Spicy Stovetop Mac & Cheese

Thank you, everyone, for your patience during this busy season of mine! I am in the midst of preparing for my grad class’s final exam. I am doing my best to balance a lot right now, as are most of you!

I plan to focus my recipes for the next few weeks on some of my personal holiday favorites! When it comes to traditional holiday food, though, I tend to prefer the non-traditional. Don’t get me wrong, I love the classic side dishes of Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I tend to grow bored easily. With that being said, this week’s recipe is a side dish that might not seem like a traditional Thanksgiving accompaniment, but it is a refreshing change from some of the more expected side dishes.

This Spicy Stovetop Mac & Cheese is the most-requested pasta recipe by my family, especially my younger brother. I love this one because it uses only one pot and six ingredients. It is also a surprisingly “lighter” macaroni and cheese recipe since it does not use any butter, heavy cream, or flour. The “sauce” is formed from cooking the pasta in the milk; it forms its own creamy sauce. With that being said, this macaroni and cheese is still surprisingly thick and rich!

My only complaint about this recipe is that it requires your undivided attention for 30 minutes. However, it is totally worth it, and it gives you an excuse to hang out in the kitchen and chat with your guests while you're at the stove. I do think that macaroni recipes made on the stove are quite a bit better than crockpot or baked macaroni dishes, as those preparation styles lead to dry, clumpy macaroni.

If you want to impress your Friendsgiving guests or show your family that you’re more than just a Thanksgiving dinner freeloader, then whip up this recipe on the spot and you’ll quickly be known as more than that… maybe even a chef! We’ll settle for an average one at that. Let’s get cooking!

Spicy Stovetop Mac & Cheese

Serves 4 if eaten as a main dish or 6-8 as a side dish

Estimated time, start to serve: 30 minutes

This recipe was originally inspired by Macaroni and Cheesecake’s “Revolutionary Mac & Cheese” but has been adapted to suit my preferences.

Ingredients:

• One 16-oz. box of “Large Shell” Macaroni noodles; approximately 5 cups dry

• 5 ½ cups of skim milk (yes, skim!)

• ½ tsp. dijon mustard

• ½ tsp. cayenne pepper (or more, if you want more of a kick); if you want more “warmth” instead of heat, then substitute ground nutmeg for the cayenne instead

• 1 ½ tsp. salt

• 1 ½ blocks of sharp cheddar cheese, any variety; it must be blocks (versus pre-shredded), but you can choose any level of sharpness that you want. I used one block of medium sharp cheddar and half a block of extra sharp white cheddar

Instructions:

1. Spray a large pot with cooking spray and/or opt for your most nonstick pot. Before turning on the burner, add in your 5 cups/16 oz. of pasta shells and 5 ½ cups of skim milk. The milk should barely cover the shells. Then, turn on the burner to medium-high heat. Begin stirring it immediately. I strongly recommend stirring the dish with a spatula until it’s ready to serve.

2. The tricky part of this recipe is that the milk can burn to the bottom of the pot easily and leave little brown flecks in your pasta. Use a spatula to continuously scrape the bottom of the pan as you stir, which should be almost constantly if not constantly. Stir the shells and milk until the surface just barely begins to simmer, and then turn the heat down to medium-low (about the “2” or “3” on the dial).

3. Shred your cheese straight off of the block by hand. You must grate it yourself, as the pre-shredded kind does not melt well and will leave your macaroni feeling grainy. (Pro tip: Break the block of cheese in half to cut your shredding time in half!)

4. Stirring continuously, cook the shells and milk over low heat for approximately 20 minutes or until the milk has thickened into a sauce and the shells are cooked al dente. Splash in a little more skim milk if the pasta is not done but the sauce is already thick.

5. Turn off the heat. Stir in the ½ tsp. of dijon mustard, ½ tsp. of cayenne, and 1 ½ tsp. of salt.

6. Stir in the shredded cheese one handful at a time. Cover the pot until ready to serve so that the cheese can continue to melt even more.

7. Enjoy! This “Spicy Mac” is great on its own as a simple dinner or makes a phenomenal side dish for any meal, holiday or not!

Proud of your work? Take a photo of your “Average” creation and tag @the.brass.spoon on Instagram to show off your skills! If you allow me to follow you, I’ll post your story to my story!

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