Dirk Howard

I was talking with my youngest daughter about comfort foods that she found while she was living in China. While we were talking about that it reminded me of a favorite comfort food.  Macaroni and Cheese.  Many times we find ourselves reaching for the blue box.  I was wanting something like that, but maybe a little more homemade and more attention to the details.

I remembered a Macaroni and Cheese recipe that I found on the Reddit cast-iron forum.  One of the features of this dish is that it is baked in a cast-iron pan to help the dish develop a crisp crust on the bottom and sides.  This crisp crust contrasts nicely with the tender pasta and the creamy sauce.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb macaroni, cooked and drained
• 1/2 stick of butter
• 4 Tablespoons flour
• 3 cups milk
• 1/3 cup pre-cooked bacon bits
• 1 Tablespoon onion powder
• 1 cup parmesan cheese
• 8 to 10 ounces medium cheddar cheese, grated
• dried breadcrumbs

While cooking the macaroni, make the cheese sauce.  In a medium saucepan melt the butter and add the butter to form a roux.  Cook over a medium heat until the flour begins to turn to a golden brown.  Slowly whisk in the milk and cook over a medium heat.  Add the onion powder and cook until the mixture begins to thicken.  Add the bacon bits, 1/2 of the parmesan cheese and the grated cheddar cheese and mix until melted and combined.  Grease a cast-iron skillet and pour the drained pasta into the pan.  Mix the cheese sauce into the pasta and top with a mixture of breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese.  Bake in a 400° F oven for 30 minutes or until the top and edges have started to crisp.  Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

I was recently given two new Lodge cast iron skillets. They are the 12″ size and have been pre-seasoned. I like to work in my cast iron by making something fried. It tends to help build up the seasoning. For these skillets I decided to fry up some potatoes into hash browns.  Other than the normal pebbly surface of a new pan, these two skillets performed very well.  There was very minimal sticking and it all wiped out with a paper towel.

I basically cubed up some fresh potatoes and tossed them into the pans.  I had heated the pans over a medium-high flame to a point where the pan is starting to smoke.  I added 2 to 3 tablespoons of Canola Oil and let that heat for a moment.  Then the potatoes went into the hot pan.