By Chuck Martin
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Using a box of macaroni & cheese, chef Jackson Rouse of the Iron Horse Inn in Glendale created two ultra rich versions of the dish: One with aged goat cheese, seared tomatoes and fresh basil, and another with Fontina cheese and smoked oysters. The Cincinnati Enquirer/BRANDI STAFFORD

We didn't know what to expect when we asked Jackson Rouse, the imaginative chef of the Iron Horse Inn in Glendale, to cook up a dish for our series, "What Would a Chef Do With ...?" using a box of mac 'n' cheese.

The night before we came to his Covington home kitchen, Rouse hosted an Iron Chef party, with scallops seviche, oysters on the half-shell, sauteed veal sweetbreads and toffee bread pudding on the menu. So the 29-year-old chef had interesting leftovers to play with.

"I actually thought about maybe doing sweetbreads (the thymus glands of veal) with mac 'n' cheese," Rouse says. "But I thought no one would do that at home."

We're glad he didn't.

Instead, Rouse concocted what he calls "mac 'n' cheese with cheese." He made two versions: One with leftover sharp Italian Fontina cheese and smoked oysters from a tin, and another with Bucheron (aged French goat cheese), seared tomatoes and fresh basil. Call it "mac 'n' cheese for adults."

The chef serves a grown-up macaroni and cheese with tasso ham at his restaurant. And although he is creative in the kitchen, Rouse, who also sings with a band called Dixie Trash, is grounded in the fried-chicken-and-grits country cuisine of his native Burlington.

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"Mac 'n' cheese was a staple at my house growing up," he says. "My mom always tried to convince me that orange stuff was cheese. I knew it wasn't, but I loved it anyway."

We think you'll love his new takes on mac better.

Recipes

Mac 'n' Cheese with Cheese (Master Recipe)

1 small box (5.5 ounce) macaroni 'n' cheese mix

1 cup milk, half-and-half or heavy cream

1/4 pound grated or chopped cheese, such as sharp cheddar, goat, Swiss or other favorite

1 tablespoon butter

1 to 2 tablespoons bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add macaroni from box to large pot of boiling water and boil 5 minutes. Drain pasta and set aside.

Meanwhile, reduce milk or cream by half over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes, stirring often. Reduce heat and add shredded cheese slowly to reduced milk, stirring constantly until cheese melts and sauce thickens. Add tablespoon of butter to sauce. Add powdered cheese from box to cheese sauce and stir well. (If sauce appears too thick, add more milk or cream.)

Butter a shallow casserole or gratin dish or spray with vegetable oil spray. Toss cooked macaroni with cheese sauce and spoon mixture into greased dish. Spread evenly and sprinkle top with bread crumbs. Place dish in oven and bake until top begins to turn brown and crusty, about 10 minutes. (To hasten cooking, place dish under broiler briefly, but watch carefully.) Makes 4 servings.

Chef's variations

• Mac 'n' Cheese with Goat Cheese, Seared Tomatoes and Basil

Following directions in Master Recipe, use 1/4 pound fresh or aged goat cheese. Cut 2 small tomatoes in half or into thirds and sear briefly, cut side down, in 1/2 tablespoon olive oil over high heat. Don't let tomatoes char; they should turn bright red. Turn tomatoes cut side up and season to taste with smoked salt or salt. After placing macaroni and cheese mixture in casserole, place seared tomatoes on top of mixture. Omit bread crumbs.

Bake as directed in Master Recipe. After removing from oven, top with shredded fresh basil before serving.

• Mac 'n' Cheese with Fontina and Smoked Oysters

Following directions in Master Recipe, use 1/4 pound Fontina. After mixing cheese sauce with macaroni, add one tin (3.5 ounce) of drained smoked oysters. Stir and place mixture in casserole. Bake as directed in Master Recipe, topping with bread crumbs.

Mac 'n' cheese cooking tips

How the chef made better mac 'n' cheese:

• Don't overcook the noodles. Boil pasta about 5 minutes and drain before mixing with cheese sauce.

• Reduce cream or milk for the sauce. Reducing cream makes it deliciously rich.

• Use real cheese. Your choice, but it should be a cheese that melts easily.

• Incorporate cheese slowly into milk or cream. Add cut or grated cheese to hot liquid and stir constantly until it melts and sauce thickens.

• Top with bread crumbs. The chef crushed leftover croutons to make crumbs.

• Bake a few minutes in oven to give the macaroni a crisp texture. Rouse put the macaroni and cheese in a shallow casserole and baked it at 350 degrees about 10 minutes. He turned the broiler on briefly at the end to brown the top.

Tricks of the chef's trade

• To intensify the flavor of off-season tomatoes, Rouse cuts tomatoes in half and sears them, cut side down, in a lightly oiled skillet over high heat for a minute or two.

• To make bread crumbs without a mess, the chef puts leftover croutons in a sealable plastic bag and crushes them with his hands or on the counter top.

• To add an intriguing smoky flavor to dishes, Rouse uses Matiz Mediterraneo ($9.69/125 grams), a smoked sea salt from Spain available at Mediterranean Imports at Findlay Market. For his mac 'n' cheese made with aged goat cheese, the chef seasoned the seared tomatoes lightly with the smoked salt before adding them to the casserole. (Mediterranean Imports: 241-8222.)

Where to get different Mac 'n' Cheese

In addition to Rouse's Mac 'n' Cheese with Tasso Ham at Iron Horse Inn, other restaurants offer versions of the classic dish. A sampling:

• Carlo & Johnny (Montgomery) and South Beach Grill (Covington): "Four cheese."

• El Coyote (Anderson Township and Edgewood): "Rich and spicy."

• Green Derby (Newport): "Old-fashioned."

• JeanRo Bistro (downtown): "Duck Confit Macaroni Gratin with Leeks, Celery and Mushrooms."

• Jeff Ruby's (downtown): "Crab."

About the series

Here's how our series works: We give a chef a common ingredient, such as mac 'n' cheese, and ask him or her to create a dish with it - and no more than seven other grocery store ingredients - in 45 minutes or less in their home kitchen.

Tell us which ingredients to foist on the chef. Send ideas to:

What Would a Chef Do With?

The Cincinnati Enquirer

312 Elm St., Cincinnati, OH 45202

E-mail: cmartin@enquirer.com.

Include your phone number.

E-mail cmartin@enquirer.com