Butternut Squash Mac 'n Cheese

While watching The Chew today, they featured an awesome mac and cheese that I had to try. I love mac and cheese. My grandmother makes the best mac and cheese out there and it was actually the first recipe that I knew by heart.  I was interested in how the butternut squash and kale would play in this version of a recipe that uses the same basics of my grandmother's mac and cheese.


Ingredients:
1 pound Bacon (diced)
1 Onion (diced)
1 Butternut Squash (peeled, diced, roasted and pureed)
2 cups Kale (deribbed and chopped)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1/3 cup Half and Half
1 tsp Nutmeg
1 pound Rigatoni
1 1/2 cup Gruyere
1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
2 cups bread crumbs
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
3 cups milk
Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground black pepper (to taste)

Recipe at The Chew. Mimi's Lesson: Roux = 1 tbsp fat (bacon grease and butter) + 1 tbsp flour + 1 cup milk + 1 cup cheese.  They play with the proportions a little with the butternut squash, cheese and mascarpone cheese. I substituted greek yogurt for the mascarpone and am sure you really wouldn't be able to tell a difference. Overall great dish and I will make it again.  It needs a few tweeks.

Things I learned from the recipe:
1. Butternut squash adds a lot of sweetness to the dish - salt from the bacon is completely necessary to balance.  I didn't use the full pound and wish I had.
2. The butternut squash puree adds a wonderful creaminess to the dish that makes cheese less necessary. Great substitute!
3. I always think I'll end up with more kale than I do after it cooks down.  Even when I try to correct for this, I still end up short.  Always add more kale.

Hot Wings (in the oven)

I have always LOVED chicken wings.  There is this hole in the wall around the corner from my house in Atlanta, Clays, that makes the best but I haven't been able to find a place in Nashville that compares. In fact, I think wings in Nashville are generally sub-par. The best I have found is Sportman's Grille in Hillsboro village.  Since I've got some time to kill I thought I'd try to tackle wings at home.  

I did some research on how to make wings at home, here are the tips I discovered: 

- Low (300 or below) and slow will dry out your wings. 

- High temp (>400) without pre-cooking will smoke your house down.

- Steaming will decrease the fat of the wing and allow you to cook at the higher temps to make a juicy and crispy wing 

- Don't need a deep frier to make crispy wings 

I followed Alton Brown's recipe which includes video instructions. Major idea is steam the wings THEN cook them on a rack over a cookie sheet in the oven.  Overall, I was really happy with the product, the wings are crispy but the meat is not dry.  Major downside is that it's labor intensive. 

Sauce:

• 4-5 tbsp Crystal Louisana Hot Sauce 
•  4-5 tbsp butter 
•  Green Onion, sliced 
•  Garlic 
•  Red Pepper flakes 
•  Sriracha (to your tolerance)

Melt butter with minced garlic.  Toss with other ingredients in a large bowl.  Combine with wings (they need to be hot from the oven).  Serve with blue cheese or ranch and celery sticks. 

Scott's Thoughts: 

1. Best wings in Nashville (I'm serious, he really said this). 

2. Could be spicier!!!!! (Oh my Lord, I might be able to continue dating him) 

3. Garlic was awesome in the sauce (actually a Rob thought)