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Sunday, August 15, 2010

Mac and Cheese with Roasted Chicken, Goat Cheese, & Rosemary ala Michael Symon


I know you've all had this dilemna before.  You know, when you make one of THE absolute tastiest, transforming dishes you've ever had in your life...and then the picture looks...well...basically...boring.  That frustrates the poo out of me!  I mean, if you look at the pictures on this page, you would probably be content with yourself if you just passed this dish by.  No second thoughts.  No tingling taste buds.  No itch-which-must-be-scratched to make this dish, PRONTO!  Therefore, I must insist that you believe me when I tell you that the unimpressive photos that you see on this page were photos of one of the most STELLAR, comforting, memorable pasta dishes I've eaten in ages!  No frickin' joke.  If you like things that are delicious, you will love this.

It all started with a name.  Michael Symon.  I'd begun to hear it everywhere I turned lately.  I saw people raving about his food, his restaurant, his prowess. Who is this mysterious man!? Give me a break people, I don't have cable, satellite, dish, digital-whatever-it-is that brings you millions of shows that cause you to sit with remote control at the ready.  So, I did what any respectable food-lover would.  I checked his book out from the library.  I sat down with my slips of paper at the ready and started paging through.  Mmmmm.  Yum.  Tasty.  There I was...becoming enamored with this gorgeous, tattooed, chef from my part of the Midwest (which to me consists of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, & Wisconsin)...and he's got me ripping the markers like crazy.  I wanted to run not walk to the kitchen and start cookin' up something anything that I was now craving.

I decided to start with a dish he described as "a comfort meal times ten."  That was an understatement.  The simplicity is both encouraging and astounding after you taste what you've created with only these 6 ingredients.  If you have pasta on hand who doesn't!?, some cream, and a bit of rosemary in the garden I do, yay!, then you are in for the comfort meal of a lifetime.  I think you could easily omit the shredded roast chicken if you don't have it and still be just as satisfied. 

Mac and Cheese with Roasted Chicken, Goat Cheese, and Rosemary
from Michael Symon's Live to Cook
serves 6-8

kosher salt
1 lb. dried rigatoni pasta
1 qt. heavy cream
2 Tbs. chopped fresh rosemary
8 oz. fresh goat cheese
2 c. shredded roasted chicken

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and add enough salt so that it tastes seasoned.  While the water is coming to a boil, put the cream, rosemary, and 1/2 tsp. salt in a large saucepan over high heat.  Bring just to a simmer, then lower the heat to medium and simmer to reduce the mixture by half. Be careful, when it comes to the boil, it'll rise and spill over the edges quickly...and that would suck for so many reasons.

Add the goat cheese and chicken to the cream and bring back to a simmer. Continue cooking until it coats the back of a spoon, ~30 mins. Only took me ~15.  But I was more than happy to sit there, sticking a spoon in to test the consistency...pulling out spoonfuls at a time and literally drinking this delectable sauce. Seriously, I wanted to pour it in a cup and call it a day.

Add the rigatoni to the boiling water and cook until al dente, ~10 mins.  Drain pasta and add to the sauce.  Toss to combine and bring back to a simmer.  You may need to save a little cooking water for thinning.

And there you have it, my friends.  An unphotogenic masterpiece!!  So, thanks to Joanne, Natashya, and Kim for mentioning Michael Symon so often...my life is better now that I've had this meal....and I'm looking forward to more Symon....


This post is linked to:
PPN is being hosted by Katie of Thyme for Cooking this week...
PrestoPastaNights cookbook sundays

*There are still 2 days left for you to enter my GIVEAWAY for your chance to win a $75 gift certificate to NOVICA!!

Would you like to comment?

  1. Ha! Yes, Michael Symon is a crazy good chef! My family would like to kill me because the FoodNetwork plays all the time in our kitchen! (Hey, you never know when just the cooking tidbit you need will pop up on the screen!) Ur mac and cheese looks cheesy yummy good! I can relate about the pic thing - but don't quit making the super scrumptious stuff just because it doesn't always photograph like a cover shot... This is REAL food and it looks REAL good!

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  2. Never watch TV so don't know Michael Symon. However, found your photos delectable enough for me to check him out. Don't bad-mouth the photos! They're delicious.

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  3. Oh my goodness this looks incredibly scrumptious!
    I love the addition of the rosemary and goat cheese. I'll have to make this soon.
    I've never heard of Michael Symon before, but he has some wonderful recipes!
    Have a wonderful day, dear!
    Cheers~

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  4. I'd like to cover Michael Symon in goat cheese and rosemary and....ahem.

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  5. Bring on the comfort foods Heather, and Michael Symon.

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  6. Cheesy n delightful mac n cheese..yummy yum!

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  7. Mmmm, we absolutely loved this too. Now I want to make it again!

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  8. mac and cheese how can you go wrong... yummy

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  9. First of all, I actually think your photos are GREAT! Really. You managed to get all the creaminess and yumminess in there and you do make the dish look extremely inviting. This does look like possibly the best mac and cheese I'll ever have. I'm bookmarking this for next weekend (unless it gets made earlier). I've never had mac and cheese with goat cheese before. Holy smokes, this looks good. Thank you for linking up to Cookbook Sundays. Fantastic recipe!!!

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  10. Mac and Cheese Pasta! This is fantastic! You've got beautiful pictures too :)!

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  11. I've watched Michael Symon prepare some delicious looking recipes on the Cooking Chanel but have never tried one. Love this version of our family favorite mac and cheese. I know I'll be dipping into that rich sauce as it simmers.

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  12. Yep, looks awesome. I love fancy mac & cheese, playing around with the cheeses and adding things to it. We like throwing some roasted garlic in with the cream and maybe putting some sun-dried tomatoes in also. Beautiful recipe as always!

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  13. This really does look like the ultimate comfort food! I've seen a lot about Michael Symon too but haven't seen him- I'm not a tv watcher either. Seeing this recipe (and others that Joanne has shared as well) I'm getting more and more interested. Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe! (found your blog on Brenda's Canadian Kitchen)

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  14. I think the pics look wonderfully creamy and delicious! Makes me wanna dive right in? So glad you were able to get the book on loan. I love Symon!

    Thanks for the shout out!

    P.S. I had one very juicy and ripe mango left and made your mango on a stick. It was a glorious sweet juicy mess and I loved it! I'm going to add it to my popsicle post so that you can get a good laugh at the way I attempted to make petals. I have no shame!

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  15. Michael Symon is a great Iron Chef on the Food Network, plus he has another show starting up. He is in fact a great chef. That really looks delicious. MacNcheese is one of my favorites. Thanks for sharing. Have a great week.

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  16. Estos macarrones se ve absolutamente deliciosos y cremosos. Que tengas un buen dĂ­a.

    Saludos

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  17. That beats the alternative, I've had a dish that looked absolutely gorgeous but tasted like ca-ca.

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  18. I think that photo looks scrumptious! Love this recipe and will be giving it a try. And by the way, I've got all that stuff and not heard much about Michael Symon. Thanks for sharing this recipe. yum.

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  19. all time favourite with lovely additions

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  20. Symon rocks and so does this macaroni! It looks great to me and I believe you, it's stellar and I will have to try it. You just keep raising the bar! Good job!

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  21. Love the grown up mac and cheese and chef symon's laugh.

    Plan B

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  22. OH, I get it! I am a mac n cheese lover and I know it creamy yumminess! I have never had it with goat cheese but I will soon! I love when a cookbook pulls me in and I want to roll around in the pages (oops did I just say that??)This sounds like one with that power!

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  23. LOL, Christy...my thoughts, exactly ;)

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  24. This is like mac and cheese with extra ooommpphh!

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  25. Welcome to the dark side my friend. And thus, the love affair begins...

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  26. Haha, I totally feel your pain! The tastiest food always looks the worst in pictures. But I'm sure this dish is amazing!

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  27. Yikes--I may be the only one not to cook Michael Symon recipes! ;-) One of these days maybe... The mac & cheese looks delicious--such great and simple comfort food.

    ;-)

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  28. I am falling for him too...it was unavoidable! I think the pictures are pretty darn delicious looking! Made my mouth water. This totally rocks!

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  29. okay, i really think i need to get on the michael symon train, because i've seen so many amazing things coming out of his cookbooks. this looks incredible, and so creamy, mmmmm.

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  30. sounds tasty to me thanks for the kind comment on my blog LOL Rebecca

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  31. Michael Symon + comfort foods= fabulosity! I love this mac & cheese decadence! I have been craving a good mac & cheese for the past month. Great post.

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  32. First off, I think that your pictures look completely mouth watering.

    Second, because I am a "foodie" and food blogger people automatically assume that I am tuned into the food network...but I'm not. We have cable and I hardly ever watch. Probably I'm like you...busy mom trying to build a business. Who has the time?

    However, being a Clevelander, I definitely know about Micheal Symon and I am impressed!

    This dish looks and sounds delish...even though I am certain that I will never overcome my sheep herder issues and be able to enjoy goat cheese. I have tried and tried, but I can't get over the taste and smell. Silly me.

    I might just have to try this one with another kind of cheese. Everything else here works so perfectly for my palate.

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  33. Cream and goat cheese together? I;m amazed there was any left for the pasta. Add chicken and call it soup!

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  34. What a terrific mac & cheese, how wonderful with goat cheese and I like the addition of rosemary too!

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  35. Girlichef – I love roasted chicken. Also love goat cheese. The n you mentioned Symon is inked and I just had to check out his photos in Google Images. I was expecting a sleeve…still, nice ink. The meal sounds amazing by the way.

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  36. I was really excited about my dinner. Then I saw this. Now I'm not. =/

    I'll take 1 big bowl, Chef. Yum!

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  37. This dish looks great. I have a ton of rosemary that needs a dish to find a home. YUM!

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  38. Michael Symon rocks! He is a Iron Chef and a hottie to boot - this dish looks amazing too. Thanks for sharing - can't wait to try it:)

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  39. This is a fantastic take on Mac n Cheese.
    Mimi

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  40. Total comfort food- it looks so creamy and delish!

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  41. I'm with Katie here. Your photos look anything but boring! I so want to have a big bowl of that pasta; it looks and sounds fabulous.

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  42. I'm happy! I've got all the ingredients, ready to go. Sounds like a meal we'll all enjoy.

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