This dish was inspired by KFC’s commercial for chicken pot pie. Don’t ask me how I made the leap, but truly it’s where I got the idea for this recipe. I figured pot pie and mac and cheese are two comfort foods – why not combine them?
ingredients.
- 1 recipe of Cream Cheese Pie Dough
- 16 oz package of your favorite noodle
- 1 c. heavy cream
- 2 1/2 to 3 c. half-and-half
- 4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 8 oz mild cheddar cheese, finely shredded
- 8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, finely shredded
- 8 oz fontina cheese, finely shredded
- 1/2 c. butter
- 1/2 lb bacon bits and pieces cubed and cooked
- 1 c. bread crumb mixture*
- salt and pepper, to taste
directions.
- Prepare pie dough a few hours or a day ahead of time. When ready to start cooking, prepare pie crust. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each ball into rounds approximately 13 inches in diameter. Line a ten-inch deep-dish pie plate with one round and pat dough into place.
- In a small pot, heat the creams and cream cheese over low heat until cream cheese is melted. Use a wire whisk to incorporate. Meanwhile, boil noodles according to package directions. Drain the water. Reserve a small amount of the shredded cheese – about a half cup or so.
- Mix noodles in a bowl with a stick of butter until butter is melted. Add cheddar cheeses and mix until they begin to melt. Add fontina cheese and incorporate. Stir in cream mixture and half of the bacon cubes.
- Pour into prepared pie dish, and top with generous amounts of salt and pepper, additional sharp cheese, remaining bacon and bread crumb mixture.
- Cover with second rolled out round of dough, trim the edges and crimp to seal. (This is easiest to do by pressing the back of the tines of a fork around the edge of the crust.)
- Brush the top of the pie gently with the lightly beaten egg and cut a few small steam vents in the top.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes.
I have no words for how amazing this dish is, and – to be quite truthful – I had my doubts about it. Could mac and cheese possibly go with pie crust? Turns out, it can and does.
A few tips:
You’ll want the noodle mixture to be quite liquidy as it will cook and thicken while it bakes. You don’t want a dry mac and cheese in the center of your pot pie. Also, undercook the noodles by one or two minutes when boiling. The noodles will finish cooking during the baking process (and will absorb the liquid cream sauce).
I contemplated sprinkling bread crumbs over the top of the crust, but wasn’t sure how it would hold up during the almost hour long baking process. I would definitely make this dish again. Over and over, actually – though I’ll say that one piece of this pie will suffice for several days.
*To make a bread crumb mixture combine 1 cup fresh bread crumbs with one tablespoon bacon grease, 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Your food processor is great for making this mixture.
Recipe rating:
Food Snob 