Buff Chick Mac by The Sobremesa

Buffalo Chicken Mac ‘n’ Cheese

Ingredients

• 1 pound shell pasta
• 1/2 leftover roasted chicken (or grab a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket)
• 4 ounces goat cheese, freshly crumbled
• 4 ounces cheddar cheese, freshly chopped
• 2 ounces asiago cheese, freshly chopped
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4–1/2 cup Frank’s Red Hot Sauce (vary depending how spicy you like it)
• 1/4 cup milk (If you don’t have whole … NBD … I rarely do either! Just some oat or almond will work too.)
• Splash of reserved pasta water

Instructions

1. Cook your noods to a lil’ al dente — they’re going to cook a little more once we add in the cheese, so you don’t want them to get mushy now.
2. Meanwhile, cut the cheese (insert dad joke here). I like to use fresh cheese rather than pre-shredded because it really does taste so much more flavorful. I also chop up the cheese rather than hand-grating because it’s just sooo much easier … + I don’t own a cheese grater. It will all melt together in the pot anyway 🙂
3. Pick the chicken off your bird.
4. Drain and save some pasta water (aka nectar of the pasta gods!). FYI — pasta water will always add a little natural creaminess to a pasta dish. Those starches work some pasta magic.
5. Take the same pot you used to boil the pasta and put back on the stove at medium heat.
6. Melt the butter.
7. Add the chicken.
8. Add the hot sauce.
9. Cook a bit until you hear it sizzling in the pan.
10. Add the noodles.
11. Add the cheese.
12. Add the milk and a splash of pasta water.
13. Reduce heat to low and stir until it’s all melted and blended together.
14. Taste and adjust as needed. Add more milk/pasta water, more cheese, more hot sauce — do YOU!
15. Serve immediately, and top with fresh pepper and sliced green onion if you got ’em.