• Shieldtoad@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    When Americans make Mac and cheese does it usually only contain macaroni and cheese? Or do they add other things?

    Here in Belgium we call it macaroni with ham and cheese because we put pieces of ham in it.

    • cm0002@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Yea we put ham too, sometimes spam, sometimes bacon. It’s really versatile tbh. We even have other variations like Cheeseburger Macaroni that nearly crosses the line into its own dish.

      But, I have never EVER heard of raisins going into it before and it sounds disgusting.

      • droans@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        If done well, buffalo chicken mac and cheese is great, too.

        Unfortunately most restaurants do a garbage job with it. They just add the chicken and hot sauce into the mac and cheese and let it sit in a pan until someone orders it. This needs to be made fresh when it’s ordered or it just turns into mediocre mush.

        They all always screw up buffalo chicken dip, too. That’s even worse because it’s so easy to make right.

        • Rotisserie chicken

        • Hot sauce, half a cup to a full cup depending on what you like

        • Block of cream cheese

        • Bag of sharp cheddar.

        • Packet of ranch seasoning. Don’t use ranch dressing, it’ll make it too watery.

        • If you like blue cheese, grab a small block or, if you’re lazy, grab a little container.

        Use two forks to shred up all the breast meat on the rotisserie. Make the shreds varying in consistency - some should be very fine, some should be normal shredded chicken, some should be little chunks.

        Slice the cream cheese into small strips. If you’re using a block of blue cheese, remove the rind and crumble it. I like to use a knife for this because it’s quicker.

        Grab a large pan. Throw the chicken and hot sauce in. Set it to medium and mix. When it starts simmering, add everything but the blue cheese. Mix it up until it’s all melted and combined. If you have blue cheese, add it now and keep mixing until you’re happy with it.

        Turn off the stove. It’s ready now and you’re about to have some fantastic fucking buffalo chicken dip.

    • AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Traditional American Mac and Cheese is a dish that consist of macaroni noodles that have been baked in a bechamel based cheese sauce and topped with bread crumbs.

      If we put anything else in it, we tell you, just as you do with the addition of ham to the name.

    • Cloaca@mtgzone.com
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      1 year ago

      My family (New Hampshire) typically add smoked cherry tomatoes to our mac and cheese.

      Mostly an add in of one protein and one vegetable. When more items get added we just switch to the dish being a pasta or a casserole.

      I will say that raisins make a great addition to a curried meatloaf.

    • stolid_agnostic@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      In my observation, if it comes from a box, it’ll be simple. If it’s made from scratch then people go more gourmet.