Ono Hawaiian Mac

While in Hawaii this past week I was inspired to include the local culinary delicacies in my mac.  With help from my trusty side kick Jenai (who you may remember from here, here and here) and Leighton,

I set out to prepare a savory Hawaiian mac.  Hawaii's culinary environment stems from early plantation workers and a strong military influence creating a wonderful blend of Asian, Polynesian, Portuguese and American flavors.  And because I am such an eclectic culinary creator, I added anything and everything interesting that happened to be within eyesight.

 We diced the spam (yum, spam),

Added some Velveeta cheese, chili garlic sauce (aka rooster hot sauce), mustard, chilli powder and seasoned with salt and pepper.

 Stir in the prepared elbow macaroni.

At the very end we added some fish cake.  It is important to add this at the very end because it can become soggy if added too early.  The fish cake adds a punch of color along with a wonderfully sweet flavor to the mac.

Mix well.

Serve as a fantastic side dish to grilled sausage and asparagus,

Steak and grilled onions.

Next time you want a taste of the islands, prepare a savory and oh so ono local mac and cheese.

BBQ'd Banger Mac

I literally grew up eating mac and cheese. I ate it so often that my mom would get creative with the ingredients to make sure I had a well balanced meal.  My favorite as a little munchkin was mac and cheese with hot dogs. So tasty! Now that I am grown and much more mature (no giggling) I have moved on to delicious bbq'd sausage in my mac. 

Hubby hubbs was bbq'ing chicken for dinner so I offered to create a smashing side dish. Obviously I meant delicious mac.  I used orecchiette noodles.  They are perfect for mac because they cup your ingredients nicely so you get an array of flavors in each bite. Success.

I sauteed some onions and jalapenos,

Don't you love my new bowls?

Added some horseradish mustard and a dash of chili oil for spice, and

 

 Included a very large handful of Mexican cheese which includes Monterey Jack, Cheddar, and Asadero cheeses.  This is an exact measurement.

Finally, I added the spicy chipotle bangers.  Perfectly bbq'd bangers to be exact. 

 Mix it all together, bake it at 400 degrees until bubbling to perfection, and then consume immediately!

 Even little Lola was pleased by this mac.

Doesn't she look like an owl here?

Enjoy!