…if what they want is GOOD food.

Mac and cheese recipes are a dime a dozen on the net.  If you have a food blog and are even remotely tolerant of dairy, odds are you’ve posted a favorite recipe or unique rendition.  From bacon and blue cheese to truffles and lobster, there are countless offerings out there that claim to offer the ultimate mac and cheese experience. Whether it’s topped with breadcrumbs and baked in the oven or fresh from the stove top, oozing with a gooey melted cheese sauce, I’ve never met a version I haven’t liked.  That being said, in my mind one version stands out among the rest as a truly extraordinary and distinctive twist on the original: green chile mac and cheese.

I first had green chile mac and cheese on a trip to Scottsdale, Arizona for Spring Training with my Dad where we dined at chef Robert McGrath’s flagship, Roaring Fork restaurant.  After amazing, back-to-back dinners we decided to buy the cookbook and attempt to replicate his signature riff on the comfort classic.  Needless to say, the results were a near perfect match.  Simple to prepare, this dish gets it’s deep, smoky flavor from the addition of a puree of roasted poblano chiles.  Add in some heavy cream, a confetti of red bell pepper, sweet corn kernels and a healthy dose of piquant pepper jack cheese and you have a mac and cheese dish worthy of a little excitement.

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If there’s anything better than the perfect baked potato, it would have to be a twice baked potato. I’m sure everybody’s Mom, Grandma or next-door neighbor has a recipe for double-stuffed potatoes; afterall, if you can bake a potato and make mashed potatoes, you’re pretty much halfway there. See, it’s not so much about how you make them, as it is about what’s inside.

Having eaten delicious versions that included blue cheese, fresh herbs, roasted garlic and even wasabi, it wasn’t until a recent trip to Cowgirl Creamery that I became inspired to make a slightly more gourmet version of a recipe I saw on PBS’s, Cook’s Country.

It was a taste of Cowgirl’s housemade, light-as-air, herbed fromage blanc that set me off. While the Cook’s Country’s version saw the addition of Boursin cheese to their super-stuffed baked potatoes, the bright tasting, herb-packed fromage blanc seemed like it might be able to produce a more sophisticated version of the dish. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of both Boursin and Rondelé cheese, but after eating it by the tub full on crackers as a kid, the lighter texture and slightly tart flavor of herbed fromage blanc seemed to taste a bit more grown up.

Needless to say, the end result was delicious. Topped with fresh chopped chives and a sprinkling of crispy bacon bits, the flavor was ironically reminiscent of savory sour cream and onion potato chips. So much for gourmet, I suppose. But what do you think? Is a homemade dish that recalls the flavor of your favorite packaged snack or fast food meal a good or bad sign? I’m leaning towards the former!

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