Summary

Preparation Time: 30 min (Infused Cream and boiling pasta)
Cook Time: 15 min. 30 second broiling time.
Servings: 4 (big main) portions
Meal type: Main
Cost: $22.88 (for $5.72 each for a full meal or serves 8+ appetizers which would cost $2.86)

Recipe Rating:  

Ingredients for Infused Cream

This makes for 1L of cream which could be used for 4 portions of the Macaroni and Cheese.

• 1L Whipping Cream (33%) – $6.99
• 1 slice of onion – $0.97 for whole white onion
• 2 bay leaves – $0.10
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 1 sprig of fresh thyme – $1.49
• 1 tsp of salt

Ingredients for Macaroni and Cheese

The portions mentioned here are for 1 large main. We used all the infused cream and made 4x the measurements specified here. Prices will reflect the grocery bill for 4 portions.

• 250g Cornetti Pasta – a little longer and thinner than macaroni. – $1.99
• 2 cups of the infused cream



• 1 cup of mozzarella and old white cheddar cheese grated (you can use any cheese you’d like – some recommendations are gruyere or goat cheese) – $4.45 for old white cheddar, $5.99 for mozzarella, and some gruyere was used in our cooking.
• 2 tbsp of fresh chives
• 1 tbsp of black pepper
• 1 tbsp of salt
• 1/2 tsp of Black Truffle Oil – $9.99 for the bottle, probably used $1 with generous amounts of it.

Instructions for Infusing Cream

1. Heat up the cream on medium heat
2. Add slice of onion and sprig of thyme and bay leaf.
3. Bring to a slow boil and then turn off heat, stirring as that nothing sticks to the bottom.

4. Pour through a strainer

5. Optional – if making this ahead of time, chill in an ice bath, refrigerate for later. There’s no need to chill if you are using the cream right away.
Chef Dan noted that instead of making a white sauce (Roux), it is much easier to use 35% cream and heat to reduce. The cream becomes just as thick as roux. 35% fat sounds ridiculously dangerous to eat though With Roux, you combine butter and flour, so you can pick your evils between fattening cream or fattening butter. Either way, this hearty Macaroni and Cheese dish would never make the top healthy meal award. I choose the cream for the sake of using less ingredients.

Actually, it is debateable whether or not you really need to infuse the cream. There is definitely more flavour with the bay leaves and chives but in the interest of time, you can use the 35% cream directly and follow the next set of instructions.

Instructions for Macaroni and Cheese

1. Bring water to a boil and follow instructions on Cornetti Pasta box but only cook al dente to 75% of the time specified. My Del Cecco pasta box said 4 min, so I boiled for 3 minutes.

2. Bring infused cream to a simmer in an aluminum pan on medium heat.

3. Cream will get thicker and then you can add the pasta.

4. Add the pre-cooked pasta. Add salt/pepper to season.

5. Stir and tilt pan, cream and pasta is ready when the cream is no longer runny.

6. Add chives.

7. Add all grated cheese. Turn off heat.

8. Season with salt/pepper.

9. Transfer into a oven-safe baking dish and sprinkle on some more cheese.


10. Turn on oven to high broil and put in dish for about 20-30 seconds to get a nice golden toasted top. The restaurant kitchen had a Salamander which is simply awesome and quick.

11. Instructions from Chaise says Dot lightly with truffle oil and serve. I think I absolutely love this dish from Chaise Lounge because of the generous amount of truffle oil on the Mac N Cheese.
12. Add some cheese, chives, salt and pepper on top just so that everyone eating will see exactly what was in the dish.

Quick Notes

We did not follow the measurements for cheese exactly and used much more. Even with chives and with the truffle oil, we just add as much would taste good and it’s hard to measure. Chaise’s recipe also called for Cheddar mix in the end before putting the dish in to broil, we skipped that part. This or bread crumbs might make the pasta more crunchy/toasty but it was delicious enough.

Chef Dan suggested making the cream ahead of time as well as the pasta. They can keep in the fridge for days so this would save a lot of time.

I found it interesting that Cornetti was suggested instead of Macaroni. I never even knew there was a difference – cornetti is a little bit thinner and longer than Macaroni. It’s actually a lot quicker to cook than other pastas so beware and cook only to 75% of what the box says!

Variations

As Chaise’s owner Stephan and Chef Dan puts it, there’s millions of ways to put variation into this dish. Experiment with different cheese, different spices and herbs, different pastas, different truffle oil. You can also add toppings such as pancetta or lobster or bacon, or really anything you crave.

This recipe is a good base for a tasty tried and tested meal. Tell us what your favourite variation is!!

Results

This was a quick and simple recipe to make at home. The ingredients cost way more than that Kraft Dinner box but it’s well worth it in the end. This is going to be a staple in my kitchen from now on and a sure crowd pleaser as an appetizer or side dish for any occasion!

Thank you Chef Dan and Chaise Lounge for teaching me how to make this so that I could share it with all of you!

Here’s what it looked like at YouCook night:

And after 10 min of Chef Dan’s cooking: