RECIPE TIME!: Swiss Chard, Macaroni and Cheese

I apologize that I haven't posted in such a long time! I will try to make them at least once a week, as I was doing previously.

However:
I have been going crazy with cooking this past week. I have some interesting CSA vegetables from Saturday, and I've been trying to find the best ways, or at least some interesting ways, to use them. The first thing I found was a recipe using the Swiss Chard that I received. I'm not certain that I used enough chard, but I don't think the proportions matter that much in this case. It is a Mac 'N Cheese with Swiss Chard recipe that I found in a "bon appetit" cook book my mom gave me. I also found it on epicurious.com, lucky enough for the blog and my fingers that now don't have to type the VERY LONG recipe!

Basically, it's a normal mac n cheese recipe. It uses Gouda and Edam cheeses... Gouda is pretty moderate in price, but to get 2 cups of packed, shredded Edam, you'd have to spend at least $20 (or I would have). Thus I halved the amount of Edam, added extra Gouda, and added some Gruyere for good measure. I also added an extra garlic clove, even though my garlic was pretty large to begin with, because... well, that's me. I didn't think that 2 cloves of garlic for 12 ounces of pasta was near enough, but I didn't want to change too much, so I only added... probably another 100% of what was expected. I seasoned most of the cooking steps with salt and fresh cracked pepper, as it sort of tells you to do, but not specifically. I might also add extra of all of the seasonings; I can hardly taste the cayenne, and wouldn't mind a touch more, and I loved the smell of the nutmeg and cumin seeds together, but I don't get that same effect in the overall dish, so I might add another 1/8 or 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg. I liberally salted the cooking water as well, and LOVED the fact that you blanch the chard in the same water you will be cooking the macaroni in... helps retain some of the nutrients lost in the necessary blanching step, and probably adds flavor.

My only other change, which I didn't think of as much of a change until after I did it, was to use whole, non-homogonized milk. Oops. I need to learn more about cooking with non-homogonized milk. I don't very often make "creamy" recipes for 2 reasons: they tend to be much higher in fat/calories, and my husband doesn't really like them much (though he does like mac 'n cheese and seemed okay with trying this recipe). The milk, being almost raw/straight from the cow, ended up making it's own "cheese" in a way and became kind of clumpy in the sauce. I should have known that was going to happen, but I totally forgot. This could also be due to the fact that my daughter was "helping" me with the cheese and I didn't get to whisk it as much as I'd like, or keep as close of an eye on it as I'd like. HOWEVER...

It does make an ENTIRE 13x9x2 pan, full to the brim, of mac 'n cheese. And it does make a "healthy" mac 'n cheese, as you can control the butter, milk, cheese, etc that you use, and it does add in a dark green leafy vegetable, of the type which Americans don't get near enough.

We grilled some bratwurst, cut up a watermelon, and had the mac 'n cheese for dinner.

The most important thing is: how did the Swiss Chard taste in the macaroni? Decadent. Truly great. I LOVED the change up, and for those of you that, like me, worried about the mouth-feel and texture: don't. The chard melts in your mouth, and you barely can tell it's there in that sense. The mild flavor permeates the entire dish, leaving you with a different, but silky and perhaps not-so-rich mac 'n cheese that could be served at a fine dining restaurant.

Cheeses being disproportionate did not bother me. I don't know if it would be better or worse changing the proportions of Edam, but to me, this was great. I might actually add a bit of Asiago or Parmesan, especially to the topping, next time. And, to speak of the topping: LOVE the crunchy bread crumb topping. I might add fresh parsley to that next time as well, for the extra peppery bite and for the color. I would also salt the pasta/cheese mixture more liberally than I did. Definitely needs a bit more salt to bring out the flavors.

Amazing recipe. Loved it. Don't mind that I just about ruined my lower back doing the prep work for it!! I suggest you try it... even if you don't care about your health. You'll be getting immense health benefits from the dark leafy greens, but the flavor will BLOW YOUR MIND.