Chipotle and Pancetta Mac and Cheese

I went to a White Elephant Gift Exchange and Mac and Cheese and Wine Party. If you haven't been to a White Elephant Gift Exchange, then you need to gather up your friends and have one. The gifts given are usually inexpensive, humorous, used or pointless items. If you want the full rules, click over to this Wiki page. I was happy with my gift, it was a Herb Garden made by Chia Pet which I've always wanted a little herb garden... I was actually a bit disappointed that it wasn't a Chia Pet. Others weren't as excited about their gifts, one receiving a car headlight and the other receiving a toilet plunger with anti-diarrhea medicine. Not cool. 

The other part of the party included people bringing in homemade macaroni and cheese. I spent hours scouring the internet for the perfect recipe. Did I want kale? spinach? bacon? Did I want to fry it? and after a while, I gave up and decided I'd come up with my own. Since I've been on a chipotle kick for the past year, I thought that I would include it in my recipe. This mac and cheese is delicious. It's not too spicy, but has enough kick at the end of every bite and the blend of cheeses is perfect... creamy, yet gooey and not too thick. The pancetta gives it that something extra, without being as overwhelming as bacon would be. Unfortunately, I didn't get any good pictures, so the ugly pictures will have to do, but I swear it is DELICIOUS! 

Sean's Desert Mac and Cheese

Sean also thought outside of the box and came up with a desert mac and cheese recipe. His had cinnamon in his cheese, graham cracker topping, grated chocolate and a chocolate cookie. The flavors sounds like they don't go together, but once you take a bite, it was amazing. The flavors of the cheese and cinnamon complemented each other and the combination of sweet and salt (from the cheese) was perfect. I'll post the recipe, if I can get him to remember what exactly he did. For now, I will just share mine...