We were between the column and the winning oxtail entry - it was a pretty straight-up mac and cheese with beer in the sauce, topped with a combo of pignoli, potato chips, green onions, and Swad fried onions.

And I have to say, I steered clear of the peanut butter and jelly one...just couldn't wrap my mind around it. Not a fan of peanut butter and jelly in the first place. The person I was with tried it and he said it did taste like a PBJ sandwich with cheese.

Mhays wrote:We were between the column and the winning oxtail entry - it was a pretty straight-up mac and cheese with beer in the sauce, topped with a combo of pignoli, potato chips, green onions, and Swad fried onions.

I missed that one...I skirted pass that one because of the crush. Sounds good though.

qofu2 wrote:And I have to say, I steered clear of the peanut butter and jelly one...just couldn't wrap my mind around it. Not a fan of peanut butter and jelly in the first place. The person I was with tried it and he said it did taste like a PBJ sandwich with cheese.

It was the first one I tried, and I rather liked it. But then I tasted it again much later, after trying all the rest of the cheesier ones, and I strongly disliked it. It was a really good lesson about how circumstances can so significantly affect one's palate.

The pb&j worked surprisingly well, though I had my doubts initially. I could easily see myself eating an entire serving. The only dish I didn't try was the welsh rarebit.

iiifrank wrote:The pb&j worked surprisingly well, though I had my doubts initially. I could easily see myself eating an entire serving. The only dish I didn't try was the welsh rarebit.

We tried the Welsh Rarebit...it was nice but felt there could have been a little more flavor added to it. The pork one across from the bar was wonderful, one of my favorites.

Did anyone try the MACtini? Again I couldn't wrap my mind around the concept of cheese and vodka.

qofu2 wrote:Did anyone try the MACtini? Again I couldn't wrap my mind around the concept of cheese and vodka.

My wife tried it and thought it was a little too heavy on the lime. I had a couple sips and couldn't make out the cheese flavor. Neither of us are experienced drinkers and the 2.5 beers I had last night are the most I've ever consumed, so my opinion is probably not worth much at all.

iiifrank wrote:

qofu2 wrote:Did anyone try the MACtini? Again I couldn't wrap my mind around the concept of cheese and vodka.

My wife tried it and thought it was a little too heavy on the lime. I had a couple sips and couldn't make out the cheese flavor. Neither of us are experienced drinkers and the 2.5 beers I had last night are the most I've ever consumed, so my opinion is probably not worth much at all.

I just had a vision of the vodka being infused with a cheese flavor, similar to the a bacon martini I had. I love swine but that just didn't work for me.

qofu2 wrote: The pork one across from the bar was wonderful, one of my favorites.

Did anyone try the MACtini? Again I couldn't wrap my mind around the concept of cheese and vodka.

The multi-pork one you're talking about was from chef Roger Herring of Socca, and it was indeed quite good.

I loved the mactini, but I am a lime junky. The predominant flavors were lime and maple syrup. The cheddar-infused vodka added a pleasant, fatty mouthfeel without imparting much or detracting from the flavor.

Kennyz wrote:

qofu2 wrote: The pork one across from the bar was wonderful, one of my favorites.

Did anyone try the MACtini? Again I couldn't wrap my mind around the concept of cheese and vodka.

The multi-pork one you're talking about was from chef Roger Herring of Socca, and it was indeed quite good.

I loved the mactini, but I am a lime junky. The predominant flavors were lime and maple syrup. The cheddar-infused vodka added a pleasant, fatty mouthfeel without imparting much or detracting from the flavor.

Another recipe that I would love....you can throw yours in that mix as well

Maybe the next time we go to Nacional 27 I will see if I can get a MACtini...I do love lemon and limes in drinks and food.

aschie30 wrote:

Kennyz wrote:Third Place:
I’d like to thank the Academy, my wife, my mother, and all the support I received from the wonderful people at LTHForum.

Kenny-- you won Third Place! Congratulations!

Mazel Tov, Kenny!

Evy

Congratulations to Kennyz for his third place finish. And really congratulations to all the LTH participants. Collectively, you all finally made me comment in the "You know you're an LTHer when..." thread.

The GP wrote:...the first thing you want to do when you get to work is see how Kennyz, Mhays and Sparky, and elakin did in the Mac-and-cheese smackdown.

i wish i'd have checked this thread before going yesterday...would've been able to meet more folks from here, although it was great to meet KennyZ and MHays and hang out with them.

it's kind of hard to remember all the various mac-n-cheeses, and put names/ingredients with people and numbers, but

2. Don't remember the number, but it had shredded ham in it.

this was called "porky love", i think. the one at the back of the room, right? this was stephanie izard's dish. she didn't place, although i liked this one the best.

3. No. 18 (I think) with the braised oxtailed meat.

this was the winner. chef from rockit.

4. 312 Goose Island Beer.

ditto. i enjoyed quite a few of these and passed on the MAC-tini, which looked very dubious.

oh, and as for our LTH victor....here's a pic:




congrats to kennyz! he was the only non-chef to place. and good show to MHays and sparky for a solid effort. this was fun.

elakin, your entry was no slouch, either - plus it was fun to hear your pasta war stories. I liked the macaroni-art recycled-trophy trophies.

And belated thanks to Kenny for pointing out that the pans were deceptively large...nice pic of Kenny and his proud new bride!

Way to go Kenny!!!

Jyoti

Ditto on the win.... and I felt the same way you did on the MACtini.

Thanks, all, for the congratulations. There was a lot of good mac and cheese, and with 200 people there (each with 3 tickets they could use to vote), I'm sure the margin between just-in and just-out of the top 5 was small (tallies from the masses decided on the top 5, then the judges picked the top 3 among those). A fair amount of luck played a part. That said, it was fun to hear a number of strangers say things to their friends like "Hey did you try number 7. It's really good." And, by the end, I seemed to have garnered a group of what one might call groupies.

The recipe is a quite simple one, inspired by a dish my wife and I had on our honeymoon.

Mac alla Vicenza (some measurements are just approximate)
1lb cavatappi
2T black truffle oil
3T flour
3T butter
2 1/2 cups whole milk (I used Blue Mountain Dairy milk and cream)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 lb gorgonzola dolce, crumbled
1/3 lb fontina, shredded
very healthy pinch of fresh grated nutmeg
about 1T truffle salt
black pepper
1/3 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated Wisconsin stravecchio
another 1T of truffle oil

Cook the pasta in rapidly boiling water for a minute less than it says on the package. Drain and immediately toss with truffle oil. In a big pot, melt the butter and stir in the flour, cooking a few minutes while stirring to make a roux. Heat the milk/cream combo, then add it a little at a time to the roux, whisking constantly. Simmer the sauce for 8-10 or so, then add nutmeg, black pepper, and truffle salt. Remove from the heat and begin adding the gorgonzola and fontina, a little at a time, stirring constantly until it is melted. Add the pasta to the pot, stir it into the sauce, then transfer it to a buttered baking dish. Combine the crumbs, stravecchio and truffle oil, then sprinkle the mixture over the dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes - covered with foil for the first 18, then uncovered for the final 12.

Bravo, Kenny! Crown thy brow with a wreath of pasta (to match the ceremonial necklace). Kudos to all who participated.

elakin's take on the competition.

I am SO bummed I wound up missing this! As qufu2's friend who wound up getting sick, I'm just today slowly coming out Strep throat hell. Not even the powerful draw of mac and chesse could lure me off my couch on Thursday. Congrats to all the LTH'er's for strong showings and especially to Kenny! Here's hoping for a Mac and Cheese SMACKDOWN benefit #2..... Lynn

P.S. - keep those receipes coming - perhaps qufu2 can be enticed into re-creating some at home for me out of pity.

Kennyz wrote:Thanks, all, for the congratulations. There was a lot of good mac and cheese, and with 200 people there (each with 3 tickets they could use to vote), I'm sure the margin between just-in and just-out of the top 5 was small (tallies from the masses decided on the top 5, then the judges picked the top 3 among those). A fair amount of luck played a part. That said, it was fun to hear a number of strangers say things to their friends like "Hey did you try number 7. It's really good." And, by the end, I seemed to have garnered a group of what one might call groupies.

The recipe is a quite simple one, inspired by a dish my wife and I had on our honeymoon.

Mac alla Vicenza (some measurements are just approximate)
1lb cavatappi
2T black truffle oil
3T flour
3T butter
2 1/2 cups whole milk (I used Blue Mountain Dairy milk and cream)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 lb gorgonzola dolce, crumbled
1/3 lb fontina, shredded
very healthy pinch of fresh grated nutmeg
about 1T truffle salt
black pepper
1/3 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated Wisconsin stravecchio
another 1T of truffle oil

Cook the pasta in rapidly boiling water for a minute less than it says on the package. Drain and immediately toss with truffle oil. In a big pot, melt the butter and stir in the flour, cooking a few minutes while stirring to make a roux. Heat the milk/cream combo, then add it a little at a time to the roux, whisking constantly. Simmer the sauce for 8-10 or so, then add nutmeg, black pepper, and truffle salt. Remove from the heat and begin adding the gorgonzola and fontina, a little at a time, stirring constantly until it is melted. Add the pasta to the pot, stir it into the sauce, then transfer it to a buttered baking dish. Combine the crumbs, stravecchio and truffle oil, then sprinkle the mixture over the dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes - covered with foil for the first 18, then uncovered for the final 12.

Thanks Kenny....congrats again.

sorry i missed the smackdown. i'd probably want mac'n'cheese for my last meal on earth. congratulations to kennyz. your version looks decadently delicious, i'll be trying it soon. and congrats to mhays and elakin for contributing to such a worthwhile cause as the organic school project. justjoan

LynnB wrote:I am SO bummed I wound up missing this! As qufu2's friend who wound up getting sick, I'm just today slowly coming out Strep throat hell. Not even the powerful draw of mac and chesse could lure me off my couch on Thursday. Congrats to all the LTH'er's for strong showings and especially to Kenny! Here's hoping for a Mac and Cheese SMACKDOWN benefit #2..... Lynn

P.S. - keep those receipes coming - perhaps qufu2 can be enticed into re-creating some at home for me out of pity.

The first thing I asked your hubby when I saw him at Goose was how the hell did you catch strep throat??? It is something I associate with being around kids. I figured that you were in a bad way since you were actually passing on an event that had that much mac and cheese floating around, not to mention the 312 beer

And of course I can't wait to make some of the recipes, especially that one with the oxtail. That would make a great meal with some cornbread made in my cast iron skillet and a bottle of champage. Yummy.

photo of the winners, courtesy of the event organizer.

I got an email from one of the organizers of the event saying she was trying to get permission from all the participants to publish their recipes in a booklet. I hope that happens and soon.

Kennyz wrote:photo of the winners, courtesy of the event organizer.

Those trophies look worthy of something Kramer would have created

Kudos to all the winners.