Habanero Macaroni Poppers
Here is the 2nd in a series of recipes from Life with Lindsay. Check out her blog posting with this recipe, because she has a great write up about JD and dreaming about the All Spice Cafe. This recipe is a nice spin on the comforting mac’n cheese.
Thanks again to Lindsay for another great recipe!
Ingredients:
• Elbow Macaroni (mini shells also work well)
• Aged White Cheddar Cheese
• Swiss Gruyere
• Cream Cheese
• Parmesan Cheese
• Breadcrumbs
• Flour
• Butter
• Milk
• All Spice Cafe Cayenne Habanero Hot Sauce
• Jalapeno Peppers
Heat 2 cups of pasta (macaroni or mini shells) in a pan of salted, boiling water. Cook 7-8 minutes until not quite al dente (as pasta will be baked to completion in oven). In a large skillet, heat 5 Tbsp of butter. Stir in 3 Tbsp of flour and cook out the “flour taste” for a few minutes. Slowly add 1 C. milk, whisking constantly to form a rue. When mixture is creamy, begin adding cheese. First add 2 oz. of cream cheese, stirring until melted. Next, add 1.5 C. shredded white cheddar, 1 C. shredded gruyere, and 1/2 C. shredded parmesan. Once cheese is added, add 1 (or 2, if you like things “spicy”) Tbsp All Spice Cafe Cayenne Habanero Sauce. This will give the cheese sauce a warmer orange color. If mixture becomes too thick, add milk, 1 Tbsp at a time to bring to desired consistency.
 spicy macaroni? please... |
 mac n cheese from scratch! |
Separately, add 1 tbsp of butter to 1/2 C. breadcrumbs. (FYI – The photo above is deceiving… I learned “the hard way” that 1 C of breadcrumbs was too much and I had to toss out some extras.) Ensure the breadcrumbs become coated in butter – this will help them bake up nice and crispy in the oven. Rinse and chop 1 jalapeno pepper into small cubes. Stir into cheese sauce. When the noodles have cooked and the cheese sauce is ready, combine, mix well, and spoon mac n cheese into a buttered muffin tin. Add buttered breadcrumbs and thin slices of jalapeno pepper on top. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from oven and add 1 drop of Cayenne Habanero hot sauce on top of each sliced jalapeno. Isn’t that cute? Run a knife around the edges of each popper and gently pry out of the muffin tin. Serves 4-6.
