New Recipe Night: Beer Mac & Cheese

Beer mac and cheese? Huh? I just didn't get it.

But now? I totally get it.

Let me preface this post by making it very clear that I detest beer. The smell. The taste. The mere thought of how gross it might be to burp after taking a few drinks. Yeah, gross...I know. But seriously. So you can see that this recipe was a stretch for me. This just proves how much in love I am with mac & cheese. Ps...you can't taste the beer, of course, but getting past the thought of it being in the sauce took a moment to overcome. ;)

Just one smell of the sauce after pouring in the cup of beer....intoxicating. Who knew that beer and cheese made such a beautiful pair?! No beer-ish smell present. Just the lovely aroma of something that I knew would be delicious. Step aside wine and cheese....there's a new combo in town. But flavors and smells aside, who doesn't love a big hot bowl of mac & cheese?! So many variations of the baked variety and my goal is to try every single one of them! My eyes stumbled upon this recipe while working at a patient's house. She was kind enough to let me copy the recipe down from her cooking club magazine and I ran as fast as I could to the grocery store to pick up the goodies to make it.

Ingredients:

*12 oz gemelli or fusilli (corkscrew pasta)

*4 Tbsp butter, divided

*3/4 cup finely chopped onion

*2 tsp minced garlic

*1 cup beer

*4 oz cream cheese

*1 1/3 cup milk

*12 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (1 1/2 cup)

*3/4 tsp salt

*1 1/2 cups bread crumbs 

*3 Tbsp thinly sliced green onion

Directions:

1) Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 2 quart baking dish with cooking spray. Cook pasta according to package directions.

2) Meanwhile, melt 2 Tbsp of the butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Cook onion 4 to 5 minutes or until softened, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; cook and stir 30 seconds or until fragrant.

3) Increase heat to medium-high. Add beer; bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute to reduce slightly. Whisk in cream cheese until melted. Whisk in milk, cheddar cheese and salt, whisking constantly until cheese melts. Simmer 3 to 4 minutes or until slightly thickened (sauce will still be quite thing), stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Stir in pasta; spoon into baking dish. 

4) Melt remaining 2 Tbsp butter in medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Stir in bread crumbs and green onions until coated; sprinkle over pasta.

5) Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until casserole is hot and bubbling and bread crumbs are browned and crisp. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. 

Oh it looked so heavenly as I pulled it out of the oven. And the smell....oh, the smell. I served the mac with some baked bbq chicken. Perfect combo! 

The chicken was super duper simple and one of my favorite quick things to pop in the oven when I haven't planned ahead (which is always). It's a sinch....chicken breasts soaked in sweet and spicy chipotle bbq sauce + a squeeze of honey + a couple dashes of garlic powder baked at 350 degrees for 30 minutes in my handy dandy pampered chef deep stoneware pan.

A couple things to note: I added an extra cup of cheese. Yes, a whole cup. No shame here. ;) I couldn't wait to dig in. But I let my tiny taste tester try the first bite. Her eyes did the talking. Wide-eyed and reaching for more. APPROVED! The bread crumbs and green onions made the meal for me. The more bread crumbs the merrier! You won't be disappointed with this dish. Hubby was just happy that he was able to be of assistance with this meal....he finished the second half of the beer sitting on the counter. ;)

Oh yeah, one more thing.....ENJOY!!!