Beaufort Mac And Cheese & A Le Creuset Giveaway

When the team from the newly branded Wayfair on-line store (previously CSN) offered to do a giveaway collaboration, it was easy for me to decide on the Le Creuset mini cocottes. For those who are not familiar, Wayfair is possibly one of the largest home-stuff on-line store that sells everything from Toy Boxes to furniture to kitchen ware.

Some of you may already know about my weakness for Le Creuset cocottes. I first fell in love with Le Creuset 2 years ago when I was taking a short break in Paris. Since then, I have already accumulated 10 cocottes (my last count :) ) of various sizes in my kitchen. Apart from their outstanding functionality, their seasonal colour collections also have the ability to make me irrational at the store.

These stone ware mini cocottes are easier to store and are great for serving and baking. Giving pizazz to the everyday Mac and Cheese is easy by baking them in these individual portion cocottes.
Of course, Mac and Cheese, as the name implies is all about the cheese. I further glam'd up the dish by working with some French Beaufort cheese. The Beaufort is a sharp flavour cheese that is similar to the Gruyere. Produced in the Beaufort region in the French Alps, I was first introduced to its distinctive flavours in Europe a few years ago. It melts easily and blends well with the Mascarpone and heavy cream that I used for this recipe.

If you are not able to get Beaufort, fret not, replace with Gruyere or your favourite cheese. Le Creuset's Mini Cocotte cookbook recommends the use of equal parts of Gorgonzola, Fontina and Parmesan.
Totally easy to prepare and quite easily the favourite household comfort food for the cold/cool season.

Wayfair will be giving away 4 mini stoneware cocottes at Køkken. (Closed on 11th December 2011)
To be eligible for the giveaway, please ensure you do the following : (Giveaway is opened to US and Canada residents only)

1. Leave a comment on this post. (make sure your contact can be traced from the comment)

Add extra comments to improve your chances of winning by doing the following : 

1. Like Køkken on Facebook and come back to this post to leave an extra comment to inform that you have done so.
2. Like Wayfair on Facebook and come back to this post to leave an extra comment to inform that you have done so.
3. Follow @Køkken69 on Twitter and tweet the following message. Come back to this post to leave an extra comment to inform that you have done so.
I just entered to win a set of 4 mini @LeCreuset cocottes hosted by @Kokken69!  Enter here : bit.ly/teUhSW lockerz.com/s/161922307
The Giveaway will end on 11th Dec 11:59pm  EST and results will be announced on 13th Dec. Good luck! 



Recipe : (adapted from Le Creuset's Mini Cocotte)
450g/4 cups                 Macaroni
20g  /1/2 stick              Butter
150g/1/2 cupe              Heavy whipping cream
150g/ 6oz                    Beaufort Cheese (you can replace with 50g/2oz each of Gorgonzola, Fontina and    
                                    Paremsan)
100g/ 1/2cup               Mascarpone Cheese
50g / 2oz                     Chopped Walnuts
Salt & Pepper    


Method :
1. Preheat oven to 220C/ 430F.
2. Lightly butter the 4 mini cocottes
3. Part cook the macaroni in salted boiling water for 3-4mins. Do not cook through. Pass the pasta under cold running water to stop them from further cooking. Add a few drops of oil to prevent them from sticking together.
4. Melt the butter in a small heavy saucepan. Add the cream and all the cheese. Stir until all the cheese has melted. Add salt and pepper to season. Add the chopped walnuts. 
5. Add the cooked macaroni into the cheese sauce and divide into the 4 mini cocottes. Sprinkle with some Beaufor/ Parmesan cheese. Bake for 10 to 15 mins until the tops are golden brown and a crust forms. Take the cocottes out of the oven and let them rest for 5 mins before serving.