Overdue Recipe: Shrek Ogre Mac and Cheese

Shrek Ogre Mac and Cheese
florets from 2 crowns broccoli
2 c milk
1/2 tsp s/p, garlic pwd
1 c hot tap water
2 c ea: elbows and sharp cheddar
1 c sour cream or plain yogurt
1/2 c parm, romano, or asiago
additional seasonings to taste (like powdered mustard)

Cook broccoli, milk and seasonings slowly, at MED or lower, until well softened (this may seem a little gross and counter to your cooking instincts but if you don’t overcook it a bit past fork tender, it will retain too much texture and not have as pleasant a mouth feel once pureed I’ve done this a time or two so you can trust me or you can dig your heels in and see for yourself if you like–just be aware that the odd gritty-ish bits were your own doing not my recipe–but either way you’ve been forewarned, LOL) and puree in blender. Pour back in pot and put water in blender, blitz and swish to get all broccoli flower buds out and add to pot with pasta and cheddar, simmer to cook the pasta. Take out sour cream and mix with cheese and let stand at room temp while pasta cooks. When all or most of the liquid is absorbed, stir in sour cream mixture.

***Part of the key to this being ‘incognito’ is the use of the stonger cheeses, you are welcome to use milder cheeses if you wish but the broccoli will be more prevalent (still good if you like broccoli though especially with swiss). But the important truth is that even in the more incognito version the broccoli will be still present in the background. That said it has, however, been happily consumed by avowed broccoli haters even after being armed with the knowledge that it is in there…you see for me it is more about getting them to take the first bite that lead to the somewhat misleading name (because even adults will think they won’t want to eat pureed broccoli before they’ve had it, LOL). This is more about helping people to appreciate broccoli (while listening to and trying to overcome what they said they don’t like about the taste of it) than it is about completely hiding it. If you are trying to pull the wool over someone’s eyes, then look elsewhere as this won’t cut it…but if you are trying to introduce new flavors in a palatable way then you should be fine. I mean, the food is green and the broccoli can be tasted–this is not incogonito in the newfangled sense of hiding 2T of brussel sprouts in a batch of brownies… So just be aware of that. Otherwise, enjoy as it is a yummy side dish that offers some variety from the same ol’ mac and cheese! (We make tons of different versions of mac and cheese since we eat it all the time..and while I can’t say this is my favorite, it is good and we do crave it from time to time and I do get quite a few requests for it–not to mention the recipe–sometimes more often than I am willing to make it, LOL)