culinary exploration

Follow me through the adventures that take place in my kitchen, in restaurants or in other kitchens. Cooking and food are my passions and I want to share my experiences of cooking, baking and eating with you.
I'm a Greek self-taught cook who lives in Chicago. I learned a lot about cooking from both of my grandmothers, my mom and dad, family and friends. Passing on timeless traditions through food is one thing I strive to do in life.

These are my journeys through culinary exploration...

clraptis (at) gmail (dot) com

Culinary Exploration - Grecian Kitchen

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Posts tagged buffalo chicken

Jan 24

BUFFALO CHICKEN SOUP (from How Sweet It Is)

This one is for Sam. I’m totally making this soup next time we have dinner together!!!!

Dec 20

BUFFALO CHICKEN MAC-N-CHEESE

After seeing this recipe, I was inspired to make a pan of this traditionally comforting dish with a unique twist.

You can buy one of those rotisserie chickens from the grocery store pretty cheap and get your chicken that way. Or just buy a couple of breasts and bake them until juicy, moist and cooked through completely. I was lucky, I had a baggie of shredded cooked chicken in my freezer from making home made chicken stock.

I’m a BIG fan of Frank’s Red Hot sauce. I put it on practically everything, so the idea of making a spicy cheese sauce for this buffalo chicken version of macaroni and cheese seemed genius!

Here is my recipe adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything:

INGREDIENTS:
½ lb. whole wheat elbow macaroni
5 T. unsalted butter
6 T. all-purpose flour
3 c. 2% milk
1 T. creole seasoning
2 c. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 c. pepper jack cheese, shredded
½ c. Frank’s Red Hot sauce
2 c. chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
3 T. salted butter
1 c. panko bread crumbs
½ c. blue cheese, crumbled
2 T. fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350° F and spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a generous amount of salt and the pasta. Cook until al dente, about 8-10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile melt the butter in a separate sauce pan over medium heat. Sprinkle in the flour while whisking to combine and cook until smooth and a roux has formed.

Add the milk, whisking consistently until the sauce has thickened. Add in the creole seasoning, cheddar and jack cheeses, and combine until melted.

Remove from heat and stir in the hot sauce and shredded, cooked chicken.

Add the cooked macaroni.

Pour the mixture in the baking pan.

In a bowl, microwave the 3 tablespoons of butter. (I suggest salted butter here to give the topping more flavor.) Stir in the panko, blue cheese and parsley.

Sprinkle topping over the mac-n-cheese in the pan.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the topping has browned.

Let rest for about 10 minutes before serving and enjoy!

Nov 15

Considering the fact that I go through a large bottle of Frank’s Red Hot every month, I feel like this recipe was calling my name. :)

Buffalo Chicken Mac-n-Cheese from The Girl Who Ate Everything

I always welcome recipes that call for a rotisserie chicken because it makes life so much easier. I love to mix up my mac-n-cheese so I can’t wait to try this one out!