Pat Freymouth of Colorado Springs will represent Denver in the annual Tillamook Macaroni and Cheese recipe contest cookoff next month. Her “Hamsolutely Pear-y Good Mac and Cheese” took first place among three finalists chosen from 100 submissions.
Denver is one of eight cities to sponsor the cookoff, held at McCormick’s Fish House on May 16. The others are San Francisco, Phoenix, Dallas, Seattle, Tillamook, Ore.; and Pasadena, Calif.
The cookoff is designed not only to show off various uses for cheese but also to give home cooks their day in the sun. Enough with the fawning over celebrity chefs already.
Second place went to Sheila Mustard of Littleton for her “Cheesy Chicken and Mac Bake,” an unusually tasty combination of giant pasta shells filled with a cube of chicken, drizzled with cheese sauce and topped with crispy rice cereal.
Mustard has been a finalist in two Pillsbury Bake-Offs and won a Crisco two-generation, competition televised on the Food Network.
Karen Harris of Castle Rock placed third with her Tillamook Beer and Bacon Mac and Cheese.
Freymouth qualified to take an all-expenses-paid trip to compete in the grand finale cook-off in Portland, Ore., for the chance to win $5,000 and bragging rights.
“It all began when I got back from the Pillsbury Bake-Off where I was a finalist, but didn’t win,” she says. My kids were so disappointed.”
So like the proverbial rider who falls from her horse and gets right back on, Freymouth spotted a sign from the universe: another competition, this one for macaroni and cheese.
“This was made for us,” she says. “So one day we went out to lunch and were sitting around the table, throwing out mac and cheese possibilities. Finally we came up with the idea for pear and ham. Both my son and my daughter were coming up with all sorts of ingredients.”
The Freymouths’ two children, Rusty 12, and Rosey, 7, are both high-functioning autistics who love to cook, so Pat Freymouth involved them in every step of the recipe-development process.
“We played with the cheeses, adding a little more pepper jack, a little more this, a little more that. I even let them have their own cookoff one night. By the time we finished fooling around, we were back to loving cooking.”
The Pillsbury disappointment was forgotten.
“Then we got the call to come to Denver for the finals, I thought ‘Oh no; we’re back to competing again. When I won, we were in a state of shock. I did it mainly because I love to play with food.”
But it is serious play. Her macaroni and cheese-filled pear was garnished with overlapping pear-
shaped slices of Swiss cheese, ham and pepper jack. She made the cutters by using needle-nosed pliers to reconfigure an egg-
shaped cutter. The pear “stems” were made from hand-cut apple.
“I love being creative too,” she says. “But I’d better not let anything happen to that cutter before the finals in Oregon.”
Staff writer Ellen Sweets can be reached at 303-820-1284 or esweets@denverpost.com.
Tillamook Beer and Bacon Mac and Cheese
Karen Harris’ third-place entry in the annual Tillamook Macaroni and Cheese competition held last week at McCormick’s Fish House in Lower Downtown. Serves 8.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 350.
In a large pot, over medium-high heat, bring two quarts water and 1 teaspoon salt to a full rolling boil. Gradually add macaroni and boil approximately 15 minutes or until pasta reaches desired tenderness. Drain.
Melt butter and olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Saute shallot for approximatley 2 minutes or until they are translucent. Add flour to the pan, stirring constantly until a smooth paste forms. Stirring constantly, gradually add milk and continue cooking until mixture is thick and bubbly (mixture should coat the back of a spoon).
Add 6 ounces of the cheese and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat and add beer, bacon, mustard, garlic powder, pepper and remaining salt. Stir well.
Spray 9-inch-by-9-inch square glass pan with nonstick cooking spray. In the large pot, combine macaroni and cheese sauce and stir. Pour into baking dish, cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and sprinkle on remaining shredded cheese and bake another 15 minutes.
Remove casserole from oven. Cool 5 minutes before serving.
Ham-solutely Pear-y Good Mac and Cheese
Pat Freymouth’s winning entry in the Tillamook Macaroni and Cheese competition held last week at McCormick’s Fish House in Lower Downtown. Serves 8.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 350. In a large pot, add macaroni to boiling water. Return water to a boil, and reduce heat. Boil macaroni, uncovered, for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally or until pasta is al dente. Drain.
While pasta is cooking, melt butter in 3-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and saute for 2 minutes. Add pear, ham, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom and black pepper. Saute for 2 minutes or until onions are translucent. Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, over low heat until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat.
Stir milk into flour mixture. Heat mixture on medium high heat until boiling, stirring constantly. Once boiling stir mixture for 1 minute and remove from heat. Turn off heat and add 1 1/2 cup each of pepper jack and Swiss cheeses. Combine cheese with milk mixture until melted. Add drained macaroni and stir until completely combined. Pour into 3-quart casserole. Top with remaining cheese.
Bake uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly. Serve warm.
Cheesy Chicken Mac Bake
Sheila Mustard’s second-place entry in Denver’s annual Tillamook Macaroni and Cheese Competition, held last week at McCormick’s Fish House in Lower Downtown. Serves 8.
Ingredients
1 12-ounce box of jumbo shells
Directions
Preheat oven to 400.
Cook jumbo shells according to package directions for al dente.
In a hot skillet add olive oil and brown the cubed chicken. When chicken is browned add taco seasoning and water. Simmer about 5 minutes then add sour cream. Turn heat off and allow mixture to rest.
Over medium heat, melt butter in a 1 1/2-quart saucepan. Add flour and cook, whisking, until butter-flour mixture (roux) is light gold and bubbling.
Add 1 1/2 cups chicken stock and whisk constantly until sauce is smooth and almost thickened. Pour in half and half and finish thickening (do not allow to boil). Stir in Dijon mustard and black pepper. Add cheeses and stir until cheese melts.
In a 9-inch-by-13-inch baking dish pour remaining 3 tablespoons chicken stock into the dish to keep the noodles from sticking. Drain the noodles and fill each shell with a piece of chicken mixture. Pour cheese sauce over all of the stuffed shells.
For the topping, medium plastic bag slightly crush the crispy rice and combine it with the shredded pepper jack cheese. Sprinkle over the cheese sauce and stuffed shells.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until casserole bubbles and starts to brown.
