Spiced Apple Macaroni and Cheese

I know this may sound strange to some as many people don't necessarily consider macaroni and cheese as anything but a savory dish. Nevertheless, the concept of sweet or savory-sweet macaroni and cheese has been around for a long time. Dishes wherein egg noodles are baked in sweetened dairy-based cream sauce exist in different cuisines around the world, mainly Eastern European. And though the names by which this type of dish is called vary just as greatly as the cuisines of which it's part, I simply call it, "delicious."

Sometimes, in my silliness, I fantasize about having a Russian grandmother. I called her, "Bubba," and she called me, "Lilechka." In my fantasy, Баба made the best Кугель in the whole world and her little Лалечка just gobbled it up, along with all kinds of Eastern European treats, with glee. Don't worry about me, though, I limit myself to no more than 10 goofy thoughts like this per day.

In reality, being a purebred Thai, born and raised in the capital city of Thailand and darned proud of it, I didn't grow up eating Kugel (קוגל or, to make the throat work a bit harder, קוגעל), but you bet I'm making up for lost time. I mean, what's not to like about Kugel? I can see how certain food items could only be appreciated by means of early exposure of the palate or even genetic predisposition.* But noodles baked in gooey, creamy, cheesy sauce? One needs no more than functional taste buds to appreciate that kind of sublimity.


There are many different ways to make kugel. You could ask ten people to bring a pan of kugel, made according to their own family recipe, to a potluck and I'm willing to bet that there will be no two identical kugels among those ten. This also means there isn't any consensus on what an ideal kugel is supposed to look and taste like even though, from my experience, people tend to use their childhood kugel as the one and only standard and their grandmother or mother as the sole arbiter of good kugel.

There are some rough guidelines, but in the end, just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, deliciousness is in the mouth of the eater.


After having sampled innumerable kugels, I've found that the ones I like the most are not overly sweet and contain one or two salty elements. I adore the savory-sweet flavor combination. When the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board contacted me to come up with a mac 'n cheese recipe showcasing the deliciousness of Wisconsin-made cheeses, I agonized over what to make for, like, 3 seconds before the conclusion was reached.

Our mac 'n cheese recipe is inspired by the coconut caramelized apples with 5-spice powder which I made back in the fall. The recipe has been greatly simplified so as to make this sweet mac 'n cheese not too complicated. After all, the cheeses and noodles are the stars of the show; the spiced apple compote, as delicious as it is, is just the add-in.


The mixture of Mascarpone cheese, sour cream, and eggs is used to mimic the traditional Béchamel. The spiced apple compote provides additional moisture and sweetness. Grated Fontiago© cheese goes on top to create that much-loved crust that everybody likes. It also provides a subtle savory element to the dish.

Have you had Fontiago cheese, by the way? I have only recently discovered this American-made cheese. The name probably clues you in as to what it tastes like: a combination of the Italian Fontina and Asiago. Fontiago combines the sharpness of Asiago and the mellow flavor of Fontina. The mildly "nutty" flavor of Fontiago balances out the sweetness of the sugar, the sweet-tangy apple compote, and the creaminess of Mascarpone and sour cream very well.


The result is a kugel-inspired macaroni and cheese that is warm, gooey, and cheesy right out of the oven. The flavor is only mildly sweet which is how I like it. The Fontiago cheese on the top melts like a dream and forms the cheesy "strings" that never fail to make kids and adults alike go, "Ooh."**

Left to cool down a bit, or refrigerated, the baked noodles firm up and become more dense. You can cut a piece and pick it up to eat with your hand. I like it both ways.


Spiced Apple Macaroni and Cheese
Serves 8
Downloadable Version

Ingredients:
3 medium (1 lb) firm, sweet apples***
10 tablespoons brown sugar, divided
2 tablespoons butter
2 pieces of whole star anise
2 cinnamon sticks
5-6 whole allspice berries
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 0z mini ziti or mini elbow pasta
1/2 cup sour cream
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
8 oz Mascarpone cheese, softened
3 ounces Fontiago cheese, grated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Prepare the spiced apple compote by peeling and coring the apples. Chop them into small pieces the size of raisins.

In a skillet, over medium heat, melt the butter and 5 tablespoons brown sugar; add the chopped apples and let the mixture simmer gently. The apples will soften and the melted sugar and butter will slowly evaporate.

In the meantime, cool the pasta just until al dente. That is to say, it should be cooked through, yet firm. Overcooked pasta will result in noodles that fall apart too easily after baking.

After 15-20 minutes, the noodles should be cooked. Drain them well but do not rinse; set aside.

Around the same time, the apples should reduce down in volume to about 1 1/2 cups of compote, with the consistency of loose fruit preserve. Take the pan off the heat and remove and discard all of the spices.

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick spray.

Place the Mascarpone cheese in a large mixing bowl along with the sour cream, beaten eggs, the remaining brown sugar, salt, and vanilla; stir just to combine.

Add the cooked pasta to the cheese mixture along with the apple compote; mix until the pasta is thoroughly coated with the cheese mixture and the apple compote is evenly distributed.

Pour the pasta mixture into the prepared dish and sprinkle the grated Fontiago cheese all over the top. Cover the dish with a piece of aluminum foil.

Bake the mac 'n cheese, covered, for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake, uncovered, for another 20 minutes or until the top is browned.

Serve warm or at room temperature with powdered sugar dusted on top and a dollop of sour cream, whipped cream, or Crème Fraîche.

*Thai shrimp paste (กะปิ) and pickled ham hocks of the US deep South came to mind.

**Pizza Hut came to Thailand when I was little and I still vividly remember their commercial. The family sit together at the table. A huge pizza is in the middle. The father stands up and lifts one of the pre-cut pizza piece from the pan to a plate. The warm, melted Mozzarella forms long cheesy strings all the way from the pan to the plate. I sat in front of our TV set, mesmerized. My eyeballs were the size of ostrich eggs and on a verge of popping out of the socket. You could say that was the day I found cheeses. ;-)

***Pretty much anything will work except Red Delicious or Granny Smith.

Disclosure: SheSimmers.com has received a payment from the Wisconsin Cheese Board for the development of this recipe and the endorsement of Wisconsin cheeses implied therein.