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And now Chef Nickolas
Illingworth of The Cheese Shop
is here with us in the studio.
What are we going to make?
Illingworth: We are doing a
toasty today and it has got
Frisian Farm's Gouda in it and a
little La Quercia prosciutto and
a little peppered jam in it.
Gouda.
Illingworth: Gouda.
That is how they would pronounce
it.
All right.
So what most of us would call
Gouda.
Illingworth: Gouda, exactly.
All right.
And what makes the difference
between a toasty and what most
of us would call a grilled
cheese sandwich?
Illingworth: A normal grilled
cheese you would do in a skillet
on your pan and then we actually
bake ours in the oven so it
melts the cheese a little bit
and it gets a nice little crunch
on the bottom.
Nice and caramelized --
Illingworth: Yep, caramelizes,
yep.
Let's get started.
Illingworth: All right.
So we've got some Pullman loaf
bread and we just do a little
butter on one side, both pieces
of toast.
We'll flip them and we have the
young Gouda and then we have
some of the aged too as well to
add a little more depth and
flavor.
All right, just mix that up a
little bit.
Illingworth: Yep, so just a
little bit of both.
What else are we going to add?
Illingworth: Then for now this
is it, so we just have the
cheese and I'm going to take it
over to the oven.
Now when it comes out -- It's
going to look like that.
Illingworth: Yep, the cheese
gets all nice and melted.
How hot is the oven?
Illingworth: The oven is 500
degrees so it takes about 3
minutes for each one to cook.
All right, that fast.
And you could do that in a
toaster oven too?
Illingworth: Yep, you could do
it in a toaster oven as well.
And then you'll take the
prosciutto and we'll chop it all
up.
If you put it on there whole it
pulls out when you bite into it
but if you chop it, it actually
allows you to bite into it
easier.
A little bit in every bite.
Illingworth: Yep, exactly.
So you'll just put the
prosciutto in there.
And we'll take a little bit of
the peppadew jam.
What is peppadew jam?
Illingworth: Peppadews, it's a
South African pepper and then we
get the peppers in and we make
jam at the shop.
Oh terrific.
Illingworth: So then we'll take
these and we'll put them on
there for a little garnish and
then we'll just cut it in half
and we'll grab our plate and put
it on there like that.
And we usually serve it with a
little salad greens.
So simple but so beautiful.
Illingworth: Yeah, and that's
it.
Terrific.
So now we're going to make mac
and cheese.
Illingworth: Now we're going to
make mac and cheese.
So right here I have the
béchamel warming up.
What is a béchamel?
Illingworth: A béchamel is a
roux so flour, butter thickened
with milk so you warm the milk
up and then you'll mix it and
it's just the base of the mac
sauce.
And then over here we have a
little mornay and the mornay is
the béchamel, is the base of it
and then once you add cheese to
it, it becomes a mornay sauce.
And we'll actually be finishing
the mac with that today.
Okay.
And is there any kind of trick
when you add the cheese in,
anything you need to do to make
it smooth and creamy?
Illingworth: I use a blender so
you'd want the béchamel to be
warm and then I'd put it in a
blender and then I'd put the
grated cheese in there and turn
it on and it emulsifies it
really finely and it gets rid of
any of the flour chunks or
anything that is in there.
What kind of pasta are we going
to use?
Illingworth: This is mini
rigatoni so it is an Italian
pasta and they're just mini so
they're kind of fun.
They're nice and open so the
sauce gets inside of them and it
takes on the flavor really nice.
So we'll go ahead and we'll
blanche the pasta.
And you want to cook that fully
before you -- Illingworth: Yep,
and so you'll cook that until al
dente which means to the tooth
so it will have a little bite to
it still and then it's going to
finish cooking in the oven so it
needs a little extra, like
lasagna, you'll want to precook
it a little bit.
All right.
Illingworth: All right.
So then once the pasta is done
we'll take it over here to the
sink and we'll strain that off.
And then we have some already
cooked off here to show you
today.
So we'll put the pasta in here
and then we take some of the
béchamel and we just pour that
right over everything.
And so you're not even adding
cheese in at this point.
Illingworth: Not right now, I'm
getting ready to right now and
then we'll take the shredded
cheese right here and this is
the Frisian Farms young gouda
and we'll just put some of that
in there and we'll stir it up.
And then over in the oven I
actually have the cast iron
skillet already warm and the
reason for that is when you pour
this into it, it's going to get
like that brown crust all the
way across the bottom of the pan
so it's like the corners of your
mom's lasagna and that's what I
always wanted to eat because it
had all the brown caramelized on
it.
So how long do you put the cast
iron in there for before you --
Illingworth: Just as long as it
is hot, so about ten minutes to
let it warm up to the
temperature -- the oven is at
500 degrees so we're cooking
this really fast.
Did someone tell you that that's
how you do it or did you have to
try to figure that out on your
own?
Illingworth: Just trial and
error.
Just trial and error.
We started out doing stovetop
mac and cheese and we're like,
everybody does this and it's
kind of boring, how can we make
it funner?
So we ordered these skillets in
and got these little skillets
and started playing with it and
we have realized if you warm it
up you can get that crunch.
Oh awesome.
Illingworth: Because before we
were baking it for like 30
minutes and at the restaurant
there's not enough time like
that.
So I'll come over here and grab
the hot skillet that I have.
Set that there.
It's a cute little skillet.
Illingworth: Yeah, they're
really cool.
They are from Vermont.
We'll throw it in there and you
can hear the sizzle.
It clearly is hot.
Illingworth: Yeah.
So then you'll take this over
and we'll throw it in the oven
for 15 minutes.
We'll throw it in there for six
minutes but since we're on TV we
have one done up ahead of time.
Perfect.
Illingworth: Bring that back
over and see how it gets all
caramelized and on the bottom if
you let it sit for a minute you
can scrape right into it
actually.
So then we'll take this mornay
sauce here.
A nice little double boiler
setup.
Illingworth: Yep, so it doesn't
melt or so it doesn't burn.
It would burn if you just had
the cheese sauce on there.
And then we'll just take this
and the idea of this is now we
get the baked sense but now
we're finishing it so you get
like the stovetop kind of flavor
at the same time.
So you're getting the best of
both, exactly.
So we'll just ladle that all
over it.
We'll go ahead and throw a
little extra on there.
I was going to say, it's maybe
hard to keep yourself from just
really smothering it but it
looks like you are really
smothering it.
Perfect.
Illingworth: Yep and then we've
got some fresh bread crumbs that
we toasted in house.
And that adds a nice little
crunch on the top.
Terrific.
Illingworth: And then we've got
a little flat leaf Italian
parsley that we put in there.
And then we'll put it right here
on the plate.
Terrific.
Have you done a caloric analysis
on this?
Illingworth: I have not, I have
not.
I don't want to know.
It's probably best not to.
Illingworth: Yeah.
So then there we are.
And that is rocket hot.
Illingworth: Yes, it's very hot,
yes.
When we present it to the guests
at the table we tell them that
the pan is hot.
It's similar to when you get
fajitas at a Mexican restaurant,
you just don't want to touch it.
You have to be careful.
Can I try some?
Illingworth: Yeah, I would love
for you to try some.
Awesome, I am so excited.
Don't touch the pan.
Illingworth: Yeah, and the best
part is on the bottom, you
really want to get down under
and pull up that -- Dig in and
get the caramelized stuff from
the bottom.
I may have to have more than one
bite.
Illingworth: You can eat it all.
I ate plenty of it at work every
day.
Oh my gosh, wow.
That is the best macaroni and
cheese I've ever had.
That is amazing.
Chef Nickolas, thank you so
much.
Illingworth: Yes, thank you for