Buffalo-Chicken Macaroni and Cheese

When I was writing my Fried Chicken post, I mentioned my constant quest for yummy mac and cheese recipes. I think I laughed out loud when later that day I opened my new Food Network Magazine (April 2010) and saw that there was an article on just that. When I turned to the recipes and saw this one I knew right away I had to make it. I like buffalo chicken dishes occasionally, but my husband and son LOVE them. I discovered that even my 22 month old daughter does too. She devoured this buffalo chicken dip that I made for Superbowl this year. Anyway, I thought this sounded pretty good. Well, it was delicious! The sour cream gave an incredible texture and left me thinking that I need to be putting sour cream in all of my mac and cheese. One thing I left out was the blue cheese on top. We are just not huge fans and honestly I don't fell like it was missed.  Even though we're not normally blue cheese fans, the blue cheese makes this recipe delicious! The original recipe calls for using a store-bought rotisserie chicken but I just poached some chicken breasts instead. Be careful with this one. You're going to want to eat it all. (Look for more mac-and-cheese recipes to come - I think it will be a series)




Recipe (Serves 6 -8)

7 T butter, plus extra to butter dish
salt
1 lb macaroni
1 onion, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
3 c shredded chicken (I used about 1 1/2 lb chicken tenderloins, poached*)
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 c hot sauce (I used Frank's)
2 T flour
2 t dry mustard (I like Coleman's)
2 1/2 c half-and-half
1 lb sharp cheddar cheese, cut into cubes
8 oz pepper jack cheese, shredded
2/3 c sour cream
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 c crumbled blue cheese (Optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Butter a large baking dish. Cook pasta according to package instructions, to al dente. Melt 3 T butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and celery and cook about 5 min until soft. Stir in shredded chicken and garlic. Cook 2 more minutes and stir in 1/2 c hot sauce. Simmer an additional minute to thicken. Melt 2 T butter in saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and mustard, then half-and-half and the remaining 1/4 c hot sauce. Whisk until thick, about 2 minutes. Whisk in cheddar, pepper jack cheese, ans sour cream until smooth.

Spread half of the macaroni in the baking dish. Top with the chicken mixture and then the remaining macaroni. Pour the cheese sauce and top and smooth evenly. Melt the remaining 2 T butter and stir with the panko and blue cheese and sprinkle over macaroni. Bake 30-40 minutes until bubbly.

*To Poach Chicken Breasts: I learned this fool-proof way to poach chicken breasts. Place any amount of boneless skinless chicken breasts in a saucepan. Add enough water to cover the chicken by about a half inch. Bring to a boil, uncovered, over med-high heat. Cover the saucepan, turn off the heat, and let sit for 20 minutes. Works every time with any amount of chicken breasts.