Chicken Fried Macaroni and Cheese

for the macaroni and cheese

• 1 pound elbow macaroni
• 1 cup heavy cream or milk
• 12 ounces shredded sharp cheddar (about 3 cups)

for the dredging

• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• fresh cracked black pepper to taste
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons Tabasco
• 1 large egg
• vegetable oil for frying

1. FOR THE MACARONI AND CHEESE: Cook macaroni to al dente. Drain and set aside.
2. Spray a 9" x 13" cake pan with Pam and set aside.
3. In the same pasta pot, heat cream/milk and cheese over medium-low heat, stirring until creamy and smooth. Remove from heat.
4. Add cooked macaroni to the cheese sauce. Mix very well.
5. Spread macaroni and cheese into the greased pan, smoothing with a spatula. Freeze until firm for about a half an hour, or refrigerate overnight.
6. Cut macaroni in the pan into about 20 squares. A bench scraper works well. Just eyeball your lines and press directly downwards with the bench scraper. Or you can whip out a ruler and get all OCD precise-like.
7. FOR THE DREDGING AND FRYING: Heat 1/2" vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
8. In a shallow bowl, mix the flour, paprika, salt and pepper.
9. In another shallow bowl, whisk the buttermilk, Tabasco and egg.
10. Using a skinny/bendy metal spatula, remove a few squares at a time. Keep unused squares chilled. Dredge each square of macaroni in flour, then egg, then flour, shaking off the excess.
11. Fry macaroni squares until golden, then flip and fry other side until golden. Drain on paper towel-lined cooling rack set over a sheet pan.
12. Sprinkle with some flaky sea salt if you’ve got it, or kosher salt is just fine, too. Serve hot with a spicy marinara or gravy, or just plain ol' ketchup.