Recipe: Breakfast Mac

BREAKFAST MAC

Serves 4

1/2 pound dried elbow pasta

1/2 pound sliced bacon

2 cups Mac Sauce (see recipe)

2 cups grated extra-sharp, aged cheddar

1/2 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 large eggs

Freshly ground black pepper

1. Cook pasta in salted boiling water until a little less than al dente. Drain, rinse and drain again.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

3. Cook the bacon in a frying pan over high heat until crispy, about 8 minutes. Remove extra grease by patting the strips with a paper towel, then cut into bite-size pieces.

4. In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, add the sauce

5. Spoon mac and cheese into 4 individual, 5-inch-diameter ovenproof bowls. Sprinkle the panko evenly on top of each bowl. Bake until bubbly, 10 to 15 minutes.and cheese; cook over medium heat, stirring until cheese is barely melted, about 3 minutes. Stir in bacon. Slowly stir in pasta; continue cooking, stirring continuously, until hot, another 5 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, fry the eggs: Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Crack 2 eggs into pan, cover, and let cook undisturbed 3 to 4 minutes, until whites are completely opaque, and the yolks are still nice and bright. Slide the eggs onto a plate and repeat with the remaining tablespoon of butter and eggs.

7. Remove macs from the oven. Slide a fried egg on top of each. Top with black pepper and serve immediately.

-- Reprinted with permission from "The Mac + Cheese Cookbook: 50 Simple Recipes from Homeroom, America's Favorite Mac and Cheese Restaurant," by Allison Arevalo and Erin Wade, copyright 2013. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House.



SOURCE: www.mercurynews.com