Chicken and Waffles and Black Pepper Syrup OH MY!

I don't know that I have ever mentioned this, but my hubby is from the south. Not just the south, but the deep south. We are talking Alabama south. Where the accents are thick and the iced tea is sweet. Now being a girl from big city Baltimore this was a whole new world to me. I thought us moving to North Carolina was pretty southern but boy was I in for a surprise. Everything is different there but most of all the food.

I have spent a lot of time in our relationship expanding my palette to include more foods of the fried variety and he has spent more time trying to understand why we put Old Bay on everything up here. Some of these have been hits: BBQ pulled pork is freakin' amazing!  And I am in love with Dairy Queen (thought my thighs would beg to differ). Plus Adam really does love Maryland Crabs and Old Bay on popcorn has been pretty popular in our house. Some of them have been misses: I learned pretty quickly that I can't stand the taste of Okra and I do not for the life of me understand the South's love for Mayonnaise (White Sauce Alabama, really?). But either way we have been pretty open to trying each others regional faves. Except I dragged my feet on one: Chicken and Waffles.... boy was I missing out. 

BBQ Pulled Pork Mac N' Cheese

If that title does not have you drooling you may want to check your pulse because you might be dead. Seriously, I am drooling just thinking about it. Cheesy delicious baked mac 'n cheese is a thing of beauty all on its own. So is smoky tangy bbq pulled pork. Put the two together? Well that's just magic. This recipe takes a little while (we usually start the pork Saturday night and make the rest for Sunday dinner) but it is well worth the effort. Marinate the pork overnight then slap it in the crockpot in the morning. By dinner time you will have comfort food to die for.