Treeline mac and cheese is creamy, packed with flavor, and the perfect introduction to a new cheese.
This week I had the opportunity to learn about Treeline, a brand new raclette-style cheese that is made in Wisconsin and aged by Murray’s cheese in New York City.
Using Cheese in Mac and Cheese
When you take a bite of cheese, I want you to pay attention to when the flavor starts to develop. Sometimes it comes out immediately, but fades away quickly. These are what I call “opener” cheeses. They open up the bowl with a warm hug and set the stage for cheesy flavor.
Other cheeses take a few seconds for the flavor to come out but it holds through out the end of the bite. These “closer cheeses” help guarantee the cheesy flavor carries throughout the entire time you are eating mac and cheese.
Treeline Cheese
This week I had the opportunity to learn about Treeline, a brand new raclette-style cheese that is made in Wisconsin and aged by Murray’s cheese in New York City. Their passion radiated throughout the discussion.
Treeline is designed to be delicious when melted, perfect for a creamy mac and cheese sauce. This creamy cheese is a beautiful opener packed with flavor that balances well with Parmesan.
Parmesan
Parmesan is the closer cheese I always have on hand. It’s readily available at the grocery store, and works great with any opener cheese I’ve thrown at it.
Cellentani Pasta in Treeline Mac and Cheese
The pasta type you use in your mac and cheese is one of the most important decisions. If your noodle is too large, you run the risk of your dish being cumbersome and difficult to eat. On the other hand, if your pasta is too small you will have a soupy mess and lose valuable texture benefits. The perfect mac and cheese vehicle is in the perfect happy spot between too large and too small.
Cellentani pasta is a fantastic medium sized pasta with plenty of ridges to hold onto sauce ensuring every bite is full of flavor.
Toppings for Treeline Mac and Cheese
Toppings can take a good mac and cheese recipe to great. They add extra layers of flavor, color, and texture to add interest to your dish.
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In today’s recipe I added Yellowbird habanero sauce. This adds a spicy slightly sweet edge to the pasta that shines beautifully here.
For an extra crunch, I added these garlic pepper crispy onions. They hold up well on the wet pasta and add a nice oniony flavor.
Reheating Treeline Mac and Cheese
Reheating mac and cheese tends to be a terrible idea. It yields a gross greasy mess that nobody wants to eat. However, I’ve noticed that roux-based mac and cheese recipes reheat beautifully. A minute or two in the microwave and you’ll have perfectly creamy mac and cheese. In fact, letting the ingredients mingle together for a day or two in the fridge will give you even more delicious pasta than the day you made it.
Add a Fork
Treeline mac and cheese showcases the best qualities of this brand new cheese. It’s packed with flavor and will work beautifully as an easy dinner entree or even as a side.
Treeline Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 16 Oz Cellentani pasta Or other medium sized pasta
- 3 Tbsp Butter
- 3 Tbsp Flour
- 3 Cups Whole milk
- 1/2 Tbsp Better than bullion Chicken flavor
- 1 Tbsp Minced garlic
- 4 Ounces Treeline cheese Grated fresh
- 4 Ounces Parmesan Grated fresh
Toppings
- Yellow Bird Habanero
- Garlic pepper crispy onions
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
For the Sauce
- Pre heat your milk in the microwave for 45 seconds – just enough to take the chill out of it.
- Melt butter in a sauce pan over medium heat and let it heat until it becomes foamy. Mix in flour. Cook it for a minute while stirring constantly.
- Slowly add warmed milk to the butter mixture 1/4 cup at a time. Whisk it continually until combined. Stir in Garlic and Better than Bullion
- Once all of the milk is added, cook for a few minutes while whisking it. Do not let it boil.
- You will feel the sauce start to thicken. It’s ready for cheese when you rub a small amount between your fingers and it feels silky.
- Remove from heat and stir in your cheese until it’s melted and mixed into the sauce.
- Once the cheese is incorporated, use a cooked noodle to taste your sauce. If it doesn’t taste cheesy enough try adding a little more salt to bring out the flavor.
- Combine the pasta and sauce. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
Plate your Pasta
- Give the pasta a good stir and layer it on a plate with habanero hot sauce and crispy onions. Enjoy!
