Italian Macaroni and Cheese: Foodie Friday

Italian Macaroni and Cheese

The nights have started to get a little chilly in the Adirondack Mountains so I was inspired to make something a little more hardy than I have been making lately. Thanks to this wonderful food party I have many recipes to choose from. This dish was inspired by Becca's of Amuse your Bouche's Garlic Mushroom Macaroni and Cheese. I changed the cheese to mozzarella and made more of a béchamel sauce with white wine. Both versions are truly enjoyable.  

Italian Macaroni and Cheese

by Diane Balch

Preparation time: 20 minutes      Serves: 6 - 8

Ingredients:

1 pound of Penne pasta (Schar's if you are gluten-free)

4 tablespoons of butter

1 onion minced

4 cloves of garlic minced

10 ounces of Cremini mushrooms chopped 

2 tablespoons of regular or gluten-free flour

1/2 cup of dry white wine

1/2 cup of whole milk

16 ounces of shredded Mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup of Parmesan/Romano mix or just Parmesan grated

a dash of nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bring a large sauce pan of water to a boil with 2 tablespoons of salt in it for the pasta.

2) On medium-high heat melt half of the butter in a large skillet. Saute the onions, garlic, and mushrooms. Do not salt the mushrooms until they brown. Don't brown the garlic it will become bitter.

3) Remove the vegetables from the skillet and add the rest of the butter. Once the butter begins to brown slowly whisk in the flour and cook it until it begins to brown.

4) Turn the heat up to high and add the wine. Scrap the pan with a spatula while the wine reduces. Once this fond becomes syrupy add the milk and reduce the heat to medium. Whisk the milk until it incorporates with the fond.

5) When the water comes to a boil cook the pasta. While the pasta is cooking slowly whisk the cheese into the sauce. Once it is melted and mixed well add the nutmeg and vegetables. When the pasta is cooked mix that in too. Add salt and pepper.

6) Scoop pasta mixture into a large baking dish and sprinkle the top with a little Parmesan/Romano. Bake for 30 minutes or until the top starts to brown. Let the dish cool for 10 minutes before you serve it with a green salad.

 macaroni and cheese, mozzarella, mushrooms, Italian recipe, vegetarian recipe, gluten free pasta  http://verygoodrecipes.com/italia 

Foodie Friday Features:

Hosted by
Home Maid Simple
and
Simple Living with Diane Balch

Because of my vacation I am a little behind in features. The stand out recipes from August 24th's party are:

From: MJ's Kitchen

Chunky Gazpacho 

Still have too many tomatoes? This is your recipe. Plus you can add a whole bunch of other fresh veggies into this healthy delicious soup.

From: Healthy Mommy, Healthy Baby

Crab and Corn Bisque

Corn is still fresh and so available. With the nights starting to get a little cooler this soup is so satisfying.

From: Dishing with Leslie

Chile Relleno Casserole

This is one of those dishes that reminds me that vegetarian cooking can be both simple and gourmet. 

Foodie Friday Features from Last Week's Party:

From: Ms enPlace

Chicken in Mustard Sauce

This sauce is simple, yet so delicious, tastes like you worked for hours on it.

From: Javelin Warrior's Cookin w/Luv

Potato au Gratin

This recipe includes one of the best tutorials on how to make this classic dish.

From: Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks

Ginger Peach Sorbet

Got Peaches? Get this sorbet... you don't need an ice cream maker, fantastic with a little ginger.

Instructions for Foodie Friday linky:

This is a food party please only link up food related posts. Thank you. 

SUBSCRIBE TO THIS BLOG BY EMAIL OR RSS... 

or FRIEND ME ON FACEBOOK

1) Copy the Foodie Friday Button's html from this website's sidebar.

2) Paste this html to the html page of the recipe you want to link to Foodie Friday. You can also make a word link or post our button on your sidebar. Please link back.
3) Copy the link to the recipes you want to add to Foodie Friday, not your homepage. You can post up to 3 recipes that you have not shared before.

4) Click on "your next" on this page.

5) Past your link and type in the name of the recipe, not your name.

6) Choose how you want to download the photo.