Creamy Brie Mac n' Seven Cheese with Toasted Breadcrumb Topping

Creamy Brie Mac n' Seven Cheese with Toasted Breadcrumb Topping

There are a few dishes, in life, that we are constantly searching for "the best" of. I've done it many times, mainly with my chocolate chip cookies, tinkering with it just ever-so-slightly until perfection has been attained. I also do it with southern pimento cheese, fudgy brownies, and mac n' cheese. People rave about Martha Stewart's recipe, but although it was great, it was still missing something. But the other week, I came across this idea to use BRIE in the mac n' cheese. OMG I love Brie. I love it plain, I love it on sandwiches, I probably would eat it off the ground (if no one was watching). So, to toss something so utterly creamy & smooth into mac n' cheese, I just thought it was stunningly brilliant. A simple Béchamel sauce is made, but then is amped up with sharp white cheddar, fontina, havarti, gruyere, + parmesan cheese. That's a full cast of characters, y'all!! Ain't nothing wrong with that. I love this mixture of cheeses because they all are different in taste and texture (or melt factor, as I like to call it). Every single one plays a crucial role in this pasta dish, so don't leave one out... ya'hear. On top, I put some homemade breadcrumbs with butter and garlic. This gives the dish a great contrast of texture as well. All who tried this mac, raved about it. Especially my two year old niece, who can sometimes be picky. So all you mommies out there, this is kid friendly, yay. Anyway, make this now, while it's still super chilly outside and enjoy a big bowl of it by the fire. It'll be the perfect night!! Enjoy :)

creamy brie cheese + toasted breadcrumbs, yum :)

For the Topping:

3T Unsalted Butter

2 Cloves of Garlic, Finely Minced

1 ½C Toasted Bread, Pulsed into Bread Crumbs

For the Béchamel:

4T Unsalted Butter

¼C AP Flour

1C Heavy Cream + 2C Warm Milk

¼t Mustard Powder, Cayenne, Salt, & White Pepper

For the Mac n’ Cheese:

1lb Small Pasta (elbow, corkscrews, shells, etc)

1C Sharp White Cheddar Cheese, Shredded

1C Fontina Cheese, Shredded

1C Havarti Cheese, Shredded

1C Gruyere Cheese, Shredded

6oz Brie Cheese, Rind Removed + Cut into Small Cubes

½C Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a baking dish with nonstick spray.

2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the pasta until al-dente. You want it to have a bit of bite. It will finish cooking in the oven. Drain well.

3. For the Béchamel: While the pasta boils add 3 tablespoons butter to a medium skillet and melt. Add the garlic and sauté 30 seconds then throw in the homemade breadcrumbs and toss to coat.

4. Toast the crumbs for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid burning. Once the crumbs are lightly toasted remove form the heat and set aside.

5. In the same pot you boiled the pasta, melt the remaining 4 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let cook/bubble for 1 minute, stirring once or twice to avoid burning. Gradually whisk in the milk and raise the heat up to medium-high. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking frequently until the sauce has thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in all of the cheese, mustard powder, cayenne, salt and pepper. Stir until the cheese is fully melted. Stir in the pasta and transfer to the prepared baking dish.

6. Evenly sprinkle on the toasted crumbs and place the baking dish on a baking sheet.

7. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the crumbs are golden brown and the sauce is bubbling. Remove from the heat and let it sit for 5-10 minutes.

Triple Decker Turducken Club Sandwich with a Trio of Roasted Chicken, Smoked Turkey, & Duck Confit, Finished with Cranberry-Jalapeno Relish, + Gravy-Soaked Stuffing Cake

Triple Decker Turducken Club Sandwich with a Trio of Roasted Chicken, Smoked Turkey,
& Duck Confit, Finished with Cranberry-Jalapeno Relish, + Gravy-Soaked Stuffing Cake

I'm back againnnnnnnn. Aren't y'all so proud? I know, I know (pats on the back), I am too. And this recipe, it's gonna be a goodie. I have said time + time again that the best part of Thanksgiving is the leftovers. So true. Can I get an amen to that?! Well, normally we keep it kinda casual and stuff some turkey, arugula, Boursin cheese, cranberry sauce, and a stuffing cake in between two slices of bread. This years, however, makes me never wanna go back. Yep, I said it. PS have y'all ever made a Turducken for Thanksgiving?? We did one year, and we loved it, but never made it again. That makes no sense whatsoever, but a true story nonetheless. Anyway, I wanted so badly to turn a Turducken into a sandwich... a thanksgiving leftover sandwich. a thanksgiving leftover club. A Triple Decker Thanksgiving Leftover Club Sandwich. THAT'S MORE LIKE IT. So what does the sandwich entail, you all are probably asking. Well, it includes proteins like roasted chicken, smoked turkey, duck confit, and thick cut bacon. How amazing is that?? Four meats, one plate. There's also some french toasted-gravy soaked-savory bread pudding cake (a crispy stuffing cake can be substituted as well) and herbed compound butter fried bread slices to build the many layers. Then you have three sauces: homemade roasted garlic aioli, dijon mustard, and some cranberry-jalapeno relish/sauce. A sandwich is never finished without the fillers, like frisee greens, seasoned tomatoes, Havarti cheese, and crumbled Boursin. This is mammoth. So big, there are actual directions to unhinge your jaw and devour the grub like an anaconda. It's really your choice, but pretty important if you're going to have success eating it. Yum, I want it back now. Make it STAT, y'all!! Enjoy :)

For the Turducken Club Sandwich:

Herbed Compound Butter Fried Bread (I used sourdough)

Homemade Roasted Garlic Aioli

Dijon Mustard

Mama Jones’ Famous Cranberry-Jalapeno Relish Mold (or any cranberry sauce)

Slices of Havarti Cheese & Crumbled Boursin Cheese (can substitute goat cheese)

Slices of Roasted Chicken

Applewood Smoked Thick Cut Bacon

Leftover Stuffing Cake, Cooked until Crispy & Drizzled with Turkey Gravy

Slices of Smoked Turkey

Shredded Duck Confit

Baby Arugula or Frisee Greens

Slices of Tomato (sprinkled with a little salt & pepper)

Directions:

1. Fry the two slices of bread (for one sandwich) in homemade herbed compound butter until it achieves a deep golden brown color. Fry one stuffing cake or slice of savory bread pudding dipped in a French toast batter (posted yesterday) until crispy. Set these three pieces of toasted bread aside on a cutting board, so you can begin the layering process.

2. Spread on the homemade roasted garlic aioli, Dijon mustard, and cranberry-jalapeno relish on the two slices of bread & stuffing cakes (making sure to use the cranberry slathered sourdough for the top of the sandwich). Starting from the bottom, with the mustard slathered sourdough, lay down a slice of havarti cheese, followed by some roasted chicken, thick cut bacon, frisee greens, seasoned tomatoes, crumbled Boursin cheese, and a drizzle of more roasted garlic aioli. Top that layer with the stuffing/bread pudding cake component, along with a drizzle of warm gravy, with slices of smoked turkey, shredded duck confit, frisee greens, seasoned tomatoes, crumbled Boursin cheese, and drizzle on some more roasted garlic aioli (if you like, it keeps the sandwich moist and flavorful). Finish with one last slice of havarti cheese and the layer of cranberry relish slathered bread, making sure it is a super thick schmear of the fruity compote because it gives great sweetness & acidity.

3. Stick a long toothpick into the sandwich, to hold it together (trust me you’re going to need it), and cut it into halves or fourths. Now, unhinge your jaw and devour this masterpiece only like an anaconda could.

And now for some pictures of our Thanksgiving celebration (better late than never)...

Redneck Reuben

I still had some leftover BBQ pulled rib meat, and I had already made the Frizzled Mac n' Rib Melt, but I wanted to try and use some more of the leftovers. I decided to do a Redneck Reuben, which is just a southern twist on a classic northern sandwich. Instead of corned beef, I substituted pulled pork coated in BBQ sauce. I changed the sauerkraut to creamy coleslaw. Instead of Russian Dressing, I decided to use one of our favorite sauces, savannah remoulade. I also used havarti cheese instead of swiss. This sandwich is essentially a classic pulled pork sandwich just kicked up a bit. Anyway... enjoy :)

Redneck Reuben with Savannah Remoulade

For the Redneck Sauce:

¼C Ranch

¼C BBQ Sauce

-OR-

Savannah Remoulade Sauce

For the Sandwich:

4 Slices of French bread

2C Leftover Pulled Pork

½C BBQ Sauce

½C Coleslaw

Prepared Redneck Sauce

6 Slices of Havarti Cheese

Directions:

1. To Make the Redneck Reuben Sauce: Combine the ranch and BBQ sauce together and whisk to combine. Refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Combine the BBQ sauce and pulled pork in a saucepan over low heat and cook until warmed through, about 5 minutes.
3. Preheat the Panini grill to medium-high heat. Melt 2T of Butter and brush 1T of melted butter on one side of each bread slice. Flip over half of the bread slices; slather on some of the redneck sauce, and layer 1 slice of smoked gouda cheese on each side. Top each one-quarter of the pulled pork, creamy coleslaw, and another slice of cheese. Top with the remaining bread slices, buttered-side up.
4. Working in batches, cook the sandwiches until the cheese melts and the bread is golden brown, about 5 minutes.
5. Serve immediately!

Poached Pear Panini

If any of y'all ever decide to come to visit Savannah, don't ever hesitate to message me about places to go and eat at. One of our favorite nice restaurants to go to is Garibaldi's Cafe. They are known for their crispy flounder with a shallot-apricot sauce, but surprisingly my favorite dish is a small salad. The salad has wine-poached pears, blue cheese fritters, spicy arugula, and a balsamic-wine vinaigrette. I actually crave this salad, it's that good. It's so sweet from the pears, but salty & tangy from the blue cheese. So, since I can't have their salad, I decided to make a Poached Pear Panini. I started off by poaching the pears in a vanilla white wine syrup. I then made a sandwich with the sliced poached pears, arugula pesto mayo, crispy prosciutto, crumbled gorgonzola & creamy havarti, and a light drizzle of honey. I know it sounds super weird, but it really does work. I was surprised how much Clayton liked this panini. I wasn't hungry enough to make a full sandwich, so I just made a small crostini, and that was plenty! Enjoy!

Whole Poached Pear Panini

Spicy Arugula Pesto Mayo, Sweet Poached Pears, Crispy Prosciutto, & Creamy Gorgonzola

Weird, But Delicious Poached Pear Panini

For the Poached Pears:

2 Firm, Ripe Bosc Pears, Peeled & Halved & Cored

2T Lemon Juice

1C Water

½C Dry White Wine

6T Honey

½ Vanilla Bean, Split Lengthwise

For the Arugula-Walnut Pesto:

2C Arugula Leaves, Packed

½C Shelled Walnuts, Toasted

½C Fresh Parmesan Cheese, Grated

½C Olive Oil

6 Garlic Cloves, Lightly Roasted

1t Fresh Garlic, Minced

Salt & Pepper, To Taste  

 

For the Arugula-Pesto Mayo:

¼C Pesto

4T Mayo

Salt & Pepper, To Taste

For the Panini:

2 Slices of French Bread, Fried in Olive Oil

1 Poached Pear, Sliced

Crumbled Gorgonzola Cheese

Arugula Pesto Mayo

2 Slices of Havarti Cheese

8 Slices of Prosciutto, Fried till Crispy

Drizzle of Honey

Directions:

1. To Make the Poached Pears: Toss the pears with the lemon juice in a large bowl. Set aside. Combine water, wine, and honey in a medium saucepan. Scrape in the seeds from the vanilla bean and add in the bean as well. Stir over medium heat until honey dissolves. Add in the pears. Cover the mixture with a round piece of parchment paper. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until pears are just tender when pierced, turning halfway through cooking, about 15 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the poached pears to a large bowl. Boil the poaching liquid until reduced to ¾C, about 2 minutes. Cool the syrup. Pour the syrup over the pears. Cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 8 hours or overnight. Remove the vanilla bean and strain the pears out of the liquid. Carefully pat dry and cut into thin slices. Set aside.

2. To Make the Arugula Pesto: Brown 6 garlic cloves with their peels in a skillet over medium-high heat until the garlic is lightly browned in place, about 10 minutes. Remove the garlic from the pan, cool, and remove the skins. Toast the nuts in a pan over medium heat until lightly brown. In a food processor, combine the arugula, salt, walnuts, roasted garlic, and raw garlic. Pulse while drizzling in the olive oil. Remove the mixture from the processor and put into a bowl. Stir in the Parmesan cheese. Refrigerate.

3. To Make the Arugula-Pesto Mayo: In a small bowl, combine the fresh pesto with the mayo. Add in salt & pepper to taste. Whisk to combine. Set-aside until ready to make the sandwich.

4. To Make the Sandwich: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a pan with tin foil and spray with Pam. Set this aside. Fry the slices of bread in olive oil. Then assemble the sandwich by spreading a layer of the arugula pesto mayo on each slice, and then lay a slice of havarti cheese on top of each slice. On one of the slices lay down the crispy prosciutto, then top with crumbled Gorgonzola and drizzle some honey on top, and the poached pears. Top with the other slice of bread & cheese. Place the sandwich on the prepared pan and bake in the oven in order to heat the fillings and melt the cheese. Cook for roughly 5 minutes (depending on your oven). 

5. Serve the sandwich and enjoy!

source: honey poached pears. arugula pesto.