Monday, May 16, 2011

Mac 'n Cheese Croquettes



The weekend was spent celebrating hubby's graduation from PTA school. Therefore, not much was going on in my kitchen aside from warming up leftovers and repeat recipes. Lunch for today is a twist on a repeat recipe. I had some leftover cheese sauce from the last time I made my Macaroni and Cheese. I've been wanting to make some fried Mac n Cheese for a while, ever since I saw Paula Deen on the Food Network make it. I've also seen it on the menu at the Cheesecake Factory. But I've never had any mac n cheese leftovers because my daughter always eats it all up or I freeze them for a quick meal for her later on. And everyone knows how much my daughter loves her Mac n Cheese. I figured she would love these too. So when I remembered that I had cheese sauce left over, I boiled some pasta and mixed it with the sauce and decided to finally try to make some fried mac n cheese.

These were so yummy and I especially loved dipping them in an aioli sauce. Anything is great with aioli sauce. This is an awesome grown-up version of Mac n Cheese. My daughter didn't care much for them because she wanted "clean Mac n Cheese" as she called them. But this is a great way to spruce up leftover Mac n Cheese.

2 cups pre-made macaroni and cheese
1 cup flour
salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp. lemon juice
oil for deep frying

1) Heat oil in a pan until it reaches 350 deg F.

2) In a small bowl, season flour with salt and pepper to taste. Roll macaroni and cheese into bite-sized balls. Dredge balls in flour mixture, shaking off the excess flour. Dip in egg, and then dredge in the bread crumbs. Let balls sit for a few minutes to set the crust.

3) Carefully drop the balls into hot oil and fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towel. Serve with aioli sauce.

4) To make aioli sauce: combine mayonnaise, garlic and lemon juice. Stir until well incorporated.

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