, fitness, organic foods, gardening, and cooking on a budget. She lives outside of Charleston, South Carolina.

Creamy Oven Baked Macaroni and Cheese

I love macaroni and cheese. Baked mac and cheese is a lovely comfort food that's great for lunch or dinner. Use whatever kind of noodles you like when you make it. Shells hold the sauce inside and make it extra creamy though so when you make this dish, consider that. You can use any kind of past you prefer.

Use as many kinds of cheese as you like as well. The more cheese, the better although cheddar should be used in the largest quantity. Is there too much cheese, ever? No way! This macaroni and cheese recipe is based on my most commonly made one although I can make it with any combination of cheeses available to me.

One of the important things to remember when you make the pasta is to cook it al dente. Because it's going to bake in the oven take a minute or two off the cooking time so it's not mush.

Second most important thing is to make enough sauce soupy so that it doesn't dry up. When you bake your mac and cheese in the oven, don't bake too long or your liquid will evaporate and the result will be dried out macaroni.

Cream Baked Macaroni and Cheese
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Serves 4-6

Preheat the oven to 375. Spray your casserole dish with Pam Cooking spray or grease it with butter or coconut oil to keep it from sticking.

3/4 of a 900g bag of your favourite pasta. I love doing this with shells. Butter and salt the cooking water to keep the pasta from sticking and to give the pasta flavour.

Drain the pasta and set aside. If you can, time the pasta to be ready around the time the sauce is ready. Sauce only takes 10-15 minutes.

Sauce:
-melt 2 tablespoons of butter and then throw in 2 table spoons of flour and stir until it looks like paste. Turn heat down a little for a few minutes

-Add 3 cups of milk and whisk on lower heat and then start piling in the cheese. I usually shred a 600g bar of cheddar and put half in the sauce and half on the top of the casserole at the end. Stir all the cheese you want in slowly. I usually add a few spponfuls of Parmasean or Romano, a few spoonfuls of cream cheese and plenty of cheddar. Put some salt and pepper and a pinch of Mrs. Dash if you like a bit of extra flavour.

Mix your macaroni with your sauce and put in your casserole dish. It should look really soupy. Then, cover the top with loads of shredded cheese. Then if you like, put a light sprinkle of breadcrumbs (optional). I top it off with a few pats of butter and some salt and pepper on top.

Pop in the oven and cook until golden and slightly crispy but not too crispy otherwise your sauce will have evaporated.

Enjoy!