Creamy Baked Four Cheese Macaroni and Cheese is just that: baked and melty and cheesy with a crunchy bread crumb topping that is very optional but very delicious!
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Thanksgiving is merely a few weeks away and we gotta get ready! Today I couldn’t be more excited to share these Cacio e Pepe Mashed Potatoes with you all. They’re buttery, peppery, slightly tart and utterly perfect.
For this post, I teamed up with Le Creuset!! Woohoo! I have always loved my Le Creuset cookware and have used it all up on this blog over and over and over again. Le Creuset is truly my kitchen ally. I love it for numerous reasons but here are just a few:
– My Le Creuset cookware is incredibly multi-functional. I use the Dutch ovens to make everything from arroz con pollo to soups to—in this case—boiling potatoes.
– Since Le Creuset is so beautiful, it’s easy to take it from oven or stove directly to the table.
– The enamel coating on the inside of their cookware make them super easy to clean. A few light scrubs and BOOM…squeaky clean, looking like new!
In this post, I’m using their gorgeous Dutch oven in the color Truffle. And while I absolutely think it’s possible to put the Dutch oven on the table, it was a bit dark inside and wasn’t photographing the way I wanted so I transferred it to the 2 1/4-quart braiserin Persimmon.
These fall colors are a gorgeous addition to my Thanksgiving autumnal table.
I think it’s time to jump into the mood!
What is Cacio e Pepe?
Let’s tackle the basics: Cacio e Pepe which literally translates to “cheese and pepper.” It’s a dish that hails from Rome, italy and it’s typically super simple. It involves a bucatini pasta tossed in a simple sauce of Pecorino Romano, black pepper, salt and starch water from boiling the pasta. It’s ridiculously simple but like all simple dishes, the technique and precision is everything.
I’m currently in that mode where I’m thinking of new and elaborate recipes. I have this piña colada cake that is currently in the works and I’m guessing it’s gonna take two or three more iterations to get right. In the meantime, I have some super easy, breezy recipes that I’m excited to share, including this one right here!
This bourbon chipotle butter comes from The Year of Cozy (and yes, I still use that book! YAY!). I purchased this grill a few weeks back and it’s perfect for us because it’s teeny tiny and gas, which makes grilling on a whim a total possibility. I like the ease of it—though I do love the flavor of charcoal.
This is super simple because the butter can be made up to a week in advance and then grill some corn, put some room temperature chipotle bourbon butter on top, add a sprinkling of cotija cheese, some cilantro and DONE.
It’s so delicious and a nice slant on grilled corn. The chipotle butter is a little sweet and spicy. It works really well with the corn and salty cheese.
Aji Verde (Peruvian Green Sauce) is a hot sauce that I LOVE SO MUCH! If you’ve ever gone to a place that serves pollo a la brasa, it will look familiar to you. It’s usually kept in squeeze bottles on every table. You dip your yucca fries it, you douse the chicken with it…and then you start sweating because it’s SO spicy. And yet, you can’t stop eating it.
It’s addicting! This sauce is SO good. It does require two ingredients that used to be harder to find. But now, thanks to ol’ Amazon, it’s much easier.
