mac and cheese

Penne pasta “mac and cheese” with pesto

Penne pasta “mac and cheese” with pesto

I was inspired to make this meal after watching the YouTube channel “Sous vide everything” which featured pork belly with mac and cheese.

Rather than using macaroni, I went with penne ziti pasta because that’s what I had in my pantry.

Penne pasta and cheesy white sauce after the oven

Ingredients for mac and cheese

  • Penne pasta
  • Water
  • Iodised salt
  • Salted butter
  • Plain flour
  • Milk
  • Swiss cheese
  • Pecorino cheese
  • White pepper
  • Pork belly
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Garlic
  • Basil
  • Pine nuts

Instructions

  1. Cook the penne pasta according to the instructions on the packaging.
  2. Allow the penne pasta to cool in the refrigerator, so it develops resistant starch.
  3. In a food processor blend the garlic, salt, and olive oil and then slowly add the pine nuts, basil leaves, and pecorino cheese until it forms a smooth sauce.
  4. The pesto may benefit from some red wine vinegar to prevent the basil leaves from discolouring and turning black.
  5. The pesto will keep well in the refrigerator.
  6. Dry a manageable length of your pork belly strip by rubbing it vigorously with both hands with some paper towel. You can then oil your hands and rub your pork. Cook your piece of pork in an oven at 200 °C for 40 minutes, so the rind is crispy.
  7. Cut the cooked pork belly into cubes.
  8. In a saucier pan, melt some butter on a low heat and then whisk in an equal quantity of plain flour and cook for at least 3 minutes.
  9. Add cold milk to the roux and add enough to avoid the white sauce from clumping. You don’t want globby bits in your special white sauce.
  10. Start adding the swiss and pecorino cheeses in small amounts and stir through to create a thickened luscious sauce.
  11. Season the white sauce with white pepper. Your white sauce will taste better with a little spice in it. Spicy sauces are always better in your mouth.
  12. Add in the cold penne pasta, stir through, cook until the sauce penetrates deeply, and fills the hollow tubes of goodness.
  13. Transfer the pasta dropping in your special sauce to a baking sheet and top with a little more cheesy goodness. With a Microplane take your seed of nutmeg and generously grate it over the cheese augmented “mac and cheese”. 
  14. When the pork belly has finished cooking, remove your hot pork strip and insert your “mac and cheese” until the cheese bubbles and turns a lovely golden brown.
  15. After the “mac and cheese” has finished in the oven, remove it and allow it to rest for a few minutes until it stops wobbling when you give it a poke. The growing tumescence of your “mac and cheese” means your cheese has started to set and it will be easier to handle rather than being a floppy mess.
  16. With a large spoon, dissect and withdraw a good portion of “mac and cheese” and transfer to a plate. Add some pork belly and a spoonful of pesto. Garnish with the cherry tomatoes for the contrasting colour.

Final thoughts on mac and cheese

I’ve ordered some food-grade sodium citrate on-line and will see if it helps make the cheesy white sauce any better.

According to Guga, the sodium citrate makes the cheesy white sauce smoother.

How to make gluten-free quinoa cheese pot pie | Yummy Lummy

Quinoa cheese pot pie rather than a traditional mac and cheese sounds way too hipster for Yummy Lummy but what the hey. I do like quinoa and I do like cheese. I used rice flour so unlike mac and cheese, this is gluten-free for people with Cœliac disease.

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This is a photograph if my Gluten-free quinoa cheese bacon pot pie made by Gary Lum
Gluten-free quinoa cheese bacon pot pie

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Quinoa cheese pot pie that's gluten-free | Yummy Lummy
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
40 mins
Total Time
50 mins
 
A warming comfort food for cold days and nights, suitable for people with Cœliac disease.
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Australian
Servings: 2
Calories: 1000 kcal
Author: Gary Lum
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup Quinoa (microwave)
  • 2 tablespoons Butter (room temperature)
  • 2 tablespoons Rice flour
  • 1 cup Milk (full cream or skim)
  • 2 rashers Streaky bacon (cut into thin strips across the grain)
  • 1/2 cup Frozen vegetables (I used peas and corn for an Australiana look)
  • 1/2 teaspoon Chilli flakes
  • 1/2 teaspoon Garlic powder (you could use freshly crushed garlic)
  • 1 cup Coon cheese (grated)
  • 2 teaspoons Sunflower seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg (ground)
Instructions
  1. Cut the rashers of streaky bacon into thin strips cutting across the grain of the bacon. Put the bacon onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. Put the bacon into a preheated oven at 200 °C (400 °F) for 15 minutes and remove when finished.
  2. Cook the microwave quinoa as per the packet instructions and put the cooked quinoa into a mixing bowl.
  3. Make a roux with the butter, rice flour and milk. Start by heating the butter in a saucepan until it foams and then add the flour and whisk until it is smooth and starts to change colour. Pour in the milk and whisk until it begins to thicken.
  4. Take the sauce off the heat and then add most of the grated Coon cheese leaving some to the end to top the pie.
  5. Stir in the cheese, nutmeg, chilli flakes, and garlic powder (or freshly crushed garlic).
  6. Add the sunflower seeds and the frozen vegetables to the quinoa and mix, then pour over the sauce and mix thoroughly.
  7. Pour this mixture into a Pyrex bowl or something similar. Top with the remaining cheese and a light sprinkling of nutmeg.
  8. Place the bowl into a hot oven 200 °C (400 °F) for 20 minutes when hopefully the cheese has melted and changed to a golden brown.
  9. Remove from the oven and allow the quinoa cheese pot pie to rest for 5 minutes.
  10. Garnish with a sprig of parsley or anything else you may have.
  11. Shoot a photograph and then eat from the bowl with a spoon or fork while sitting in front of the TV watching Netflix with your Ugg boots on.
  12. Wash the dishes and write a blog post and hope your social media buddies share the recipe to all and sundry.
Recipe Notes

This is a gluten-free variation on mac and cheese with the nuttiness of quinoa. It can be enjoyed as a dinner or lunch time meal. Another serving idea is to not include the vegetables in the pie but to serve them separately. I think having the bacon is integral to the dish and adds a depth of flavour. I got the idea for the basis of this dish from Erica von Trapp at Bubble Child.

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Frequently asked questions

So, what do you think of this quinoa cheese pot pie?

I thought it was pretty awesome. While I don’t have Cœliac disease, I like to explore food that other people can eat because of a medical condition.

Can I make this quinoa cheese pot pie vegetarian?

Sure, don’t add the bacon. You could add some mushroom, not as a bacon substitute but as another ingredient to give it some extra texture.

Would it help to add a crust or Panko to the top for crunch?

Well then depending on how you make the pastry top, it may not be gluten-free. If you don’t have Cœliac disease and you like pastry and bread, then a puff pie pastry or some panko breadcrumbs would add some crunchy texture.

Could I add this quinoa cheese to a burger?

Yep, I reckon it would be nice on a burger or on a hot dog.

Can I eat this quinoa cheese pot pie cold the next day?

I reckon it would be disgusting cold, but that’s just my opinion.

Social media

Please follow me on my food-based social media on TwitterFacebook, and Instagram. What I’d love you to do is share this post on Twitter and Facebook and anywhere else you’d like, even Google+

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Bacon macaroni and cheese

Bacon macaroni and cheese is surely a thing just like smoked trout or smoked salmon mac and cheese must be a thing.

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Super hot and spicy home smoked and cured bacon macaroni and cheese Gary Lum
Super hot and spicy home smoked and cured bacon macaroni cheese

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Bacon macaroni and cheese
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
30 mins
 
Bacon macaroni and cheese is surely a thing just like smoked trout or smoked salmon mac and cheese must be a thing.
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Australian
Servings: 1
Calories: 1000 kcal
Author: Gary Lum
Ingredients
  • 200 grams Macaroni (cheap supermarket stuff)
  • 200 grams Bacon (diced and cooked in a bench top oven to release flavour)
  • ½ cup Coon cheese (grated)
  • ½ cup Parmesan (grated)
  • 3 tablespoons Flour (plain)
  • 2 tablespoons Butter (salted)
  • 1 dessert spoon Chilli flakes
  • 1 piece Red chilli (diced)
  • ¼ cup Parsley
  • ¼ cup Panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 tablespoon Pumpkin seeds
  • 1 tablespoon sunflower seeds
  • ¼ piece White onion (small and diced)
  • 1 cup Full cream milk
Instructions
  1. Remove the home smoked and cured piece of gift bacon from the vacuum packaging
  2. Dice the bacon into large cubes
  3. Cook the bacon on an oven tray at 200 °C/400 °F for 12 minutes in a small bench top oven
  4. While the bacon is cooking cook the macaroni 1 to 2 minutes short of the recommended time on the packaging, the macaroni will continue to cook when it’s coated in cheesy goodness
  5. Allow the bacon to rest in its rendered fat so the flavours are retained
  6. Drain the macaroni and mix with the cooked bacon and the rendered bacon fat so the macaroni absorbs bacon flavours
  7. In a saucepan melt the butter and add the onion until the butter foams
  8. Whisk in the flour and make a roux
  9. Add the milk to make a sauce
  10. Remove the saucepan from the heat source
  11. Fold in half the cheeses with the pumpkin and sunflower seeds
  12. Add the macaroni and bacon and stir through slowly
  13. Mix in the chilli flakes and red chilli
  14. Pour into a Pyrex dish
  15. Mix the panko breadcrumbs with the rest of the grated cheeses
  16. Top with the rest of the cheeses and panko breadcrumbs
  17. Place into a hot oven (200 °C/400 °F) for 15 to 20 minutes being careful not to burn the top
  18. Serve in a shallow bowl
  19. Garnish with a sprig of parsley
    Super hot and spicy home smoked and cured bacon macaroni and cheese Gary Lum
  20. If you want to give the pretence that you have a healthy lifestyle feel free to add vegetables like kale and spinach or silverbeet but if you do you need to realise you’re lying to yourself and really you’re a comfort food whore.
  21. Unlike me, if you can digest and metabolise alcohol you could have a large glass or two of wine or a pot of beer with this.
  22. Don’t forget when you’re finished don’t pass out on the couch, the sooner you get the saucepan and bowl in some water the easier it will be to clean off the cheesy goodness.
  23. While you’re cleaning off that cheesy goodness, just imagine how it all looks churning in your stomach, being mechanically processed and chemically digested as it passes through your duodenum, having bile added like dishwashing detergent.
  24. I could go on but you get the picture. Hopefully after a morning coffee, what’s left will start its extracorporeal journey to a waste treatment facility near you.
  25. If you’ve liked the way I’ve finished this recipe, I’d love it if you commented and please share this via social media especially Facebook and Twitter. I’m really wanting this sort of recipe to take off so that more people can appreciate my talent for combining food with some basic anatomy and physiology.
  26. Please follow me on my food-based social media on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Recipe Notes

On a final note, I’d really like to thank my work friend Mark for giving me this piece of bacon.

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Super hot and spicy home smoked and cured bacon macaroni and cheese Gary Lum
Super hot and spicy home smoked and cured bacon macaroni cheese

If you’ve liked the way I’ve finished this recipe, I’d love it if you commented and please share this via social media especially Facebook and Twitter (there are handy sharing icons in this post). I’m really wanting this sort of recipe to take off so that more people can appreciate my talent for combining food with some basic anatomy and physiology.

On a final note, I’d really like to thank my work friend Mark for giving me this piece of bacon.

If you want to see more examples of workplace generosity please head over to another blog where I have shared three consecutive days of amazing workplace generosity.

This isn’t the first mac and cheese on Yummy Lummy, I put it in a Taco one Saturday.

Please follow me on my food-based social media on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. What I’d love you to do is share this post on Twitter and Facebook and anywhere else you’d like, even Google+

For vegan friends, here’s a vegan version from the Noob Chef.

Taco Saturday

Have you ever had a Taco Saturday and eaten tacos for breakfast, lunch and dinner? Today I had tortillas filled with goodness three times. This extravaganza was inspired by a blogger friend Julie who is currently on a camping holiday. We started a discussion in the comments of a recent post and the notion of breakfast tacos was raised. It cascaded from there.

 

This morning started well with a panorama of the sunrise.

Lake Ginninderra Panorama
Lake Ginninderra Panorama

I went for a walk to build an appetite.

Lake Ginninderra
Lake Ginninderra

My breakfast taco was made with a line of cheesy potato gems (tater tots for my US friends), streaky Pialligo Estate Artisanal bacon and creamy buttery scrambled eggs.

Breakfast tortillas with scrambled eggs, bacon, potato gems, salsa, cheese and spring onions
Breakfast tortillas with scrambled eggs, bacon, potato gems, salsa, cheese and spring onions

Breakfast tortillas with scrambled eggs, bacon, potato gems, salsa, cheese and spring onions
Breakfast tortillas with scrambled eggs, bacon, potato gems, salsa, cheese and spring onions

After some grocery shopping I needed my lunch taco which contained smoked salmon with a guacamole laden with chilli.

Smoked salmon and avocado salsa tortilla with chilli, dill, cream cheese, lemon zest and black pepper
Smoked salmon and avocado salsa tortilla with chilli, dill, cream cheese, lemon zest and black pepper

After lunch I needed to make some purchases and walked by the lake. I had noticed an abandoned car on my morning walk.

Abandoned car on Lake Ginninderra
Abandoned car on Lake Ginninderra

I also spent some time sitting on a bench day dreaming.

Lake Ginninderra
Lake Ginninderra

For dinner I had some Coles pulled pork and made some macaroni cheese from scratch.

Coles pulled pork cooking instructions
Coles pulled pork cooking instructions

Pulled pork and macaroni cheese tortillas
Pulled pork and macaroni cheese tortillas

Pulled pork and macaroni cheese tortillas
Pulled pork and macaroni cheese tortillas

Have you ever had a Taco Saturday?

If you want to know more about tacos I suggest another Texan, viz., Hilah Johnson. Hilah has a fantastic YouTube channel.