Jessica went out to dinner with a friend last night and left me home to fend for myself. Fortunately she had defrosted some chicken thighs for me to experiment… I mean cook with. When Jessica is around I cook healthier, she reminds me to use less fat, and to make normal (read: human-sized) portions. However, when she’s not around, well, all hell breaks loose.
I stared into the fridge and saw the chicken, I also saw chicken broth, milk, tons of cream cheese, a block of cheddar cheese, parmesan, bacon… it was obvious what had to be done: mac and cheese with deep fried chicken IN IT!
I began by roughly cutting the chicken into about 1-inch chunks. I seasoned flour, breadcrumbs, and eggs, battered, and began deep-frying the nuggets in vegetable oil. At the same time, I cooked off the remaining elbows from a box of Barilla. After straining the pasta, I shredded lots of cheese, and minced onion and garlic. I also chopped up some bacon and started rendering it in the same pot I boiled the elbows.
Once the bacon was getting crisp, I removed the very fatty pieces, and added in the onion and garlic. Then once soft, I threw in a tablespoon or so of butter (for good measure), and started sprinkling in my remaining seasoned flour (from the chicken). I made a blonde roux.
It was looking awesome.
Then I added in a few tablespoons of whole milk, and had a smooth roux working. Then I extended it with chicken broth until soupy. Next it was cheese time… This was a whole new recipe for me. I tossed in 4oz of cream cheese and the cheddar cheese (about a cup, shredded). It was looking good, but I needed to take things up a notch. I sprinkled in a bunch of mustard powder, turmeric, and cayenne. Yes! Now it’s on.
The orange hue was mesmerizing. Cream cheese in mac and cheese was new for me, but it really added a smoothness that I’ve never achieved before. And, of course, a homemade roux is always best.
I folded in the elbows followed by the chicken nuggets. I considered eating it. But, there was more to be done. I transferred it all into an 8×8″ baking dish and covered it with the remaining breadcrumbs (from the chicken) and then added lots of shredded parmesan on top. I wasn’t worried about raw chicken in the breadcrumbs, since I cooked it at 450 deg F for 15 minutes. The fat in this dish was far more dangerous.
Behold what came out:
OH… MY… GOD. This is a winner. It’s the best of fried chicken and mac and cheese in one dish of deliciousness. Remember that crazy sandwich I loved, which btw, I eventually did try? This is it, on a plate. If you have an hour to spend cooking, do this. It is fun and nuts and wonderful.
Filed under Un-Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Get FM Emails!
That’s one crazy recipe but it looks absolutely delicious!! I’ve never thought of adding cream cheese in my mac n cheese, it kinda scares me. I don’t see why it would cause sometimes I mix in velveta and that should scare me more lol -=)
wonders – I was scared too, it seemed odd. But it works really well!
OMG. That looks really good. Can you make that again when I’m around? Actually are there any leftovers?
Oh man! I love you Lon. Don’t tell Jess.
oh mah gawd! (that’s the best southern accent i can conjure up in text) i think i gained 3 pounds just by reading this post! but it sure sounded awesome and i will definitely have to try it one day! (it’s really a good thing that E doesn’t know how to cook bc if he could whip something like this up, he’d do it every day!)
Angie, there’s left-overs.
Soopling, didn’t I already get you TWO men.
purelily living, it’s a good thing I missed this meal, although my meal was pretty heavy too.
i like to experiment with food too but unfortunately my mum is a neat-freak so i can’t buy any spices to store in the kitchen… and i’m not even allowed to buy flour for cakes… and i can’t do any deep-frying. HAHA.
anyway … all i could say ur new recipe is very yum because of the cheese and the mix of spices. i think i could try it at home too when i cook pasta. but i think i will omit the cream cheese. the last time i ate the blue cheese, i put on 2 kg overnight.
this here would provide enough calories to fill my needs for two days, but that knowledge wouldn’t even begin to stop me. i’m enamored.
Renaye, I think it’s time to move out.
Grace, yes, I’m drawn to Lon by his cooking, but I’m also trying to look good for him.
I Love you.