Did someone say 'cheeeeeeeeeseeeeee'??

If you’re ever in the presence of a Beecher’s, here is what you do: you walk in & buy them out on their Flagship cheese. There aren’t words for how amazing their cheese is. But when you use said cheese to make Mac & Cheese….Oh. My. Word.  Down by Pike Place Market there is always a line a million miles long of people anxiously waiting to buy their mac & cheese. I mean, they've only won the vote for Seattle's best Mac & Cheese for countless numbers of years! So obviously I had to find the recipe, (and I did). Below is just that, along with my favorite recipe for garlic mashies. Because obvious you can’t have one without the other!

Beecher’s Incredibly Famous Mac & Cheese

Sauce

2 tbsp unsalted butter 


3.5 tbsp all-purpose flour 


1.5 C whole milk 


7 ounces Flagship cheese, grated (about 1 3/4 c) 


1 ounce Just Jack cheese, grated (1/4 c) 


½ tsp coarse salt 


¼ to ½ tsp chipotle chili powder 


1/8 tsp garlic powder

Pasta

6 ounces penne pasta (about 3 ¼ C) 


1 ounce Flagship cheese, grated 
(1/4 C)

1 ounce Just Jack cheese, grated 
(1/4 C)

¼ to ½ tsp chipotle chili powder

Instructions 
 

To prepare sauce, melt butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat and whisk in the flour.

Continue whisking and cook for 2 minutes.

Slowly add milk, whisking constantly.

Cook until sauce thickens, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Remove from heat.

Add cheeses, salt, chili powder and garlic powder.

Stir until cheese is melted and all ingredients are incorporated, about 3 minutes. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Butter or oil an 8-inch baking dish.

Cook penne 2 minutes less than package directions. (It will finish cooking in the oven.) 

Rinse pasta in cold water and drain well.

Combine pasta and sauce in a medium bowl; mix carefully but thoroughly.

Scrape the pasta into the prepared baking dish.

Sprinkle top with cheeses and then the chili powder.

Bake, uncovered, 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

3.5 pounds russet potatoes

2 tbsps kosher salt

2 C half-and-half

6 cloves garlic, crushed

6 oz grated Parmesan

Directions

Peel and dice potatoes, making sure all are relatively the same size.

Place in a large saucepan, add the salt, and cover with water.

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce heat to maintain a rolling boil.

Cook until potatoes fall apart when poked with a fork.

Heat the half-and-half and the garlic in a medium saucepan over medium heat until simmering.

Remove from heat and set aside.

Remove the potatoes from the heat and drain off the water.

Mash and add the garlic-cream mixture and Parmesan; stir to combine.

Let stand for 5 minutes so that mixture thickens.

These two are my go-to comfort dishes. Carb loaded, but hey, they’re comfort dishes for a reason! ;)

-N.