Macaroni and Blue Cheese

Brad and I tried a new restaurant on Saturday night. It's called Little Bistro, specializing (as they claim) in the "evolution of new American cuisine." Though it's received very good reviews on Citysearch, we were unimpressed. We had the Calamari with Cardamom Salt as an appetizer, and we were quite pleased with it. The calamari was cooked perfectly and the sauce was very good, though a bit stingy. Our entrees, however, were what left a bit to be desired. Brad had the Little Bistro Meatloaf with Caramlized Onions, Asparagus, and Bacon Chive Mashed Potatoes. I had the special that evening, Pan-seared Cod with Shrimp, Haricot Vert, and I substituted the Bacon Chive Mashed Potatoes (because I don't eat swine!) for Macaroni with Blue Cheese. Brad's meatloaf had a slight curry taste, which he liked, but said got old fairly quickly. He said my mom's meatloaf was a 100 times better (which I'll make sure to tell her--she'll love that). The onions were very good, and the bacon chive potatoes needed more bacon flavor. My cod and shrimp were very perfectly cooked and tasty in their own right, but the accompanying sauce was very, very sparce (and tasted like duck sauce with a bit of cilantro). The green beans tasted good, but were way too oily, and I cannot tell you what a disappointment the macaroni and blue cheese was--it was flavorless and oily with only an occasional hint of the distinctive blue cheese flavor. We were both quite disappointed with Little Bistro overall, even though we really wanted to like it.

In the car on the way home, I began talking to Brad about how the macaroni and blue cheese could have been so much better had they given it a little thought. I decided I'd attempt it myself on Sunday, and prove how easy it could actually be. I make a mean fettucini alfredo, and thought that if I followed those priciples, my version of macaroni and blue cheese would be awesome. Here is my (very sucessful) receipe:

Macaroni & Blue Cheese

serves 4

1/2 lb. elbow macaroni

1 cup heavy cream

2 tbsp. unsalted butter

12 oz. crumbled blue cheese (more if you want it really cheesy)

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup bread crumbs

Boil 3 quarts of water, salted. Cook pasta until al dente. Drain and rinse with cool water. Set aside.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat (I used Pam) a 9 x 9 square baking pan.

In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, bring the heavy cream and butter to a simmer. Do not allow it to boil. Set aside a small amount of the blue cheese for mixing in later. Add the blue cheese, a bit at a time, stirring constantly. When all the cheese is incorporated, continue to stir for another 2-3 minutes. Add any salt and pepper you desire (though I didn't add any salt because the salt in the cheese is very strong). Remove from heat.

Pour the elbow pasta into the square baking pan. Pour the blue cheese sauce over it (it will thicken as it cooks). Add remaining blue cheese and stir pasta so all is thoroughly coated. Top with bread crumbs. Cook in oven for 30 minutes. You may want to broil it for a minute or two at the end to make the top crispy.

Serve with a big green salad and possibly with soup beforehand (I served a corn and roasted pepper soup).

I promise you--this macaroni and blue cheese recipe blows Little Bistro's away and is perfect for a hearty fall dinner.