Recipe: Homemade "Italian" Style Mac & Cheese

Let me start by saying that Italians don't eat Mac & Cheese. It does not exist in their vocabularies. They definitely don't have cheddar here, so making a traditional mac & cheese is pretty much out of the question. I think the closest they have is a 4 formaggi sauce but it's very different than mac & cheese. It's heavier with stronger flavors since it usually involves gorgonzola (which is a kind of blue cheese I think).
I looked up Mac & cheese recipes yesterday because I was having a craving during work.  I found a wonderfully simply recipe Revolutionary Macaroni and cheese on Cate's  World Kitchen and decided to adapt it since I lacked certain ingredients (like cheddar).

Since I did not have access to cheddar cheese I used this wonderful creamy walnut cheese. It helped the consistency of the mac and cheese and also added a lovely crunch because of the pieces of whole walnut. Then to supplement that cheese I also used some parmesan cheese to round out the flavor.
I loved that the original recipe only required dirtying one bowl... That being said, because I'm me, I wound up dirtying 2 pots because I started cooking making my pasta in one that was too small.... Yeahhh. I made a large mess. Use the appropriate pots and pans!

Ingredients:
2 cups dried pasta (I used rigatoni)
2 cups milk (I used whole milk, but you can absolutely use 2% or skim)
1/2 cup creamy walnut cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp salt
2 tsps pepper
1 pinch red pepper flakes (optional

Combine the pasta and milk in a pot (make sure it is big enough for 2 cups of cooked pasta!!) and bring to a simmer.  Add in salt, pepper and red pepper flakes at this point.  The flavors will really seep into the pasta.  Cook and continually stir on low heat until the pasta is cooked through.  It should take about 15 to 20 minutes but make sure the milk doesn't boil! If it boils (like mine did for a moment) it will go right over the edge of the pot and make a disaster for you to clean up!
When the pasta is just about done and the milk is almost all gone stir in the walnut cheese and parmesan.
Cover and let stand for about 5 minutes. Stir well to serve.

This was super simple to make and absolutely delicious. Cooking the pasta with milk definitely lended to the taste and really helped the overall creaminess of the dish.  I'll definitely be trying it again with different cheeses.

Chicago Restaurant Review: Haymarket Pub & Brewery

Sooo this particular post is very, very overdue.
I get very easily distracted... That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. :D

I was in Chicago on the last day of June and it was a great day full of walking and adventure. And at the end of the night, we missed the train. I'm kind of glad we did because it meant that we had an hour wait till the next train and therefore we could explore some more. That's how we found Haymarket Pub & Brewery. It was about 10 minutes from the train station and one of the few
places open late on a Sunday night.

The Brew House and Fermentation System

We had already missed the live entertainment but the restaurant was full of music and people. There was lots of great atmosphere and fun. It was on the dark side but there were lots of lights and plenty of things to look at, including their brewery.
It was pretty amazing to see their brewing system through a window. They brew a lot of beers on the premises.  I found out afterward that they actually give tours of their brewery on Sundays. The tours start at 12, 2 and 4. It also includes a 12 oz beer and a guided tasting of 4 4 oz beers.  For $15 a person I definitely would have gone on the guided tour. But that will have to wait till my next visit to the area.
I was impressed at how many kinds of beers they produced and I wish I had tried one of theirs, rather than the cider I decided to drink. I should have asked the waitress like my brother did. He had a great IPA while I had the most disgusting cider I've ever tried before. Normally, cider is my favorite drink in the world, but this one was bitter and an utter fail. Had I asked my waitress, she probably could have and would have told me all about it. But I didn't. As a result I'm going to write a whole review of ciders in another day or so. It was a Virtue Cider Red Streak 5.2% Proper English style Draft Cider. I drank it all like a trooper, but it was NOT good and I do not recommend it. That being said, I'm sure someone out there likes it. Next time I'm trying one of their brews and I'll actually ask the waitress for a recommendation. As my brother pointed out, servers at brewerys are generally trained on the different  types of beers offered.

Mac n' cheese and my cider

We weren't super hungry so we each got a drink and a little bit of bar food. I really liked looking through the menu and wished that I had been hungry enough to have a full meal. I would have tried one of their seasonal fresh options.
They had three signature items that really interested me. Their signature sandwich, The Riot looked quite appealing. It's house-made spicy Italian sausage patty, topped with smoked pulled pork, mozzarella, bbq sauce and a giardiniera spread on a brioche bun.  Then the Smokin' Hot Legs also looked really good. Chicken legs brined, smoked and then finished in the fryer and finally tossed in the house-made buffalo sauce. It certainly looks like an interesting twist on wings.

The sweet potato tots

We tried the mac n' cheese and the sweet potato tots. They were small plates for $5 each, so a little on the steep side considering the portion. However, the sweet potato tots were unique and quite delicious. There were mild, lightly fried and not too sweet so I really enjoyed them.
The mac n' cheese was also quite good. It wasn't too cheesy, nor too salty which was right up my
alley. I did wind up adding pepper, but I like a little bite of pepper or spice in my mac n' cheese.
If I ever have the opportunity to go back, I'll definitely try one of their home made brews and maybe one of their  half-pound angus burgers with their house-cured and smoke bacon, especially the one topped with a fried egg. It sounds utterly delicious.
If you're in the Chicago area looking for a Pub, beer and some bar food, I highly recommend the Haymarket Pub & Brewery.