Hangover Mac ‘n Cheese

Dan    Mains, Recipes     bacon, baked, cheesy, delicious, pasta, recipes

What you’ll need…

8 strips bacon (chopped, 1″ pieces)

1 yellow onion (chopped)

3 cloves garlic (minced)

1 cup beer (preferably Steam Whistle Pilsner)

2 1/2 cups homogenized milk

1 cup parmesan cheese (shredded)

1 cup romano cheese (shredded)

1/2 cup smoked gouda (shredded)

2 TSP chili powder

2 TSP hot sauce

1 TBSP chipotle paste

salt and pepper

corn starch

5 cups macaroni pasta (cooked)

baked with bread crumb topping… (optional)

1 cup mozzarella cheese (shredded)

1 cup bread crumbs

Sometimes, even a food blogger can have a bit too much to drink. A few too many beers at karaoke, over-indulging in martinis, birthday celebrations… Yes, it does/can happen. Waking up the morning after is never all that pleasant. Let’s assume that the cooking breakfast ‘deadline’ has passed. Now, what to do? Nothing helps soothe a sore head more than some greasy, cheesy food. This recipe calls for one cup of beer because, if you’re anything like me, there’s still a half-full bottle on your counter…

Place the chopped bacon into a large pan. Cook on medium-high heat until the bacon starts to crisp up, about 6-8 minutes. Then, add-in the onion and garlic. Stir, and cook until the onions soften. Now, pour in the cup of beer. Once the mixture starts to simmer, reduce to low heat, and let bubble away for 10 minutes.

Once the beer and co. mixture has thickened, you can add all remaining sauce ingredients, aside from the cooked pasta (also preheat your oven to low broil if you’re going to bake the pasta). Turn up to medium heat and stir regularly until the cheese has melted completely, about 5 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. If the sauce is a bit thin, add some corn starch to thicken it up.

Add the cooked pasta to the pan and gently stir until the macaroni is completely covered in the sauce. Dish out and let the healing cheese and bacon work their magic.

*If you’re not too hurtin’ to bake the pasta, place the combined macaroni and sauce into a prepared 8″ square baking dish. Sprinkle the bread crumbs and mozzarella cheese evenly over the top of the pasta and bake until the cheese is bubbly and starting to turn golden brown, approximately 10 minutes.*

Serves 4-5

Total cook time… 25 minutes (35 minutes if baked!)

Wine Braised Onion Soup

Dan    Recipes, Soups     baked, cheesy, onions, soups, vegetarian, winter

What you’ll need…

6 yellow onions

3 cloves garlic

1 cup dry red wine

5 cups beef stock (or veggie if you’re a vegetarian)

1 TSP rosemary

1 TSP chili powder

1 TBSP balsamic vinegar

1 sour dough baguette

2 cups grated mozzarella

1 cup grated parmesan

olive oil

salt & pepper

I love French onion soup. Love. Love. Love. Hot broth, caramelized onions, tons of cheese…mmm…How can one go wrong? So, let’s fancy this basic recipe up a bit, and nothing quite says ‘fancy’ like pouring in some wine. Am I right, or am I right? This is a nice, rich soup with a bit of a kick. Let’s do it!

The first step will be to slice your onions. Now, we don’t want little tiny pieces of onion for this soup. Rather, halve the onions then make 1/4″ slices from tip to tip. It’s going to seem like a lot of onions, but don’t worry, they’ll cook down, and really…this is onion soup after all…Oh yeah, mince the garlic cloves too! Put both into a medium-sized pot with some olive oil and turn to medium-high heat. Stirring regularly, let the onions cook down until they are approximately 1/4 of their original size and are starting to turn a golden colour, approximately 10-12 minutes. At this point, add the cup of wine. Once the pot begins to bubble, reduce to medium heat and let the mixture simmer until it has reduced by half, about 6-8 minutes.

Now, preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Next, add the stock, rosemary, chili powder, and balsamic vinegar to the pot. Give the soup a good stir and let simmer for another 15 minutes. While the soup is simmering, slice your baguette (1″ slices), drizzle with some olive oil and toast in the oven for 10 minutes to make some quick crostini. Take the cheeses and toss together until evenly mixed. Once the bread has crisped up, the soup should be ready to go as well!

Assembly time! Ladle the soup into oven-safe bowls, place enough crostini on top of each soup (enough to cover), and place a generous amount of shredded cheese onto all as the final layer. Pop the bowls onto a large baking tray and into the oven for 8 minutes, or until the cheese is nice and bubbly.

Dish out, then enjoy the hot soup and gooey cheese, but please remind your guests that the bowls are hot. That’s my disclaimer…now you can’t sue me…

Serves 4

Total cook time…45 min