I know what I'm making at my next dinner party
Yesterday I had a hankering for the rich creamy rich goodness that is stovetop macaroni and cheese. Don't get me started on the oven-baked kind, which I view as an unholy curdled slab of evil. I'm sure there could be fabulous versions out there--I've just never had one.
Anyway. I use a recipe which calls for sharp cheddar, evaporated milk, dry mustard, and which has the power to warm and cuddle you in the manner of a cashmere-sweater-clad George Clooney. Ladies, you try and tell me you wouldn't want summa that.
I looked online to find what other amazing cheeses I could add to the mix and saw what I at first thought must be a joke. It's called Deep Fried Mac & Cheese, and is possibly proof that Paula Deen want to kill us all. I nearly threw up reading this, but I'm sure there are people who love it. I used to work with a lady who was Paula's biggest fan. She spent more time at the doctor's office than she did at work. This no longer seems strange to me, considering:
| Here's the recipe: Peanut oil, for frying 1 recipe "The Lady's Cheesy Mac" prepared, chilled in the refrigerator overnight, and cut into 15 bite-sized squares, recipe follows Flour, for dredging 1 egg, beaten Plain bread crumbs, for dredging Heat 2 inches of oil in a large, heavy Dutch oven to 350 degrees F. Dredge each Cheesy Mac square in flour, then egg, and then bread crumbs to coat. Fry for about 1 minute on each side until golden brown. Drain on paper towels before serving. |
Yeah, I said it.
I'm Steph, a librarian and mom of 3 (not sure how that happened). Let's chat books, food, Sumptuous Literary Adaptations, poop, knitting and maybe some crazy Mormon Feminism.
20 comments:
I think I can feel the crisco coating the back of my throat looking at this!
The mere thought of that makes me want to hurl.
That is revolting.
They serve deep-fried macaroni and cheese bites in the cafeteria of the school where I work. And let me tell you, they are nothing short of divine. As repulsive as the idea sounds, in actual practice it is the polar opposite of repulsive. It is the comfort food to end all comfort foods. I'm not sure I'd actually go to the trouble of making macaroni and cheese and then deep frying it in my own kitchen, but if someone else is willing to do the dirty work, oh yeah, I will jump right on that train.
I should probably mention that I teach in a small town in rural Pennsylvania, so deep-fried macaroni and cheese bites do not strike anyone as strange in this neck of the woods. Our county fair sells deep-fried Oreos and Twinkies, and deep-fried funnel cakes. Next week the school is having FFA Spirit Week! Monday is Carhartt day, Tuesday is camouflage day, Wednesday is John Deere day, Thursday is cowboy day, and Friday is FFA blue and gold day, which will end with a pep rally featuring milk-chugging, pie-eating, and hay bale-tossing contests.
And no, I am not kidding. I love Pennsylvania, but there's a joke that says the state consists of Pittsburgh in the west, Philadelphia in the east, and Alabama right down the middle. Totally true.
I think I just derailed the fried macaroni train. Sorry, Nemesis!
Derail away, Audrey. Because both those comments are awesome.
What you don't know is that her version of mac 'n cheese contains not just cheese, but also an insane amount of sour cream.
My version of mac n cheese:
A quarter cup of minced onion, sautéed until soft in your fat of choice (you can use butter or olive oil) add flour to make a roux, add milk, and then cheddar with gruyere cheese. If you have fontina to toss in, or emmenthaler, that doesn’t hurt either, but cheddar and gruyere are necessary.
Add to al dente macaroni (I prefer Barilla or De Cecco) and pour into a casserole dish. Toss bread crumbs with melted butter, scatter over the top of pasta, broil for a few minutes until golden brown.
The red flag of warning went up for me at the line:
"[macaroni and cheese] prepared, chilled in the refrigerator overnight, and cut into 15 bite-sized squares."
Macaroni and cheese that you can cut into squares is not something I want to be eating. Yuck!
Jamie oliver would die if he knew you could get deep fried mac n cheese at a school cafeteria.
I think I would die if something that unhealthy is ever served to one of my kids, not that they'd eat it.
My grandmother made the most amazing baked macaroni. Every woman in our family can make a good one, but somehow hers was just better.
The scariest thing about dishes as unhealthy as that deep-fried horror you've described is that they often taste great. Of course your heart is crying the whole time as its arteries clog, but whatever. I used to think people were insane to eat deep-fried Mars bars (chocolate, caramel, nougat) until I tried one. D.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s!! I never ate another one, but I do understand now why people do.
What I meant to say was, I could feel my chest tightening just looking at that recipe, but I think it would be fun to cook Paula's recipes. We just have to feed them to our enemies, that's all.
You know, I've tried homemade M&C twice and both times. . .bleh. Not terrible, but not as good as Kraft's from a box and way too much effort.
Some things are just not better homemade.
To add to Audrey's quote about Pennsylvania, a lot of people in New Jersey call it Pennsyltucky. It's totally true and I have relatives to prove it. At the fair I went to in PA, they had deep fried cauliflower. I guess they figured they were being healthy. I'm with Janssen Kraft is the best although the organic mac and white chedder is a close second.
I saw the title and was already planning the party... and then I read the post. =(
I've had fried califlower. Over at Lons in Provo. Yummy.
Levi and I went to the Cheesecake Factory and the lady at the table next to us got some deep fried macaroni and cheese balls and Levi and I's first thought was, "Why did we not order that?" It did look good and I heard it is good!
Levi likes to make Triple Bypasses. It is an all-beef hotdog encased in ground beef, wrapped in bacon, and then grilled... it is good, oh so good... but oh so bad!!!
I come from the southern cattle-farming stock, so it is just inevitable that I shall have a heart attack one day... haha! I told Levi the other day that I wished my dad was a chicken farmer instead! He kills a cow and gives us a 1/4 of it every day, so chicken is a treat, steak is free!
oops, I meant to say every year, not every day... I need to go to bed!
My uncle makes **awesome** homemade mac & cheese, with ham in it. So delish.
My grandma and I watched a Paula Deen show last week, and everytime Paula said "ya'll" (which was often), my grandma had to repeat it and laugh. That didn't get old at all. :/
Not a fan of Paula Deen. Her cooking scares me. For obvious reasons.
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