Macaroni Balls

Yup, you read right. Macaroni Balls.  This month's Crazy Cooking Challenge is Macaroni and Cheese and I made Macaroni Balls-it kinda gets grosser the more you say it?!?!?!  I wish I could come up with something as clever as Schwetty Balls (remember that SNL skit with Alec Baldwin?) but I digress.  I found the recipe here.  I just stumbled upon this blog in my quest for a unique mac & cheese recipe.  I like his philosophy of 'no recipes'....that's how I cook too!

So without further ado, Leslie's Macaroni Balls

What You'll Need
2 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoon flour
3/4 cup half and half
1 teaspoon kosher salt (didn't use)
1/2 teaspoon sugar (didn't use)
1 packed cup leftover mac & cheese (I didn't have leftovers so i made fresh mac & cheese and let it cool....would be much easier with leftovers!)
1/2 cup flour
1 beaten egg
1 cup panko bread crumbs

Assuming you have left over mac & cheese this is pretty simple.  I followed Marc's recipe pretty much, since this was a new adventure and I didn't want to mess it up!

Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the flour and stir vigorously until the mixture is bubbling.

Remove the pan from the heat, then slowly whisk in the half and half until it is fully mixed and there are no lumps.

Return the pan to medium-low heat  and use a silicone spatula to continuously scrape the bottom of the pan to keep the sauce from burning-YES YOU MUST DO THIS! When the sauce is thickened remove from heat and add the mac & cheese.

Now I must warn you I added more than 1 Cup of Kraft Dinner.....keep this in mind for later.... Stir to combine, then taste for salt and adjust as needed. Cool to room temperature, then place the mixture into the fridge to harden. (I was impatient and didn't wait all that long!)

Once the macaroni mixture cooled I used my hands and made the balls.  This was messy, mostly because my mixture wasn't totally cooled.  I think I made about 11 balls-ha ha ha ha balls.

To bread the balls get one bowl of flour, one of egg and one of panko bread crumbs.  This was the first time using these crispy crumbs and I love 'em!  Roll those balls 1, 2, 3; flour, egg, panko.

They'll look like this when they're ready to fry!

Then I poured some canola oil into a small sauce pan and heated it over medium high heat.  I should mention we're heading into deep fry territory so please make sure you have baking soda and a big lid handy in case of a grease fine.  I should also mention that my Mum put the fear of God in me when it came to doing this old skool deep frying and I'm still in therapy for it!

Once they finished frying I scooped them out of the oil with a slotted spoon and put them on paper towel to de-grease.....
as if it matters at this point!??! We're making deep fried macaroni people!

Now unfortunately because I used more than the recommended 1 Cup of leftover mac and cheese my balls weren't ooey gooey on the inside, but I liked them just fine...I also think my oil might have been too high/hot because the balls browned quickly but didn't stay hot very long.  (I microwaved mine and they were awesome! But I love hot food).

I would make these again for sure, but on a miniature scale.  Make marble sized balls and stick 'em with a toothpick and offer them as hors d'ourves at your next party! Cute right?

Be sure to vote for me and my Fried Macaroni Balls at Mom's Crazy Cooking!