Stovetop Mac n’ Cheese with Chorizo

We all had that one faithful pasta dish we all loved as kids, it was creamy, cheesy and most important familiar.  Familiar was important because we weren’t exactly adventurous when it came to food.   For a quick lunch my mother would pull out that friendly blue box of mac n’ cheese and some hot dogs.  😀  There was nothing like a big bowl of creamy mac n’ cheese with some pan fried hot dogs.

Mac n’ cheese was faithful to us through childhood, collage and even when we were first out in the world on our own and broke. It was cheap, easy and darn good to eat!

This is a little bit of a grown up twist on the creamy stove top mac n’ cheese.   I saw this recently on Good Eats and I had to try it ASAP!  Is it exactly like the ol’faithful blue box?  No, but it is pretty close and darn good to eat!  T he sauce is of course cheesy and it sort of the texture of a creamed ricotta.   Regardless it’s soft, creamy, cheesy and delicious.

Dice up your sausage of choice or hot dog, no one here will judge you.  I chose chorizo because I love the hint of spiciness you get from a chorizo.

In a hot skillet fry up your sausage until crispy and browned.  Mmmmm choriiii-zoooo…

Boil your macaroni in salted water until al dente, drain the pasta and return to the pot, add butter and toss at low heat, until the butter is melted and the pasta is evenly coated.

In a separate bowl whisk together evaporated milk, eggs, mustard, cayenne pepper, salt and fresh ground black pepper.

Stir milk and egg mixture into the pasta;

Add shredded cheddar and stir.

Using a slotted spoon add your sausage into the pasta.

Stir together on low heat for about 3 minutes or until creamy.

Serve yourself a big heaping bowl and sit down and watch your favorite cartoon.  Because that is what you did when you were a kid right?

Print Recipe

Stovetop Mac n’ Cheese with Chorizo (adapted from Alton Brown: Good Eats)

• 10 0z cured chorizo (or sausage of choice)
• 1/2 pound elbow macaroni
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 eggs
• 6 ounces evaporated milk
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Fresh black pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon yellow mustard
• 10 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded

Dice sausage into cubes and pan fry until toasted and browned, set aside.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente and drain. Return to the pot and melt in the butter. Toss to coat.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, hot sauce, salt, pepper, and mustard. Stir into the pasta and add the cheese. Using a slotted spoon transfer sausage in with pasta.  Over low heat continue to stir for 3 minutes or until creamy.