Macaroniandfontinacheese Recipes

MACARONI AND FONTINA CHEESE (FROM THE DEAN AND DELUCA COOKBOOK)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over moderate heat and stir in the onion. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Raise the heat slightly and add the bell peppers. Cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Add the zucchini and yellow squash and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Cook the pasta in a large kettle of boiling salted water for 4 minutes. Drain the pasta and rinse it with cold water.
• Heat the butter in a medium-size heavy saucepan over moderate to moderately high heat until it becomes a medium nutty brown, being careful not to burn it. Stir in the flour, rosemary, sage and bay leaf. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk and cook, stirring, for 4 to 5 minutes, or until sauce is very thick--the consistency of sour cream. Strain the sauce and season well with salt and pepper. Cool slightly.
• Return the pasta to the same large kettle and stir in the sauce. Add the vegetables and 1 cup grated fontina and blend completely. Place the mixture in a deep earthenware or glass baking dish (about 9 inches by 13 inches by 2 inches). Sprinkle with the remaining fontina. Bake for 20 minutes, until the pasta is brown and crunchy on top.

MACARONI AND FONTINA CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425.
• Heat the olive oil in a large non stick skillet over moderate heat and stir in the onion.
• Add the garlic and cook stirring for 1 minute.
• Raise the heat slightly and add the bell peppers.
• Cook stirring for 2 minutes.
• Add the zucchini and yellow squash and cook stirring for 2 minutes.
• Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted water for 4 minutes.
• Drain and rinse with cold water.
• Heat the butter in a medium saucepan over moderate heat until it becomes a medium nutty brown.
• Stir in the flour, rosemary, sage and bay leaf.
• Cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes.
• Slowly add the milk and cook stirring 4-5 minutes or until the sauce is very thick.
• Strain the sauce and season with salt and pepper.
• Return the pasta to the same large pot and stir in the sauce.
• Add the vegetables and 1 cup of the grated fontina cheese and blend completely.
• Place the mixture in a deep glass baking dish.
• Sprinkle with the remaining fontina cheese.
• Bake for 20 minutes, until the pasta is brown and crusty on top.

FONTINA & PARMESAN MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to broil (high or low, depending on your oven intensity). Heat a large pot of water until boiling, add salt to boiling water until it's "salty like the sea". Cook the pasta till al dente, and drain.
• Melt 4-5 tablespoons of butter over medium low heat until melted and add heavy cream. Warm cream until heated through, do not boil the cream. Add the spices and seasonings to taste, but remember to not over salt as the parmesan cheese is slightly salted. Remove from heat and all of the fontina cheese and 1/2 cup parmesan, stir until combined.
• Pour the cheese sauce into the pasta and mix until well combined. Melt 1-2 tablespoons of butter and mix with Panko, remaining Parmesan cheese, parsley, and a pinch of garlic salt if you'd like.
• Transfer pasta and cheese mixture to a baking dish, top with Panko mixture and broil until bubbly and toasty on top. Serve immediately.

MACARONI WITH FONTINA AND GORGONZOLA CHEESES

Steps:

• In a medium pot, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add a pinch of salt and the macaroni. Cook until tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.
• In a colander, drain the macaroni and return it to the pot.
• Fold in the cheese, butter and half-and-half. Season with the pepper. Warm through.
• Garnish with chopped chives.

FONTINA-GRUYERE-WHITE CHEDDAR MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the macaroni until barely al dente, about 6 minutes. Drain; return to the pot.
• Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and cook over moderately high heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the milk and bring to a simmer.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F Melt 6 tablespoons of the butter in another large saucepan. Add the flour and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until lightly golden, about 5 minutes; remove from the heat.
• Gradually whisk the simmering milk into the flour and butter mixture until smooth. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook over low heat, whisking, until thick and bubbling, about 7 minutes. Stir in the mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Add the cheeses and cook over low heat, stirring, just until melted. Fold in the macaroni until coated with sauce. Spread the macaroni in a 3-quart baking dish.
• Bake for about 25 minutes, or until lightly golden and bubbling.

FONTINA MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Cook and drain macaroni as directed on package.
• In 10-inch skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Using whisk, stir in flour, salt and onion. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, or until mixture smells nutty and is lightly golden, stirring constantly with whisk.
• Add milk. Continue to beat with whisk, scraping bottom of skillet until mixture heats to boiling. Mixture will thicken. Remove from heat; add cheese and thyme. Stir with whisk until smooth. Stir in drained macaroni.
• Serve with additional thyme if desired.

FONTINA AND MASCARPONE MAC N" CHEESE

Steps:

• In a large pot, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain.
• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Combine flour and and butter in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Cook the roux for 1 minute (carefully not to let it burn).
• Add milk, stirring with a whisk. Cook 10 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly with a whisk. Remove from heat; add cheeses, stirring until smooth. Stir in salt and black pepper. Add cooked pasta, stirring to coat. Spoon pasta mixture into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
• Tear bread into several pieces. Place bread in a food processor; process until fine crumbs measure 1 1/2 cups.
• Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds. Remove from heat. Stir in breadcrumbs until well combined. Sprinkle breadcrumb mixture evenly over pasta mixture.
• Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle with parsley.
• Note: This can be made up ahead of time and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature and bake until heated 30 - 40 minutes.

PANCETTA, GRUYERE, PARMESAN AND FONTINA MAC & CHEESE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season generously with kosher salt. Add the shells and cook 2 minutes less than the package directions. You want the pasta to be al dente. Drain, then set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Add the olive oil and pancetta into a large heavy-bottomed pot and turn on the heat to low. Cook the pancetta to slowly render the fat, stirring occasionally, until the pancetta is crispy and most of the fat has rendered out, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the pancetta with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel-lined plate and set aside. Reserve the pancetta fat. Add the onions and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 5 minutes. Add the butter and stir to melt. Add the flour and whisk to create a roux with the pancetta fat and butter. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste. Add in the milk, Dijon mustard and hot sauce and whisk until smooth. Bring to a boil, then reduce immediately to a gentle simmer and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until slightly thickened. Add the fontina cheese, Gruyere and 1 cup of the Parmesan. Stir to combine with a rubber spatula until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth. Add the cooked shells and crispy pancetta and stir to combine. If the mixture is too thick for your liking, you can add a little more milk. Season to taste with kosher salt.
• Transfer the mac and cheese into individual ramekins or a large baking dish. Top evenly with the panko and remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan and place into the oven until the breadcrumbs are browned, about 5 minutes.