I don’t normally think of macaroni and cheese and steak as being the perfect companions. Not that they’re bad together, I just never thought of them as going together as a “thing.” So, I thought, how can I make that a thing?
The answer was actually very simple: steak loves mushrooms, fresh herbs and blue cheese. My favorite blue is gorgonzola – it’s not too ripe for people that aren’t huge stinky cheese fans, but it definitely has enough flavor to satisfy a craving. This mac and cheese takes a little extra time than most, but believe me it’s totally worth it. Your steak (and tastebuds) will thank you for your efforts.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds dry campanelle pasta
- 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs, for topping
- 1/4 cup parmesan or gran padano, grated, for topping
Tomatoes
- 3 cups cherry tomatoes, halved lengthwise
- 1/4 cup fresh oregano
- 2 - 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- salt and pepper to taste
Mushrooms
- 2/3 cup shallot, chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh thyme
- 3 cups portobello mushrooms, sliced
- 1 1/2 cups shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 1/2 cup beer
- 4 tablespoons butter
- salt and pepper to taste
Cheese Sauce
- 12 tablespoons butter
- 8 tablespoons flour
- 8 cups milk
- 4 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 cups Gruyere, grated (about 1/2 pound)
- 2 cups fontina, grated (about 1/2 pound)
- 3/4 cup parmesan or grana padano, grated
- 1 pound Gorgonzola, crumbled (set aside til right before baking)
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
- Toss the tomatoes with the oregano, apple cider vinegar, cayenne pepper and olive oil.
- Lay them out on a baking sheet cut side up (otherwise they'll be impossible to get off the tray), and put the tray in the oven.
- Cook for 45 minutes and then set aside to cool, while keeping your oven on for the mac and cheese.
- For the pasta, follow the instructions on the package, but subtract a couple minutes from the listed time. You want the pasta to still be a bit crunchy, as it's going to cook more in the oven later. Strain and set aside.
- For the mushrooms, add the butter, mushrooms, thyme and shallots to a skillet over medium high heat. Cook until everything starts to brown and caramelize a bit (be careful not to burn too dark; a little burnt is fine though).
- Add the beer, turn the heat down to medium, cover and cook for about 10-12 minutes.
- Uncover the skillet and cook until all liquid is gone, about 20-30 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Now it's time for the sauce: be ready, you might have to do a couple of things at the same time here. Heat up another skillet on medium low heat, and add the butter.
- Once the butter is melted, add the flour and whisk until smooth (it helps to sift the flour before hand).
- Once the flour is fully incorporated, turn the heat up to medium and cook for another 6 or 7 minutes. The goal here is to get a nice golden color–not quite brown, but toasted up a bit.
- Meanwhile, heat the milk in a separate pot (put the milk in the pot before you turn the heat on) over medium high until it looks like it's about to boil, then turn it to low.
- Use a ladle to scoop the milk into your butter and flour base while stirring and whisking constantly over low heat.
- Once all the milk is added and incorporated, increase the flame and wait for it to boil, then cook for about 12 minutes (and don't stop stirring!).
- Turn off the heat and immediately add your grated cheese (but not the gorgonzola), salt, pepper and cayenne pepper and mix together.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the mushroom mixture, tomato mixture, pasta, cheese sauce and gorgonzola together.
- Scoop into a buttered 9x13 baking dish and top with the grated parm and bread crumbs.
- Bake uncovered for about 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. You can also make these in individual sized dishes (as long as they're oven-safe).
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