No other food defines “broke ass” more than a $1 box of elbow pasta and powdered cheddar, but that doesn’t mean it can’t make for a classy meal. We gave four chefs a $5 bill and a box of mac ’n’ cheese (President’s Choice Deluxe White Cheddar, naturally) and asked them to impress us. We imagine the results will also impress the thousands of dorm-room dwellers currently eating cereal for dinner.
“KD” cassoulet (pictured above)
From Enoteca Sociale’s Matthew DeMille
The newly installed chef at Enoteca Sociale brought the comforts and hearty fare of the French countryside to North American processed eats. He added Italian sausage, bacon, tomato paste and a mirepoix (a basic trio of diced carrots, onions and celery) to give the mac ’n’ cheese a much richer flavour. He then topped it with a seared drumstick, to add some protein for all those growing university kids.
Additional ingredients
2 bacon slices (60 cents)
1 Italian sausage (75 cents)
1 celery stalk (16 cents)
1 yellow onion (42 cents)
½ carrot (13 cents)
4 chicken drumsticks ($2.24)
½ can of tomato paste (24 cents)
Total: $4.54
Serves four very hungry people.
The fried KD sandwich
From Brockton General’s Alexandra Feswick
“Brockton General is all about home-cooked meals, so I wanted to continue with that here,” Feswick says. To really drive the nostalgia, she used the original nuclear-orange KD meal-in-a-box (the PC variety works as well), adding bacon strips, cream cheese and diced jalapeno. She then shaped it into burger patties, coated them with breadcrumbs and fried them in a pan.
Additional ingredients
1 small tub of cream cheese ($3.49)
5 bacon slices (75 cents)
7 jalapenos (60 cents)
1 sesame-seed bun (40 cents)
Total: $4.94
Makes enough for six patties.
The Mac ’n’ cheese stuffed onion
From Secret Pickle Supper Club’s Matt Kantor
For his dish, Kantor took inspiration from the upcoming fall season and added ground veal, crunchy green apples and mushrooms to the mac ’n’ cheese before packing it inside a hollowed-out roasted onion. An entire packet of cheese sauce was used but, in a feat of herbal magic (tarragon, chives, parsley and an apple were all thrown into the mix), it’s the lightest tasting of the bunch.
Additional ingredients
1 vidalia onion ($2)
¼ Granny Smith apple (20 cents)
110 g ground veal ($1)
100 g cremini mushrooms (70 cents)
8 sprigs of tarragon (33 cents)
8 sprigs of chives (33 cents)
8 sprigs of parsley (33 cents) Total: $4.89
Makes one stuffed onion, with a large helping of leftover macaroni.
Mac ’n’ cheese ’n’ egg with “Latino Five-Spice”
From Steve Gonzalez, formerly of Origin Chef Gonzalez is branching out to open his own place. Once he finds a vacant space, he’ll be serving his signature ceviches. In the meantime, he created this sandwich with multiple flavour layers. The mac ’n’ cheese is mixed with his own five-spice blend (cumin, coriander, caraway, cardamom and black pepper), as well as orange zest, diced chorizo and a couple slices of provolone. He served the pasta over a savory cheese roll topped with two fried eggs.
Additional ingredients
2 slices of provolone ($1)
1 savory cheese roll ($1.29)
2/3 cup mild chorizo sausage ($1.67)
2 eggs (66 cents)
orange zest (5 cents)
Total: $4.67
Makes one sandwich, with leftover macaroni.
