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Easy Homemade Macaroni & Cheese

Bring a large pot of water (12-16 cups) to a boil.  Add pasta noodles and salt.  Boil according to directions, usually between 9 and 11 minutes.  Meanwhile, in a small bowl lightly whisk the egg, half the milk, mustard, hot sauce and pepper.

Remove pasta immediately from stove and drain the water, then return the noodles to the same warm pot, and add the butter.  Turn off the burner, and place the pot on the still warm heating element, stirring as the butter melts.  Add the egg mixture, and mix to coat.  Add the cheese and stir thoroughly until the cheese has melted.  Add enough of the remaining evaporated milk and stir.  Serves 2 adults and 2 children.

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*KITCHEN NOTES* 

(1) The pasta noodles I used are pictured above – and though it was admittedly a nice touch that they are called “Nuggets”, there was a more important reason choose them.  Rather than use elbows, I want a pasta with lots of ridges to give it more surface area to absorb liquid as well as more crevices to hold the cheese sauce while still being a small and compact pasta. 

(2) This recipe is adapted from the Cook’s Illustrated recipe for Stovetop Mac and Cheese, which I enjoy because it is fast and easy and the children can help out in numerous ways.  They are more likely to eat food that they helped prepare, even though macaroni and cheese is always a hit.

(3) I use whatever cheese I have on hand, but always freshly grated (the preshredded cheeses are coated with an anti-caking agent, which inhibits melting).  Young cheeses do better than aged cheeses because the fat seperates more readily in aged cheeses.  Be sure you have the burner heat OFF prior to adding the cheese, because that can cause seperation as well.  The mac and cheese for this photo used a combination of 30% fontinella, 30% asiago, 10% parmigiano reggiano, and the remainder of a mix I had on hand (sharp cheddar, queso blanco, asadero and monterey jack).

(4) Technically, it takes just a tad longer than 15 minutes depending on the time it takes your water to boil.  But once the water is boiling, the rest comes together in under fifteen – promise.

These are my son’s favorite nuggets. When he smells them cooking he runs excitedly with his sister through the kitchen, plucking the nuggets right off the paper towels as they cool.

Coconut Pan Fry Chicken Nuggets

1 lb. chicken breast, cut into chunks, trimmed of excess fat

3 Tbs. grapeseed oil (or other high smokepoint oil)

2 Tbs. toasted sesame seed oil

1 Tbs. potato starch (or cornstarch)

1 Tbs. unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 C unsweetened coconut flakes

In a 12″ cast iron skillet (or nonstick skillet) heat 1 1/2 Tbs. high heat oil over medium heat until shimmering (about 2 minutes). Place chicken chunks into a medium sized bowl. In a seperate small bowl, whisk sesame oil, starch and flour. Pour over chicken, and toss by hand until thoroughly coated. Place coconut in a third seperate small bowl. Dredge each chunk seperately in coconut, but dredging all the chunks prior to frying so you can place them in the skillet all at once for each batch.

Pan fry the nuggets in two batches. Place half the chunks in the skillet. Take care not to let the the chunks touch each other; this way they cook thoroughly and brown nicely on the bottom. After 4 minutes, flip them over. Pan fry an additional 1 to 2 minutes, just until the internal temperature of each nugget reaches 165 degrees. Remove from heat immediately and drain on paper towels or brown paper bags.

Prior to frying the second batch, quickly wipe out the old oil and coconut bits before placing in the second batch, since the coconut leftover in the pan will burn. Place remaining 1 1/2 Tbs. oil in pan, allowing it to get hot before placing chicken chunks in the pan.

*KITCHEN NOTES* The key to these nuggets is the velveting technique used in Asian cooking, which typically uses a combination of egg whites and cornstarch to marinate and coat the chicken, which protects the small chicken piece exteriors from getting tough. I used sesame oil instead of egg white. A great optional addition is sherry. Kosher salt is used instead of standard table salt because it is easier to control the amount you are using. If you prefer sea salt, add it immediately after removing the chicken from heat. Finally, the extra step well worth the payoff: Using a thermometer to check the temp of the chicken, allowing you to remove the chicken immediately without over-cooking, ensuring a juicy, moist and thoroughly cooked nugget. Enjoy!

Common and not-so-common tree nuts, or food items that always contain tree nuts:

almonds
anacardium nuts
artificial nuts
beech nut
brazil nuts
butternut
candlenut
caponatanut meat
cashews
chestnut
filberts
gianduja (a nut mixture in some chocolate)
Ginko nut
hazelnuts
hickory nuts
horse-chestnut
Lichee nut
macadamia nuts
malabar chestnut
mandelonas (peanuts altered to look/taste like tree nuts)
marzipan (almond paste)
mongongo
Mortadella (may contain pistachio)
nan-gai nuts
nougat
Nu-Nuts ^TM (peanuts altered to look/taste like tree nuts)
nut butters
nut extract
Nutella
nut meal
nut meats (another name for tree nuts)
nut oil
nut paste
nut pieces
pecans
pesto
Pili nut
pine nuts
Pinon
Pistachios
pralines
Sheanut
walnuts