fresh shiitake mushroom mac & cheese

my dear friend's parents have a farm out in rural south carolina, on which they grow and harvest a variety of different (legal) mushrooms.  i was lucky enough to obtain 4 HUGE pounds of their recent harvest - and let me tell you - those suckers were gigantic and delicious!!!  

we loved experimenting with different recipes all week, but the fresh shiitake mushroom mac & cheese was my favorite (naturally). i used 2 recipes as inspiration for this creamy, cheesy, mushroomy goodness. 

original recipes: Alton Brown's Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese (repinned here) AND Stove-top Macaroni and Cheese from The Galley Gourmet (repinned here).

i made the following changes:

• i used one whole egg + one egg yolk (essentially combining the two recipes)
• i used a cheese variety!  both recipes call for 10 oz. of sharp cheddar. instead, i used a mix of colby jack and gouda cheeses - one of them was a "three alarm" cheese with "intense pepper flavor" of chipotle, habanero, and jalapeno peppers (to please my darling husband).
• i did not use ANY cayenne pepper (since i was using the spicy cheese)
• i added about a pound of fresh shiitake mushrooms, chopped into 1-inch-ish pieces, sauteed in 1 Tbsp of butter

what i'll change next time:

• don't tell my husband, but i'll probably do without the "three alarm" cheese and go with regular colby jack or a sharp cheddar instead. 
• as a result of the previous omit, i would add a tiny bit of cayenne pepper, as called for in both recipes.

final recipe!!

1/2 lb corkscrew noodles

5 Tbsp salted butter

1 egg + 1 egg yolk

6 oz. evaporated milk

10 oz. of good, freshly grated cheese (sharp cheddar/gouda/colby jack recommended)

1 lb. of chopped shiitake mushrooms (the fresher, the better)

1/2 tsp. ground mustard

salt + pepper (to taste)

dash of cayenne pepper (to taste)

dash of olive oil (or an extra Tbsp of butter)

bring a large pot of salted water to boil, and cook noodles to al dente according to the package directions. drain and sprinkle with a dash of olive oil or a Tbsp of butter to avoid sticky noodles. return the empty pot to the stovetop.

meanwhile, add 1 Tbsp of butter to the pot.  once melted, add the chopped mushrooms and saute for a few minutes or until your preferred desired consistency/doneness.

while the mushrooms are cooking, whisk together the egg + yolk, evaporated milk, ground mustard, cayenne (if using), and a dash of salt + pepper in a medium-ish sized bowl.

when the mushrooms are done, turn the heat down to low and add the drained noodles to the pot, along with the rest of the butter (should be about 4 Tbsp).  mix it all together until the butter is mostly melted. add the evaporated milk mixture and stir it all up.  add in the cheeses - about a handful at a time - while continuing to stir.  once the cheese is melted and you are looking at a pot full of cheesy, creamy noodles and mushrooms, serve it up and enjoy!!