Baked Macaroni and Pimiento Cheese

Last week I was reminiscing and looking through one of my recipe notebooks from the restaurant.  (I still miss it!) I found a recipe that I'd always wanted to try, but had forgotten about - Golden Baked Macaroni and Pimiento Cheese.  Let's see - macaroni and cheese!  Pimiento cheese!  Two stand-alone favorites - combined they must surely be the epitome of comfort food.

The recipe was on a page torn from a Southern Living magazine, and was originally for an appetizer - Macaroni and Pimiento Cheese Bites - which is why I kept it, but tonight I followed the altered recipe for the casserole. I thought it would be a nice side dish, along with blackened green beans (another new recipe, see below), to have with the rib-eye steaks we were planning to grill.

The macaroni was amazingly good.  We love macaroni and cheese at our house and have accumulated recipes for several favorite versions.  This one goes into our notebook of "keeper" recipes. It was easy to make and baked in only 20 minutes.  As it baked, that wonderful cheesy smell filled the kitchen, and I could hardly wait to take a bite when it came out of the oven.

Here are the ingredients:

1 (8-oz.) package elbow macaroni (about 2 cups dry pasta)
3 Tbsp. butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground red pepper
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1 (8-oz.) block extra sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
1 (4-oz.) jar diced pimientos, drained
3/4 cup fine, dry breadcrumbs
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 large eggs, lightly beaten *
1/2 cup milk *
Vegetable oil *

* Omit if baking the casserole.

I prepared the pasta earlier in the afternoon per the package directions, rinsed and drained it, and placed it in the refrigerator until I was ready to use it.

Melt the butter in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat.

Whisk in the flour until smooth. 

The flour will actually clump instead of looking smooth, so don't panic when you see this happening.

Gradually whisk in 2 cups milk (I used 2% instead of whole with no adverse results) and the salt, ground red pepper (I used cayenne) and garlic powder. 

Whisk constantly for 3 - 5 minutes or until thickened.  It will blend together nicely.



Stir in the shredded cheese and pimiento until melted and smooth.

 

 

 

Stir in the cooked pasta and remove from heat.

 

Pour macaroni mixture into a lightly greased 9x13-inch baking dish. (Do not chill.)   Stir together breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese; sprinkle over mixture. Bake at 350F for 15 to 20 minutes or until bubbly.

 

 

 

If you want to try the appetizer version:

Prepare the macaroni mixture per the above directions through the step of adding the pasta.

Line a 9x13-inch pan with plastic wrap.  Allow a few inches to extend over edges of pan. 

 

Pour the prepared mixture into the pan.  After it has cooled slightly, cover and refrigerate for 8 hours.

 

Remove macaroni  mixture from the pan, and cut into 1-inch squares.

 

Combine the breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese in a shallow dish.

 

Whisk the eggs with 1/2 cup milk in another shallow dish.

 

Dip macaroni bites in the egg mixture and dredge in the breadcrumb mixture.

 

Pour oil to 1-inch depth in a large skillet or frying pan.  Fry in batches for 2 minutes on each side or until golden.

 

www.southernliving.com

 

I have not tried the appetizer version, but if the casserole is any indication, I'll bet they are equally delicious.

 

As for the aforementioned blackened green beans.....they were a complete disaster.  I found this recipe also - I'd printed it from the Food Network - one of Guy Fieri's recipes.  Since we are always looking for new ways to prepare green beans, I thought I'd give it a try.  I blended the spices together (even made a trip to the grocery store because I was missing two spices - isn't that how it always goes?) and followed the directions exactly.

 

After tossing those beans in all those spices (the blend had salt, lots of paprika, cumin, lots of pepper and a few others), I put them in my wok/skillet and let them sizzle.  The pepper smell was almost immediately overwhelming.  Too much!  I could barely breathe. I had to step outside to breathe in some clean air.  I turned on exhaust fans all over the house, opened windows, and ran it all down the disposal to get rid of the smell.  J. did keep a small amount to try, but the beans were so salty that they were inedible, and we quickly disposed of his portion as well. 

 

Blackened Green Beans = Epic Fail.

 

Needless to say, we were without a vegetable to round out our meal, which was disappointing, but the macaroni was so good that we didn't mind so much this time. 

 

I think you'll like the macaroni and cheese.  Give it a try sometime.

 

Enjoy!