in honor of national beer day.. i give you beer mac n cheese..

this was supposed to post yesterday april 7 in honor of national beer day.. you see in 1933 president roosevelt repealed prohibition and allowed beer to be brewed and sold in the us.. and for that i am forever grateful to fdr.. but i am an adams girl {not sam adams the beer} president john adams  and john quincy adams.. you see we are descendant's of john adams... it's a long story and we had a genealogist look into our family and when it was all said and done we were related.. it's one of the reasons my brother's son's middle name is quincy!! well enough about me let's talk about beer!!

*its a much more interesting subject any way*

i had my cousins over for dinner a few months back.. and without intending on it, the theme was beer.. i made beer mac n cheese, a beer dip, pretzel poppers with a beer cheese dip and well i served beer.. of course.. but i have to tell you this beer mac n cheese was scrumptious!! 

beer mac n cheese

prep time: 10 minutes
cooking time: 45 minutes
servings: 6

ingredients:

2.5 cups pasta { i used some strange shaped pasta i found at a specialty store}
2 tblsp. butter
2 tblsp. flour
1 cup milk
1 cup beer {i used an ipa}
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup grated pepper jack cheese
salt and pepper
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
panko breadcrumbs

directions:

pre heat your oven to 350 degrees {f}.. cook pasta according to package directions.. i usually drain mine about 2 minutes before the recommended time on the package when i am making mac and cheese that will go into the oven.. while it's cooking make your roux.. in a heavy bottom pan over medium high heat melt your butter.. you want it frothy but not burning add you flour when the butter is melted and whisk until it reaches a light butterscotch color.. about 2 minutes.. add your milk and whisk for a minute or 2 then add your beer.. continue to whisk.. add cheese and stir until melted and lovely.. turn heat to low and continue to stir while it thickens.. add salt, pepper and nutmeg.. after about 5-6 minutes it's ready to go {don't worry if it's not the texture your used to for mac n cheese the beer makes it a tad bit "runny" but will thicken up in the oven}.. now add your cooked noodles to the cheese mixture and incorporate well..add to a casserole dish and bake for 20 to 30 minutes.. {you can add extra cheese on top or panko.. i forgot the panko the first time but the second time i made it i added the panko to the top..} remove from oven and allow to cool about 5 minutes before serving.. you don't want anyone getting the infamous hot cheese burn on their tongue!! it was perfect for my dinner.. i served it burgers.. what could be better.. and thank you fdr for making it all possible :)





the one below i remembered to add the panko.. i cooked it without panko for 15 minutes then added the panko and cooked it another 15 minutes.. the added little crunch was delightful!! 

enjoy and get cook'n!!