So one of the things I most look forward to on vacation is getting the chance to shop around for food products that aren’t available to me in Virginia. I came home from our adventure with so much food, that I don’t even have room for all of it in my pantry. One of my favorite finds was a Beer Mustard from Sea Dog Brewing Co. in Bangor, ME. I had absolutely no intention of cooking anything this weekend, seeing as I was buried underneath a literal mountain of dirty clothes, and being stalked by Brenna, who was very adamant that I spend every second making up for leaving her at home for over a week by her little ol’ lonesome. But of course plans changed when my brother stopped by for a visit on Labor Day. Suddenly B.O.B. Bob was ready to cook out, which obviously meant that I had to get back in the kitchen right away. I owed my brother some ooey gooey mac and cheese, because on his previous visit he did not consider the mac and cheese I made to be worthy. I chose not even to post the recipe here, because he disliked it so much. It had mushrooms, bacon, and tomatoes in it, and I found it delicious, but I could see his point that it wasn’t creamy enough. This time around I hit a home run. He loved the pasta, he enjoyed the maple carrots I made from our garden, wolfed down the pork chops we grilled, and even managed to eat a few pieces of broccoli that I steamed. I love it when I finally make an entire meal that he can’t turn his nose up at; it absolutely makes me do a happy dance. I think the Corn Muffin that I defrosted from the freezer put my impromptu holiday meal over the top for him. After all, dinner isn’t dinner without bread in his opinion.
*The pottery bowl in this post was a gift from my brother to add to my every growing collection from Red Drum Pottery in Frisco, NC.
Ingredients:
- 8-oz. Pasta
- 3 Tablespoons Butter
- 3 Tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
- 2 Cups Milk
- 2 Tablespoons Stone Ground Mustard
- 1/4 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 2 1/2 Cups Freshly Shredded Extra Sharp White Cheddar
Directions:
- Cook the pasta according to the package instructions.
- While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a medium saucepan, over medium-high heat.
- When the butter has melted, whisk in the flour, and cook for 3 minutes, whisking constantly.
- Add the milk and mustard to the saucepan, whisking until well combined.
- Continue cooking for 8 minutes, whisking occasionally.
- Add the shredded cheese, and whisk until completely melted.
- Drain the cooked pasta well, and then combine the pasta and the cheese sauce.
Suggestions:
- Don’t forget to add a heaping teaspoon of salt to the boiling pasta water.
- I used a blend of two different types of pasta in this recipe, because it was last-minute, and I used what I had available. Feel free to use whichever pasta is your favorite.
- Every mustard will have a different sodium content, make sure to taste the cheese sauce before adding additional salt if needed.
- If you’re interested in trying Sea Dog Beer Mustard, it is available for purchase online here.
Improvements:
- Top the mac and cheese with crumbled bacon, as well as using bacon grease in place of the melted butter.
- Add some fresh herbs to the cheese sauce; chives would work nicely with this dish.
