Fried chicken mac and cheese

Separate skin and meat from the fried chicken bones. Chop the dark meat into bite-sized pieces and mince the crispy skin fine.

Grate the white American cheese and the pepper jack separately.

In a medium saucepan combine the water and milk and bring to a boil.

Add the pasta and stir every so often for six to eight minutes, until one minute shy of very al dente.

Reduce heat to medium low. Add Dijon mustard, cayenne, kosher salt and ground pepper.

Add the chopped chicken and the grated American cheese; cook one minute more so the chicken heats through and the cheese melts, adjusting the flame as needed.

Kill the heat, stir in the pepper jack until evenly distributed, cover and sit off heat about five minutes.

Toast the minced chicken skin in a little oil in a nonstick pan with a handful of panko, which soaks up the extra chicken fat.

Stir in more pepper jack if a gooier texture is wanted; taste for seasoning.

Serve topped with grated Parmesan and the chicken skin breadcrumb topping.

Variation: pile into broiler-safe serving ware, top with chicken skin and more cheese and broil four to five minutes until browned, bubbly and crisp.