She seems like such a nice woman.
Friendly, genuine, approachable.
She’s a loving wife and a great mom. A good friend.
She is kind to animals and loves dogs and horses.
She openly shares her life and her recipes.
My kind of girl.
But this, this is just too much …
She calls it “Fancy Mac and Cheese”. It sounds sweet and safe and wholesome.
It is not.
A few Saturday’s back, I watched her make it. Smiling innocently, sweetly, looking fabulous.
After the episode ended, I pulled out her cookbook to look “Fancy Mac and Cheese” up for myself.
Surely my eyes had deceived me. I must have imagined it. Five kinds of cheese, carmelized onions, bacon, roasted mushrooms, bechamel. It couldn’t be. No one has the nerve for such a thing.
But there it was. In print, before my eyes. Undeniable. In all its sinful, gooey, calorically off the charts glory.
Fancy. Fancy, nothing – this stuff is WICKED.
“Wicked Mac and Cheese”
When faced with such obvious decadence, what’s a girl to do? A disciplined girl would close the cookbook, back away and make a salad.
What did I do? I made Fancy Mac and Cheese.
That is my confession … I made Fancy Mac and Cheese. I MADE FANCY MAC AND CHEESE!
And then I ate Fancy Mac and Cheese, just a little bit but I still ate it. I ATE FANCY MAC AND CHEESE!
All I can say is … Holy it was worth it Batman!
If you are up for five straight hours on a treadmill, followed by a Jillian Michaels DVD, and far too many burpies, push-ups and mountain climbers, then you are a better woman than I and are safe to click the link below for the recipe …
The Pioneer Woman’s Fancy Mac and Cheese
Five kinds of cheese, nope I wasn’t kidding; gruyere, fontina, parmesan, gorgonzola and a nice hunk of goat cheese. I know. Just wait, It gets even better/worse.
There’s Bacon.
And carmelized onions. I’ll give you one guess as to what they were carmelized in.
Yup. And butter too.
And roasted mushrooms.
Next, the cheese sauce – a bechamel with the gruyere, fontina, parmesan and goat cheese.
Pretty much the perfect cheese sauce for macaroni.
Now the layering begins …
first onions
then the cheesy macaroni …
next the mushrooms, gorgonzola and bacon and then repeat the layers.
Bake for 20 minutes – just enough time to run a few laps around the back yard – and …
There it is, maybe the most decadent savory treat ever created.
I served it with a big green salad. You know, to make myself feel better.
And I shared – to spoil a friend, minimize leftovers and make myself feel better.
There, I have confessed.
If you need to make a Fancy Mac and Cheese confession, I am here for you. I understand.
Welcome Company 