I was finishing a jar of extremely hot peppers (7 pot primos) that I had fermenting on Thanksgiving day. I made a hot sauce with them and cantaloupe. I had them in a pan at a low simmer to meld the flavors. The problem was the steam coming off was potent as hell. It filled the house when everyone was arriving and coughing from the hot sauce in the air, me included. We had to open all the windows, dig out the fans to get it out of the house, freezing everyone in the process.
I’ve been experimenting with different cheeses in my stovetop mac and to be honest, America/cheddar is still the best combo I’ve found. Was disappointed when a batch of smoked Gouda was still good, but not as good as the sauce made from “milk-product” slices and any old block of mild cheddar.
I’m sure parm would be good in breadcrumbs on top or a little in the sauce but this was a mistake sauce that was just parm and cream. Live and learn.
For mac and cheese, have you tried hot sauce? Just a little makes the cheese pop. It’s like coffee and chocolate.