Fishhound Magazine 009 | Page 25

Food&Drink Summer comfort Mac & Cheese words by // Food Network Star Nikki Martin /GrillNextDoor | /MzNikkiMartin | /GrillNextDoor Just because its Summer, doesn’t always mean our Fall & Winter comfort food cravings subside. Here’s my grilled & Summerified version of a household favorite. bon for 30 min. wrap the chip in a pouch of foil, poke a few holes in the pouch and throw this on the grill. Now you have just created a mini smoker effect. You will taste the magic. What You Need: Now that your grill is hot and smoky, char your peppers and green onions over direct heat. Turning a few times, leave on for 3 minutes. Remove from grill. De-stem and remove skins from peppers. Set aside. • • • • • • • • • • • • Macaroni – 1 pound Water – 4 quarts Salt – 2 teaspoons Seasoned Bread Crumbs – ½ cup Milk – 1 quart Green Onions – 6-8 stalks Chili Peppers – 5-6 Extra Sharp Cheddar – 3 ½ cups, grated Monterey Jack – 1 cup, grated Applewood Smoked Bacon– 3-4 slices Flour – 3-4 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil – 3-4 Tablespoons What To Do It: Okay so you WILL have to cook the macaroni inside, but this step is so easy you can do it while you pour yourself a beer and get the grill ready: Basically bring water to boil and cook macaroni according to package for al dente. Don’t over cook- nobody likes a limp noodle. While Macaroni is Cooking: Bring grill temperature up to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place coals on one side for indirect cooking. *Flavor Tip: for extra grilliciousness flavor… soak some wood chips (about ½ cup) in water or bour- Now Comes the Cheese Sauce: Place large cast iron pan (Dutch oven type) over the coals to heat up. Cut up bacon and fry in pan. Remove pan from heat and place opposite hot coals for indirect heat. Stir in flour to make a rue. Pour 1 quart of milk in pan and stir well. Do not boil milk, heat until hot. Combine 3 cups of grated extra sharp cheddar cheese. Stir until melted. Add ½ cup grated Monterey Jack cheese. Stir until melted. Add peppers, and scallions. Mix well. Add your drained & al dente macaroni to sauce and mix well. Top macaroni with ½ cup grated extra sharp cheddar cheese and ½ cup grated Monterey Jack cheese. Sprinkle bread crumbs over top of cheese. Maintain grill temperature at 350 degree Fahrenheit. Cover grill and let cook 20 minutes. Remove grill lid, rotate pot, cover grill and cook additional 20 minutes. Fishhound Mag | Page 24