Sunday, March 16, 2014

Smackdown - Sneaky Mac n Cheese

Sneaky food is everywhere these days - avocado in chocolate mousse, prunes in cake, oats in smoothies, pureed veggies in EVERYTHING. 
And I have nothing against sneaky food, especially since my lovely child becomes more and more picky each day. 
Sneak away, my friends, sneak away. (Foodwise, that is. Behave yourselves!) 

Here's our 2 competitors 
Food Networks Mac n Cheese with secret ingredient cauliflower 
vs 
The Sweet Potato Chronicle's Sweet Potato Mac n Cheese


In the Food Network's corner is mac and cheese that was served as a side dish with bbq chicken in the Jan/Feb 2014 issue.  Cauliflower is cooked until soft in milk, then pureed, and cheese is stirred in.  Sauce done.  Add your cooked noodles, a splash of pasta cooking water, stir, and serve.
I enjoy Food Network magazine and have cooked some good dishes out of some issues.  Regardless of the outcome, I'll be adding this to my list of go to recipes.

Over in the SPC's corner is Sweet Potato Mac and Cheese.  This is a more traditional m&c - a traditional white sauce that has cheese and mashed sweet potato stirred in, and peas are added to the pasta cooking water for the final minutes of cooking.  
This book and I do not get along - I had a high number of iffy/failures from the book.  But this recipe produces a smooth and delicious mac and cheese, with bonus peas.

This was another toughie - these were both excellent recipes that I would make again and again.

The verdict?

Mac and cheese with cauliflower, from Food Network.

I love how simple but flavorful the sauce is - no roux, no flour - and the creaminess the cauliflower adds.  The sweet potato mac is also delicious, and also a must try.

Recipes