Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese

I have an unhealthy love of mac & cheese. Actually, I think most of us do. I could eat this stuff ...Every. Single. Day. Along with carnitas. Well, what do you know...carnitas mac & cheese??? I think I just had a very bad epiphany that I should pretend never happened, but I'm probably going to secretly file this thought somewhere in my brain anyway only to have it come up later...

As a kid I'd beg my mom to make mac & cheese for me. So of course, she'd pull out that box of instant mix with the fancy powdered cheese and serve me that blissful macaroni in yellow-orange cheese water. I don't know if she ever followed the instructions correctly, but does it matter? You should never doubt mom. She hasn't failed me since the day I was born, so I can't question her mac & cheese now.

Then when I grew older I discovered that some markets served freshly cooked, piping hot mac & cheese in the deli section. I always make the most horribly wonderful discoveries. So some days I'd walk to the local Vons, buy my pound of mac & cheese, and then devour it on the walk or when I got home. Go gluttons! I didn't care, I was so happy.

Upon discovery of this buffalo chicken macaroni and cheese, I just knew it was the perfect ending to our trip to the zoo about 3 weeks ago. Years ago I'd never eat buffalo chicken wings because I thought it tasted funny (might have been the blue cheese now that I think about it) It took me awhile to get used to and take a liking to the flavor of buffalo sauce, but now I'm totally hooked. Then going to the zoo brought back some childhood memories and having some mac & cheese made reliving them even better.

Comfort food doing its job; comfort food at its best.

Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese

Adapted from Lauren's Latest

Makes 6-8 servings

main ingredients

4 slices of bacon, roughly chopped (or you can always have more!)

1/2 large onion, diced (about 1 1/4 cups)

1 pound uncooked elbow macaroni

sauce

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

5 tablespoons all purpose flour

2 cups milk (preferably whole or 2%)

1/4 cup heavy cream

salt and pepper, to taste

1 pinch nutmeg

2 ounces cream cheese

1-3* tablespoons hot sauce (I used Frank's RedHot)

*This amount depends on your preference of flavor kick. I did 1 tablespoon and felt the recipe could have used at least another tablespoon.

2 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

1 cup grated provolone cheese

1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles

1 cup pre-cooked and shredded chicken

topping

1 cup plain corn flakes, crushed

1/3 cup blue cheese crumbles

above listed cooked bacon bits

optional garnish: parsley

equipment prep:

1. Butter a baking dish (9x9 or 9x13) and set aside.

make macaroni and cheese:

1. In a large skillet, cook the bacon until crispy. Remove bacon and drain on paper towel and set aside.

2. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease in the pan, and cook the onions in it until soft and set aside.

3. Bring a large pot of water to boil and salt the water generously. Cook the macaroni 2 minutes short of the package directions. You want the macaroni to be very al dente but not still crunchy. Drain and set aside.

4. Preheat oven to 350°F.

make sauce:

1. In a pot, melt the butter over medium heat.

2. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes.

3. Add the milk, heavy cream, salt and pepper, and nutmeg. Increase the heat to medium-high and continue mixing until sauce thickens. Remove sauce from heat.

4. Stir in the cream cheese and hot sauce.

5. Add the cooked macaroni and onions and stir until everything is well coated.

6. Stir in the cheeses and chicken until everything is well coated.

7. Pour the mixture into your buttered baking dish and spread it out evenly.

8. Top with the blue cheese, corn flakes, and bacon pieces.

bake:

1. Bake the macaroni and cheese at 350°F for 20-30 minutes, or until the top of the macaroni has browned.

enjoy:

Go ahead, serve yourself a generous scoop because this thing is addicting. But do know that you're probably going to go back for seconds, and maybe even a naughty late night binge. Consider yourself warned.