Macaroni & Cheese w/ Chicken

Like Karen Carpenter, rainy days and Mondays always get me down and we have had 3 days of rain. So comfort food was what I needed last night, but this recipe failed me. I really needed a nice creamy, cheesy mac and cheese dish, but I wanted it to be a little more substantial. I came across this recipe and thought it looked perfect. Even though the flavor was wonderful, I doubt I would make this one again. The prep time took too long and there were way too many dirty dishes. It actually would not have been too bad left unbaked, because at the point of oven entry, the pasta was very creamy and substantial. But when it came time to serve the sauce had separated and it was more like a buttered noodle dish. Oh well, it's raining again today, maybe some type of fried chicken would do the trick. Too bad Mom lives in Florida!

Macaroni & Cheese with Chicken

Sauce:

2 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. Flour

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 egg yolk

1/4 tsp. salt

fresh ground black pepper

Filling:

2 Tbsp. butter

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces

1 1/2 cups mushrooms, coarsely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp. flat leaf parsley, chopped

salt and pepper

pinch of nutmeg

Macaroni:

1/2 pound elbow macaroni

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

4 oz. Gruyere cheese

For Sauce: Melt butter in saucepan; stir in flour cook, stirring 2 minutes. Slowly add chicken broth; stirring constantly, until mixture begins to boil and thicken; add cream. Cook stirring, over medium heat, until thickened and smooth, about 10 minutes. Beat yolk in small bowl; gradually beat in some hot sauce. Return yolk mixture to saucepan; stir to combine; season with salt and pepper.

For Filling: Melt butter in large skillet. Add chicken and saute for 7 minutes; transfer to a plate using slotted spoon. Add mushrooms to skillet, saute until tender and lightly browned. Add garlic and and saute for 1 minute. Add chicken and parsley, season with salt and pepper and nutmeg.

In the meantime cook pasta in salted boiling water until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain. Combine macaroni, sauce, chicken mixture and Parmesan cheese. Spoon into 8 x 12 baking dish; sprinkle with Gruyere. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven fro 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is brown and bubbly.