Mac and Cheese Casserole Recipe, With a Twist.

Let's go back a few years, Picture this.  A hulking twenty-nine year old bachelor is asked by his aunts to bring a dish to Christmas dinner.  His aunts all assume that his culinary skills are pitiable so they ask him to bring something simple like a salad or Mac and Cheese casserole. 

I was irked! So I decided to bring the Mac and Cheese Casserole since my aunts were undeserving of my talents in salad creation. 

I'm serious about this, my mom was party to the discussion and told them flat out that I was a better cook than she was...and my mom isn't any slouch in the kitchen.  They pooh-poohed her and gave me the simplest dish they could think of to bring.  Thus was born my infrequently made Mac and Cheese Casserole.

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups elbow pasta sufficient to fill the casserole dish to about the the 3/4 to 7/8th's full.
1 -150g packages of Kraft Philadelphia smoked salmon and cream cheese at room temperature
1 to 2 cups shredded old Wilton Cheddar Cheese
3 cups of mushrooms
1/4 cup fresh sourdough bread crumbs.
1 clove of garlic, crushed
2 tbsp of butter
1-2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
2 cups of milk
butter to saute mushrooms


Boil the pasta as per the package directions for al dente and place in a casserole dish.  Make roue using the two tablespoons of butter and the flour.  Set aside the roue and heat the milk whisking quickly to avoid having the it stick to the bottom of the medium sauce pan.  Add the smoked salmon and cream cheese to the milk and when thoroughly mixed add the roue and allow to thicken slightly.  Pre-heat the oven to 325.  Pour the cheese sauce over the macaroni and then saute the the mushrooms and garlic in butter over low heat keeping the frying pan cover, the goal is to infuse the butter with the flavor of the mushrooms.  Once the mushrooms are sauteed, remove them from the pan and place them in a layer on top of the macaroni and cheese sauce.  Cover with the shredded cheddar cheese and reserve the butter and mushroom 'drippings'.  Place the casserole in the oven for about ten minute.  Remove the casserole from the oven and place the sourdough breadcrumbs on top of the cheese and add enough of the reserved drippings to wet the breadcrumbs.  Return to the oven and bake until the breadcrumbs turn golden in color.

So after I made the casserole my aunts all asked me for the recipe.  I told them I just whipped it up and didn't write it down (which was true).  I also didn't tell them secret ingredient, the smoked salmon and cream cheese.

Sometimes revenge is best served piping hot from the oven.