Tags
As promised, I am sharing the recipe for the buffalo mac and cheese. The reason behind the mac and cheese stemmed from my friends obsession with a mac and cheese from one of my favorite restaurants in Brooklyn, DuMont. He was so enamored by the mac and cheese that I considered making it for the pot luck. But then I remembered my friend Mel, who is a vegetarian, and my roommate’s craving for buffalo wings… and decided to make a buffalo mac and cheese.
There are a lot of recipes out there for Hot wing Mac and cheese and not that this is that different from the rest out there, its just a version of my favorite bar food minus the meat for my veggie friends to enjoy too.
Most mac and cheese recipes I have call for Bechamel sauce. But I wanted to stick to the method my mother uses in her Southern Mac and Cheese that doesn’t have a bechamel sauce…mostly because she doesn’t have time for making the sauce.
Ingredients:
2 lbs of elbow macaroni
1/2 stick of butter
1lb extra sharp cheddar, shredded
1/2 lb monterrey jack cheese, shredded
1/4 lb crumbled blue cheese, divided
3/4 cup Frank’s Red Hot Wing Sauce
2 cups evaporated milk
Bread crumbs (optional)
If you havent already done so, shred your cheese… I discovered I had in my possession a cheese shredding attachment for my kitchen aid. Its all kinds of amazing. But a bitch to clean and disassemble.
Lesson learned: Do it by hand, lazy!
Start by cooking the pasta to al dente. If the package directions say the pasta should be cooked in 6 minutes, start checking at the 4 minute mark. You will want it to taste ALMOST done as it will have more time cooking when its in the oven and no one wants overcooked pasta.
No one.
When the pasta is drained, add the half stick of butter so the macaroni gets nice and lubed up… doesn’t stick to the pot.
Now, add your Frank’s Red Hot. I adore this brand. It’s got the best flavor for wings and since we are trying to mimic that wing taste without the meat, it’s the best option. My recipe says 3/4 cup but me and D like a lot of Heat so I added about 1 1/3 cup.
Stir in two big handfuls of sharp cheddar, a handful of the monterrey jack, and a handful of blue cheese. Stir it all together. If it feels too sticky or difficult to stir, add a little of the evaporated milk.
Pour half the contents of the macaroni guts into a nonstick baking pan (or one that has been sprayed with cooking oil) and add a layer of all the cheeses in the center, spread it out evenly. Then with the remaining macaroni, place it all in the pan and cover with the remaining cheese.
I added more hot sauce, more blue cheese and breadcrumbs. Then I took the can of evaporated milk and poured it all over the macaroni and cheese, covered it with foil and baked it at 350* for 25-30 minutes.
Diana and I could not resist making a small casserole dish for another day. And we packed up the macaroni and cheese to go as soon as it was out of the oven. It was wrapped so well that it continued to cook as it stayed piping hot all the way to the Upper East Side.
It dried out just a little but if you were to make this and eat it right out of the oven, you will surely die happy.
*This recipe made a 9×13 pan of macaroni and cheese. It served 10 greedy bastards*
Food Snob 2.0 
Wishing I was eating this right now.
Wow, great minds think alike. I was just thinking about trying to create something like this this past weekend. Looks like you nailed it!
When my roommate and I were eating this for breakfast the following day, i thought “Tiffany would LOVE this!” true story.
Tiffany, you’re really pretty. If you’re married, you’re still very pretty. 😉
This was great, I added fine chopped celery to the mix for a slight chunch.
thats an awesome idea! glad you liked it! might need to revisit this!
Hi Monique 🙂 How deep was that baking pan that you used? It looks pretty shallow, like a cookie sheet
I used a 9×13 inch pan thats about 4 inches deep. A cookie sheet is not a proper vessel for macaroni and cheese. A standard baking dish should suffice. If the baking dish is bigger, the macaroni and cheese will appear smaller.
Pingback: Game Day Ideas plus Giveaway « Food Snob 2.0
Ok, this recipe looks insane, my stomach is grumbling as we speak!!
Thanks Nicole! I had a hard time not eating the entire tray. Some friend of mine added shredded chicken to make it more hearty… and delish!
I melt the cheese in another pan while the elbow is cooking and I add “buffalo wing sauce to the cheese. after I drain the water from the pasta I add the cheese and serve, no baking required. I just serve it right from the pan. I guess I dont understand why cook it again. oh well… still very good..
Great idea! I have always baked my mac and cheese to create that crust on top but as someone who loves to “taste” before baking, i def know how good it is pre-baked. Glad it was good!