Bern's Mac and Cheese Recipe - Tampa / St Pete / Clearwater
Anyone can help me out with the recipe for this Mac and Cheese?
I know it has the following ingredients:
butter, cream, asiago crumbles, fontina cheese, white truffle oil and home made pasta. just need the proportions and the recipe. Anyone?
Thanks!
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Veggo
Apr 8, 2008 06:26 AM
As a 3-year newbee in Bradenton, the siren song of Bern's has been wafting in the salty air and punctuating its mystique. Your high praise for their mac and cheese has propelled me into action, this Saturday coming, for my first visit, for m-&-c, and maybe a slice of cattle, too. Any other essential items? I expect to be too sated for the dessert room, but I will defer to my dining companions.Thanks.
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re: Veggo
Oooh Veggo you lucky hound! I will live vicariously through you...
Be sure to take the kitchen tour (tell your waiter when you are seated), and if I remember correctly, they encourage several people to share the same cut of cattle, the bigger slice cooked makes for better taste they say.
Caviar? They've got lots and lots
Wine of course. I used to know an "insider" and he told me the wine sommelier will recommend a wine several dollars below your price range and not to be shy with a low limit, because they have excellent variety - largest restaurant wine cellar in the world. The one you 'll see on the tour is only their "holding" cellar, the big daddy is down the street.
I too am not much of a dessert person, but the room is something to see...
Enjoy - and Report Back!
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re: joan
Veggo
Apr 8, 2008 11:45 AM
I just reviewed their menus and I'm salivating over the caviar and beef choices. We will do the kitchen/cellar tour. I think the dessert room is back on the agenda- a 1862 Madeira caught my eye. The U.S. may have been in the midst of a civil war, but Portugal wasn't. "Have some madeira, m'dear.."
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re: joan
Veggo
Apr 13, 2008 05:56 PM
Quickie follow-up: M&C was one of the highlights; the only way to improve it would be a scoop or two with a crusty, textured surface, but I suppose it's not baked. Chateaubriand for 3 was very good. Dessert room was a kick, but no place to smoke my Cohiba. I enjoyed the tours and the tacky elements, but the valet parking for 5 bucks was overly tacky. All in all a very pleasant experience for 3. I'll return.
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re: winechic
Veggo
Apr 14, 2008 10:10 AM
I've had delish lobster m&c in PB, Broward, and Dade and I'm pleased to know we can also have it on the gulf side. I read the Capital Grille menu and saw it's only offered at dinner. It, along with a salad, would make a great lunch. But thanks for putting Capital Grille on my radar screen; nice menu.
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re: Alfred G
Veggo
Apr 23, 2008 08:10 PM
Alfred, it was at City Place, near the Sushi restaurant, but I can't remember it. I'm saddened to see the Columbia there has closed. I'm afraid my LM&C provider may have shuddered as well.
I would think The Breakers would accomodate a special request.
I'll keep digging; I'll be there again soon.
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This goes to all you who I think might be interested in the recipe. If you've had Bern's Mac and Cheese and love it as much as I do ('cause it's freaking amazing), you'd love this recipe. Just made it and comes pretty freaking close. I think it just needed a little more butter =).
Bern's Mac and Cheese with White Truffle Oil
- 1 lbs of Home Made Elbow Macaroni or Penne (Buy home made, don't cheap out, it makes a difference)For Sauce
- 1 stick of butter unsalted (Yes, 1 stick)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 cloves of garlic, paper thin sliced and chopped afterwards (a la Goodfellas style)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons of flour
- 1/2 pint of heavy whipping cream (whole pint if you want to make the Bern's version; you already put a whole stick of butter, so you might as well go for it)
- some milk
- 2 tablespoons of White Truffle infused Olive Oil (you'll be able to find the homemade pasta and this oil in a specialty store - ie. Fresh Market or something like that. Pretty expensive stuff, but a little goes a long way).- 1 1/2 to 2 cups of Fontina Cheese
- 2 to 2 1/2 cups of Asiago crumbles (just crumble the Asiago block instead of shredding it directly in the pan)
- Nutmet (Fresh nutmeg, not the crap that comes ground).- Parsley for garnish
Directions
Put your biggest pot to boil water. Add salt and bring to a boil. Don't add oil; unlike what your mom told you, oil in boiling pasta doesn't do sh..t. Don't toss the pasta in yet.On a big sautee pan, melt the stick of butter on medium to low heat with the 1 1/2 tablespoons of Olive Oil (this will prevent the butter to burn). Put the sliced and shredded 2 cloves of garlic once the butter has melted all the way and cook it low to medium heat until aromatic and almost dissolved (about 5-10 mins). Add 1 tablespoon of flour and whisk (yes, use the whisk that's been sitting in your kitchen since your mom gave it to you during college). You are making a "roux," a base thick sauce to mix the cheese. Add the other 1/2 a tablespoon of flour. Once the flour begins to cook, you'll see the "sauce" thicken a lot. Don't panic. This is the point where you add the cream, about 1/4 of the package at a time and whisk. (You might have to adjust and add more flour, but no more than 4 tablespoons total for the recipe). Once the whole package is in and you are working the roux, add the Fontina cheese (shredded) and whisk. Cook for 5 mins in low to medium heat, melting the cheese.
After the 5 mins, this is a good time to toss the pasta in the boiling water, which you have salted with kosher salt, of course (if you don't use kosher salt, you are lame). The package probably says to cook for 10 mins, but you will only cook for 8 mins for al dente and 'cause cooking pasta for 10 mins is for suckers.
Back to the sauce. During the roux and melting cheese period, you'll find that the cheese doesn't melt easily, so keep whisking. In fact, you should be whisking all the time and if you are not whisking, make your significant other whisk. They deserve it since they are going to be eating this delectable meal. Add the Asiago crumbles (about 1/4 inch in size) to the sauce, a little at a time and the white truffle oil and whisk (btw, the oil is the key ingredient to the recipe, without it, you might as well not make this). Once the cheese has melted in low to medium heat, about 10 mins (control the heat as you go), taste it and adjust to more or less of the cheese mixture. Probably needs salt, a little of cracked pepper. Grate some nutmeg on the sauce (again, use fresh whole nutmeg and grate it, don't buy the grated stuff which is crap). Add a little bit of milk and pasta water, which will help the pasta to bind in the sauce and to gain the consistency that you want (about a little looser than pudding).
You should have already drained the pasta after the 8 mins of cooking and the cheese should be melted. Toss the pasta into the sauce with about a tablespoon or two of finely chopped parsley. Taste. Add more salt.
There you have it, pretty simple stuff. Just cook pasta, make a sauce and toss together.
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re: dmfnole
winechic
Apr 7, 2008 08:34 AM
Post back how it is....my arteries were clogging just reading the recipe but I'm sure it's amazing. Makes the lowfat version I was thinking of making look pretty lame.
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re: aynrandgirl
Puts a smile in my face =)
The extra cream will add depth to the flavor of the sauce, specially since you cook it a little longer at a low heat. The water content of the cream will evaporate, leaving only the fat cells to provide a "softer" and more "round" flavor to the sauce. As for the effect on your arteries, that's another story...
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dmfnole
Mar 17, 2008 09:54 AM
I would love to have it as well. It's the best mac and cheese in Tampa
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