When it comes to food and wine pairing most people start with the food, then look for wines to pair with whatever they intended to eat. But in my house we’re often in the opposite predicament – trying to come up with a dish to pair with a specific wine we want to open. In my latest article published at I explore how to create a dish based on the characteristics of the wine, instead of vice versa. And since I’ve been on such a Chardonnay kick lately I used two different Chardonnay styles to come up with two very different recipes both go great with their respective wine. The first is a recipe for a paired with an unoaked Chardonnay from Burgundy, France. Recipe Notes For the smoked bacon: place on smoker for 1 hour at approx 275, or until nice and crispy.
First, according to this 2008 guide to the best cheeses and their wine matches, cheddar cheese is a natural with red wine, especially fruity, low-tannin options such as Pinot Noir, Beaujolais or Merlot. Armed with a bottle of A to Z Pinot Noir from Oregon that I found in my local market for $20, I set to work with the recipe.
Wine Pairing I used the 2012 Rodney Strong Sonoma County Chardonnay, California ($10) to inspire this dish. This is a young oaked Chardonnay from Sonoma Valley, CA, that shows its use of oak, but it’s not overpowering or distracting. You certainly notice it, along with some sweet vanilla aromas, but it’s balanced out by some bright tropical pineapple, lemon, and pear aromas. The wine is creamy and slightly rich on the palate with some buttery flavors and more citrus.
I found it for $10, and I’d say it’s a pretty darn great deal for that price. I wanted to celebrate the richer, textured style of Chardonnay by creating a dish equally rich and indulgent, with cream and spices. This style of Chardonnay would have certainly gone quite well with a creamy fettuccini alfredo dish, or even roasted chicken.
But with two toddlers living in my house I decided to make a dish that both adults and children alike could swoon over. Mac and cheese did the job! To read the article and recipe for head over to Wine4.me. For more on food and wine pairing, head over to the where you will find more original recipes with wine recommendations.
Instant Pot Mac and Cheese Cheese is probably one of my favorite things of all time. You can enjoy it hot, cold, in just about any dish, on it’s own okay, I’m done back to this mac and cheese recipe. I’m kind of obsessed with, so ooey gooey good and loads of creamy cheesy sauce. I love this easy recipe it’s simple (no strainer, no roux, no extra dishes).
While I often make for gatherings and parties, I love being able to whip it up quickly in my Instant Pot! I do have to say, if you don’t have an, you NEED one! It’s an easy to use (aka not-scary-totally-safe electric pressure cooker that will save you hours and hours in the kitchen).
This Instant Pot Macaroni and Cheese recipe is absolutely loaded with flavor. It starts out with pasta, seasonings and water cooked in the IP (I sometimes substitute half of the water in the recipe for low sodium chicken broth & skip the seasoning salt). Next we stir in cheese, cream cheese, and milk (or half and half if you want to make it even creamier!). I’ve intentionally made this mac and cheese with no evaporated milk (and without Velveeta) because I prefer the flavor of fresh milk and cheeses. The sauce in this recipe comes out creamy and velvety with a bit of starchiness from the pasta water. Seriously SO EASY right?! What Goes With Mac and Cheese Instant Pot Mac and Cheese is a creamy and rich (as a homemade mac and cheese recipe should be), so I like to serve it with a fresh side salad and some crusty bread (to make sure not a lick of sauce gets left behind)!
Depending on what’s in my fridge, I sometimes add in ham, or broccoli or even make it with chicken or bacon for the perfect main dish meal! If I have had a busy day at work, coming home and throwing everything in the Instant pot and having dinner on the table quickly makes my evenings stress-free!
If I’m not serving it as a main, this Instant Pot macaroni and cheese is a perfect side with any dish (especially ). Mac and cheese makes a great potluck food too, so if you decide to bring it to a potluck there will likely be a few great salad options (and a lot of requests for the recipe for this Instant Pot Mac and Cheese)! How to Reheat Mac and Cheese When you are saving macaroni and cheese to have leftovers, the starches in the macaroni noodles will suck up some of the moisture in the dish. The longer your macaroni and cheese sits, the dryer it will become!
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Some dishes (like ) are better the next day but sadly this one isn’t one of them. This dish is truly best enjoyed when it’s freshly made. Of course it can be reheated but it’s not quite the same. When you reheat Instant Pot Mac and Cheese, it’s a good idea to add a splash of milk or cream (about 1 tbs per cup of mac and cheese) while heating. In the microwave, just add it to the bowl and remember to stir everything together halfway through the reheating process. Regardless, once you try this Instant Pot Mac & Cheese recipe, it’s going to become a frequent side on your table!
Fresh ingredients made into a simple side! This is a fantastic recipe! I followed it to a T! I cooked the pasta and seasoning for 6 minutes then quick released and immediately stirred in milk and cheeses!
I did add real bacon bits in at the end because my family requested it. They all loved it! Mine turned out very creamy and DELICIOUS! If you are looking for mac and cheese that tastes like kraft, or boxed made with powder – this is not the recipe for you.
It’s amazing out of the insta pot!! Much better and not dry like baked mac and cheeee. I will make this over and over again!!