...the tough hide in the kitchen. An old school Winter has announced it's presence with authority here in the Midwest. I fear for my sage plant, Old Faithful. She's survived 3 previous winters only to come back each spring with bright green leaves. Spring, however, is still months away and Old Faithful and I have a whole lot of snow to deal with.
I decided the best way to deal with the snow was to channel my friend Susan (
29 Black Street). You see Susan lives in Nova Scotia. Dealing with long cold winters is more her thing and since she was kind enough to send me some of Nova Scotia's finest artisanal blue cheese (
Dragon's Breath), I decided it was time to put it to good use. Now I could have just nibbled it with a good crusty bread. Despite it's name it's not an overly sharp blue. I toyed with making blue cheese deviled eggs but what I really wanted was something warm and comforting. Something simple and quick. Macaroni and Blue Cheese was what I was craving.
If you'd like a recipe, you could use this
one from Epicurious. I used a nice mild cheddar to pair up with my creamy tangy blue cheese. You don't want to go too sharp on the cheddar and you don't want to use an even milder American cheese or the blue will overpower the whole dish. No, you're looking for the Ying/Yang balance. I punted on the chives instead decided on using Panko breadcrumbs mixed with chopped bacon as my crispy topping.
This is
exactly what I needed. Warm and comforting yet fun with the wonderful depth that the Dragon's Breath brings to the pasta. Serving it up with a big pile of Kale and Cranberries made my hibernation process just a little more pleasant.
