Traditional Macaroni and Cheese
This evening we went to a "rib-off" at our friends' house - Terry entered the rib-cooking barbecue contest (no, he didn't win) and I brought the ultimate side dish - macaroni & cheese. No prize was awarded for either of our dishes - because despite his efforts Terry didn't win and despite the fact that my dish truly deserved a prize, there was no prize for side dishes - it just wasn't part of the deal.
However, had there been a prize, this dish certainly would have won first place - all in attendance agreed. I have made mac & cheese before, and found this recipe to be simply the best. Maybe it's the gobs and gobs of cheese. Maybe it's the fact that it is made from scratch rather than cans and other shortcuts. Personally, I think a lot of it is the fact that it incorporates not just cheddar, but also Parmesan cheese, which gives it a distinct and oh-so-yummy flavor. At any rate, you would be hard pressed to find a better one.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F, and butter a 3 to 4 quart gratin dish or other shallow baking pan.
In a heavy saucepan melt 6 tablespoons butter over moderately low heat. Add flour and cook roux, whisking, 3 minutes. Add milk in a stream, whisking, and bring to a boil, whisking. Add mustard, cayenne and salt and pepper to taste and simmer sauce, whisking occasionally until thickened, about 2 minutes.
In a kettle of salted boiling water cook macaroni until just al dente, about 7 minutes and drain well. In a large bowl stir together macaroni, sauce, cheddar and 1 cup parmesan and transfer to prepared dish.
In a small bowl stir together bread crumbs and remaining 1/3 cup parmesan and sprinkle evenly over macaroni. Cut remaining 1 tablespoon butter into bits and scatter over topping.
Bake macaroni in middle of oven 25 to 30 minutes or until golden and bubbling.
Yields: 10 Servings
Traditional Macaroni and Cheese 
Kid Friendly - Picnics - Bake - Advance - Side Dish
Ingredients
 7 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/4 cup +2 Tb all-purpose flour 4 cups milk 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard 1/8 teaspoon Cayenne or to taste (I actually use Frank's Red Hot Sauce here instead) 1 pound elbow macaroni noodles (or mix it up using corkscrews) 3 cups coarsely grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese (12 oz.) 1 1/3 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese (4 oz.) 1 cup fresh bread crumbs |
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F, and butter a 3 to 4 quart gratin dish or other shallow baking pan.
In a heavy saucepan melt 6 tablespoons butter over moderately low heat. Add flour and cook roux, whisking, 3 minutes. Add milk in a stream, whisking, and bring to a boil, whisking. Add mustard, cayenne and salt and pepper to taste and simmer sauce, whisking occasionally until thickened, about 2 minutes.
In a kettle of salted boiling water cook macaroni until just al dente, about 7 minutes and drain well. In a large bowl stir together macaroni, sauce, cheddar and 1 cup parmesan and transfer to prepared dish.
In a small bowl stir together bread crumbs and remaining 1/3 cup parmesan and sprinkle evenly over macaroni. Cut remaining 1 tablespoon butter into bits and scatter over topping.
Bake macaroni in middle of oven 25 to 30 minutes or until golden and bubbling.
Yields: 10 Servings
By the way - I doubled this recipe and it was plenty to feed the large crowd. A single recipe will fill a 9x13 casserole dish nicely.
Linkups:
Tasty Tuesdays at A Beautiful Mess
Delicious Dishes at It's a Blog Party!
Linkups:
Tasty Tuesdays at A Beautiful Mess
Delicious Dishes at It's a Blog Party!
Hey Jen! Just wanted you to know that I was on a search for "the ultimate" mac n cheese recipe for a cooking challenge, and decided to give yours a try! I will say this is my new "go to" recipe for traditional mac n cheese. Come check my post out and the other bloggers that participated in the challenge...
ReplyDeletehttp://kaylasmalltownlife.blogspot.com/2011/09/crazy-cooking-challenge-1-ultimate.html
Thanks Kayla! It's my go-to recipe as well. It's a lot of work, though easy, but completely worth the effort.
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