(gentle music) - Hey guys.
Who doesn't love a classic mac and cheese?
There is something about this dish
that is so comforting and delicious,
but I'm gonna show you how to dress it up a bit,
and make it perfect for entertaining
by using some of my favorite Italian flavors.
I love to serve comfort food for a dinner party,
especially if you're inviting a group of friends
that don't know each other very well.
It immediately puts people at ease,
and makes them feel at home.
I also like to serve comfort food like this
in something more sophisticated like individual casseroles,
that way it just makes everybody feel
a little bit more elegant and special.
Now, traditionally mac and cheese
is made with little macaroni pasta,
and that's good, too, if you have that on hand,
but if you're gonna go out and buy some pasta,
you may wanna look for the little mini shells.
I love to use the mini shells in something like this,
because it just makes the dish feel
a little bit more fancy.
Go ahead and follow the instructions
on the back of the box for cooking your pasta,
and meanwhile we're gonna get on with prepping our onions.
So, in a large saute pan, I'm going to
add some olive oil, and then you're going to
saute up some diced red onion.
You can go ahead and season with
a little bit of salt and pepper,
and just continue to cook them
until their translucent and slightly caramelized.
At this point, we're going to add
some diced portobello mushrooms.
I love the portobello mushrooms,
because they have a wonderful earthy taste to them.
They also just are a little bit more
sophisticated than the regular white button mushrooms,
but really either one will work.
Go ahead and cook the mushrooms
just until they start to release their juices,
and then you can transfer this mixture into a small bowl.
At this point, go ahead and add a little bit
more olive oil if you need to,
and then we're going to cook our Italian sausage.
So, you wanna make sure you take the sausage
and remove it out of the casing.
That's easy to do with just a sharp knife,
and then go ahead and cook it until
it's cooked through and crumbly.
Once the sausage is done, go ahead
and transfer it with a slotted spoon
onto a plate lined with paper towel.
We just wanna drain off some of the excess grease.
At this point, you do wanna wash out your pan,
because we're going to start to make
our bechamel cheese sauce.
Go ahead and melt some butter
just until it's nice and foamy.
At that point, you're going to add your flour.
Go ahead and whisk just until a nice paste forms.
Then you're slowly gonna add your milk,
whisking all the while just until
you get a nice sauce, and then at this point
you're going to season with some salt,
and pepper, and some freshly grated nutmeg.
Then you're going to add about half a cup of cheese.
You just want to stir it until the cheese is
completely melted, and then you're
gonna take it off the flame.
At this point, you can go ahead and drain your pasta,
put the pasta back into your pot,
and then you're going to add your cheese sauce,
and your veggies, and your sausage.
Go ahead and mix that all up,
just until everything is combined,
and then I like to transfer this mixture
into these little cast iron casseroles that I have.
I love these dishes because they make
the mac and cheese feel very homey,
but sort of elegant at the same time,
but any gratin dish will do.
You just wanna make sure that
the dish you choose is actually oven safe.
Then you're gonna top each dish
with about two tablespoons of cheese,
a sprinkling of paprika, and your breadcrumb mixture.
You're gonna put them on a cookie sheet,
and then pop under the broiler
just until that cheese melts and start to bubble,
and those breadcrumbs turn golden brown,
and then when they come out of the oven,
I like to serve them on a dinner plate,
because these dishes, remember, will be pretty hot
having sat under the broiler.
Then I just like to finish them off
with a little garish of flat leaf parsley,
and because this dish is pretty rich,
I also like to serve these with a nice tossed salad.
I love this dish because it's easy to put together.
It's comforting and familiar, but both
sophisticated and elegant.
I hope you guys give this one a try,
and let me know what you think,
and I'll see you here next time.