I posted this recipe in a thread recently and Daphne made it last night. She gave it such a great review, we though maybe it ought to have its own thread so we can find it again.
I checked to see where I could have gotten this recipe, I know it was in '08, but don't know where. Googling it gave a lot of recipes from a lot of folks, but didn't bother to read all of them to see....Anyway, here it is with Daphne's review. (I can't believe I've sat on this for so long and not made it!)
------
OH you just knew someone who likes ziti would take this thread and run with it - I've been sitting on this recipe for a long time and haven't made it yet and don't know where it came from.....
* Exported from MasterCook *
French Onion "Soup" Mac and Cheese
Topping:
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Bechamel Sauce:
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk or half-and-half
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces Gruyere -- grated
3 ounces mozzarella grated
-----
French Onion "Soup":
2 tablespoons butter -- plus 1 tablespoon (or nonstick spray)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 large white onions -- thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic -- peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons honey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup dry sherry
2 cups beef stock
8 sprigs fresh thyme leaves
-----
1 pound pasta -- cooked al dente (elbow macaroni, ziti, or fusilli work well)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Topping: Combine bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese in a small bowl and set aside.
Bechamel Sauce: Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter over low heat in a medium saucepan. Add the flour and stir to combine. Stir constantly, for about 3 minutes. Increase heat to medium and whisk in the milk or half-and-half, adding a little at a time and cook until thickened, about 4 to 5 minutes.
Lower heat, season with the salt and pepper and add Gruyere and mozzarella cheeses. Stir until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. Set aside.
French Onion "Soup:" Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter and olive oil over medium-high heat in a large saucepan. Add onions, cover, and cook 10 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove cover, add garlic and honey, and continue to cook uncovered, stirring frequently, until onions are caramelized, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Season with salt and a generous amount of pepper. Remove pot from heat and add sherry. Return to heat and stir to remove browned bits from bottom of pan. Reduce sherry by half, then add stock and thyme and cook until almost all liquid is evaporated. Remove from heat.
Grease a 3-quart baking dish or casserole with the last tablespoon of butter or spray with nonstick cooking spray. Combine cooked pasta with onion "soup" mixture and bechamel sauce, and stir well to combine. Transfer pasta to baking dish and sprinkle with bread crumb/Parmesan topping.
Bake until top is golden brown and cheese is bubbly, about 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Forgot to get Daphne's review - be right back.
Here's Daphne's review and substitutions she made:
"Plan B turned out to be a HUGE winner! I made the French Onion "Soup" Mac and Cheese that Jean posted recently in another thread. Due to my not having use of the brain, I forgot about the 3-4 ounces of Mozzarella I had in the cheese drawer and used 2 ounces of Parmesan instead. I mean really...it's French Onion Soup, for pete's sake. It made sense! I subbed Jarlsburg for the Gruyere. UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!! William gave it a 15 without being asked for a rating...LOL!
So that I don't look like a complete glutton, I did have something healthy on the plate. I served simple greens with some of the leftover rotisserie chicken and Ranch on the side."
---
This is now on my list to make! Thanks Daphne.
I checked to see where I could have gotten this recipe, I know it was in '08, but don't know where. Googling it gave a lot of recipes from a lot of folks, but didn't bother to read all of them to see....Anyway, here it is with Daphne's review. (I can't believe I've sat on this for so long and not made it!)
------
OH you just knew someone who likes ziti would take this thread and run with it - I've been sitting on this recipe for a long time and haven't made it yet and don't know where it came from.....
* Exported from MasterCook *
French Onion "Soup" Mac and Cheese
Topping:
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Bechamel Sauce:
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk or half-and-half
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces Gruyere -- grated
3 ounces mozzarella grated
-----
French Onion "Soup":
2 tablespoons butter -- plus 1 tablespoon (or nonstick spray)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 large white onions -- thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic -- peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons honey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup dry sherry
2 cups beef stock
8 sprigs fresh thyme leaves
-----
1 pound pasta -- cooked al dente (elbow macaroni, ziti, or fusilli work well)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Topping: Combine bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese in a small bowl and set aside.
Bechamel Sauce: Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter over low heat in a medium saucepan. Add the flour and stir to combine. Stir constantly, for about 3 minutes. Increase heat to medium and whisk in the milk or half-and-half, adding a little at a time and cook until thickened, about 4 to 5 minutes.
Lower heat, season with the salt and pepper and add Gruyere and mozzarella cheeses. Stir until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. Set aside.
French Onion "Soup:" Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter and olive oil over medium-high heat in a large saucepan. Add onions, cover, and cook 10 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove cover, add garlic and honey, and continue to cook uncovered, stirring frequently, until onions are caramelized, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Season with salt and a generous amount of pepper. Remove pot from heat and add sherry. Return to heat and stir to remove browned bits from bottom of pan. Reduce sherry by half, then add stock and thyme and cook until almost all liquid is evaporated. Remove from heat.
Grease a 3-quart baking dish or casserole with the last tablespoon of butter or spray with nonstick cooking spray. Combine cooked pasta with onion "soup" mixture and bechamel sauce, and stir well to combine. Transfer pasta to baking dish and sprinkle with bread crumb/Parmesan topping.
Bake until top is golden brown and cheese is bubbly, about 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Forgot to get Daphne's review - be right back.
Here's Daphne's review and substitutions she made:
"Plan B turned out to be a HUGE winner! I made the French Onion "Soup" Mac and Cheese that Jean posted recently in another thread. Due to my not having use of the brain, I forgot about the 3-4 ounces of Mozzarella I had in the cheese drawer and used 2 ounces of Parmesan instead. I mean really...it's French Onion Soup, for pete's sake. It made sense! I subbed Jarlsburg for the Gruyere. UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!! William gave it a 15 without being asked for a rating...LOL!
So that I don't look like a complete glutton, I did have something healthy on the plate. I served simple greens with some of the leftover rotisserie chicken and Ranch on the side."
---
This is now on my list to make! Thanks Daphne.
Retired and having fun writing cookbooks, tasting wine and sharing recipes with all my friends.
www.achefsjourney.com
www.achefsjourney.com
