Halloween 'mac-o'-lanterns' mac-and-cheese recipe
Orange peppers carved with jack-o-lantern faces are filled with Mac and cheese.(October 2023) Credit: Marge Perry
These adorable individual-sized mac and cheeses are just what your Halloween dinner needs. Whether for kids or adults, a main dish or side, these fun Mac-O-Lanterns are sure to make folks smile.
Cooking the mac and cheese is a cinch, and cutting out the faces from orange peppers is more of an easy arts-and-crafts project than it is cooking. If you want to make four Mac-O-Lanterns, you’ll have plenty of mac and cheese left over to freeze for future meals.
Note: You can make the mac and cheese and lanterns ahead and assemble them just before serving. The mac and cheese will thicken as it stands, so warm it with an extra spoon or two of milk before spooning it in to the peppers.
Mac-o-Lanterns
4 orange peppers
1 pound elbow pasta
1/3 cup flour
3 cups milk
16 ounces white Cheddar, grated
1. Cut around the pepper rims about ½-inch from the top to remove the stem and cap. Set aside to use as caps. Remove the inside seeds and membranes to hollow-out the pepper.
2. Take a very thin slice off the bottom, if needed, so the pepper stands flat. Use the point of a sharp knife to carve a face in the pepper.
3. Cook the pasta according to package directions in plenty of lightly salted boiling water. Drain.
4. While the pasta cooks, place the flour in a saucepan (off the heat). Add about 2/3 cup of the milk and whisk until smooth. Add the remaining milk and whisk until smooth. Place over medium heat and cook, whisking occasionally, until the mixture thickens slightly to the texture of cream. Whisk continuously until the mixture is thick enough to coat a spoon — when you draw your finger across the spoon, the line will not refill. Remove from the heat.
5. Stir in the grated cheese until smooth, which will take a couple of minutes. Toss with the pasta.
6. Fill the peppers with the mac and cheese, topping with the stemmed caps if desired.
