Cooking a new meal for a group of people is very stressful. Luckily my mother in law came to my rescue when I goofed a little. Because the meal was for a regular sized family I had to double the recipe to fit our large crowd. Well all was gooing well until I forgot to double the ingredients to make the RUE. OH BOY was that a headache. The cream sauce obviously didn't thicken so when I added the cream sauce and cheese to the noodled the cheese seperated from the sauce and did not combine like mac and cheese should. So the mother in law and I went back and made more cream sauce (the right way- with enough butter and flour to thicken accordingly) until we had enough to make it cheesey and creamy. Then it was beatuiful.
Here is the recipe:
http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/philly-cheesesteak-mac-cheese/
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), divided
- 2 large onions, thinly sliced ( Do ahead... Makes life easier)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound cavatappi-shaped pasta (It's like swirly curly noodles)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 3 cups milk
- 2 cups shredded provolone (Found this in the special cheese section near the deli... Also shred ahead to make it easier)
- 1/2 cup beef stock
- 1 pound thinly sliced deli roast beef, roughly chopped
Preparation
Place a large pot of salted water over high heat and bring it to a boil.
Once the water boils, cook the cavatappi to al dente according to package directions. Once the pasta has finished cooking, drain it and return it to the pot it was cooked in.
While the pasta is cooking, place a large skillet over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Add the onions to the pan and top them with a lid or piece of aluminum foil for 2-3 minutes, just to get them cooking. Remove the lid or aluminum foil and continue cooking the onions until tender and lightly caramelized, 8-10 minutes.
While the onions are caramelizing, melt the butter over medium-high heat in a medium-size pot. Sprinkle the flour over the melted butter and cook the mixture for about 1 minute. Whisk the milk into the butter-flour mixture slowly and bring up to a bubble to thicken. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the shredded cheese. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and reserve. To the skillet with the onions, add the beef stock and the roast beef. Cook to warm through.
Add the cheese sauce and the onion-roast beef mixture to the pot with the drained pasta and toss everything to combine.
My thoughts:
You could pop in the oven for 10 min or so before serving... Completely optional. This recipe was delisous once we got the cream sauce up to par. When you are making the cream sauce be sure to add the salt and pepper so it does not taste bland. Follow the recipe because it it written very well.
The family gave good reviews and most even got a second helping. This mac and cheese is even good for leftovers. It actually tastes like a philly sheese steak without the bread. The onions were not over powering and you could barely tell that they were in the dish.
I think that I will even try making Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches this way. the Roast Beef from the deli was a little pricey but when it is on sale I will be sure to incorporate into my meals for the week. To make the Sandwiches I will carmelize the onions like the recipe states, but also add some peppers and or mushrooms and saute them as well. Then add the beef broth and roast beef like the recipe says. Once everything is cooked through you can add the veggies and roast beef to sub rolles and topped with sliced provolone cheese and put in the oven until the cheese is melted and the sandwhiches have a little crisp to them. The roast beef seriously tastes like it came right out of a Sandwhich shop.
I would like to thank you again for tuning into my blog and I am sorry I did not post these past few weeks. I hope you are continuing to enjoy these blogs as much as I love writting them. Please let me know if you ever try these recipes I am dying to hear how they turn out for you.
