The Best Macaroni and Cheese
HRinFL
376 Posts
My entire family has been sick the past few weeks and was in the mood for some "comfort food." I found this recipe and tried it. It was great and the family loved it. It is time consuming, but trust me, it is well worth it! It makes enough to feed an army, but is not hard to cut in half.
Ingredients:
1 lb. box of elbow macaroni
4 1/2 cups white sharp cheddar cheese (grated)
1 1/2 cups grated gruyere cheese
5 1/2 cups milk
1 stick unsalted butter
crust from six slices of white bread cut into 1/2 or 1/4 inch lengths (I put them in the food processor and pulse them until I have coarse bread crumbs)
1/2 cup flour
2 tspns salt
1/4 tspn fresh black pepper
1/4 tspn cayenne pepper
1/4 tspn fresh ground nutmeg (or nutmeg from the spice aisle)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Grease 3 quart casserole dish with butter. Make sure to grease the sides
Take two tablespoons of butter and melt in the microwave. Pour over bread crumbs, stir to cover bread crumbs and set aside
Boil water and add macaroni. under cook the macaroni, until the outside is soft but the inside is still not cooked through (2-3 minutes)
Pour milk into a large skillet, with high sides (or into a large pot) and warm over medium heat
In another skillet, melt butter. When the butter has melted, add flour and stir to remove lumps. When the butter flour mixture begins to thicken, remove from heat.
Add butter and flour mixture to the milk, whisking constantly to remove lumps. Continue to whisk constantly for 8-12 minutes, until the milk begins to bubble and the mixture begins to stiffen.
Remove milk mixture from heat. Add 3 cups cheddar cheese and 1 cup of gruyere. Add salt, nutmeg, ground pepper, and cayenne pepper. Stir to mix and until the cheese has melted and is incorporated into the milk.
Drain macaroni and rinse under cold water. Add to the milk and cheese mixture. Stir until the noodles are incorporated into the milk and cheese.
Pour noodles and cheese mixture into casserole dish. Top with the remaining cheese and bread crumbs.
Place in oven and cook for 30 minutes. The edges should bubble and the cheese/bread crumbs should be golden brown.
Remove from oven and place on a wire rack for five minutes to allow the macaroni to set.
Ingredients:
1 lb. box of elbow macaroni
4 1/2 cups white sharp cheddar cheese (grated)
1 1/2 cups grated gruyere cheese
5 1/2 cups milk
1 stick unsalted butter
crust from six slices of white bread cut into 1/2 or 1/4 inch lengths (I put them in the food processor and pulse them until I have coarse bread crumbs)
1/2 cup flour
2 tspns salt
1/4 tspn fresh black pepper
1/4 tspn cayenne pepper
1/4 tspn fresh ground nutmeg (or nutmeg from the spice aisle)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Grease 3 quart casserole dish with butter. Make sure to grease the sides
Take two tablespoons of butter and melt in the microwave. Pour over bread crumbs, stir to cover bread crumbs and set aside
Boil water and add macaroni. under cook the macaroni, until the outside is soft but the inside is still not cooked through (2-3 minutes)
Pour milk into a large skillet, with high sides (or into a large pot) and warm over medium heat
In another skillet, melt butter. When the butter has melted, add flour and stir to remove lumps. When the butter flour mixture begins to thicken, remove from heat.
Add butter and flour mixture to the milk, whisking constantly to remove lumps. Continue to whisk constantly for 8-12 minutes, until the milk begins to bubble and the mixture begins to stiffen.
Remove milk mixture from heat. Add 3 cups cheddar cheese and 1 cup of gruyere. Add salt, nutmeg, ground pepper, and cayenne pepper. Stir to mix and until the cheese has melted and is incorporated into the milk.
Drain macaroni and rinse under cold water. Add to the milk and cheese mixture. Stir until the noodles are incorporated into the milk and cheese.
Pour noodles and cheese mixture into casserole dish. Top with the remaining cheese and bread crumbs.
Place in oven and cook for 30 minutes. The edges should bubble and the cheese/bread crumbs should be golden brown.
Remove from oven and place on a wire rack for five minutes to allow the macaroni to set.
Comments
I've boiled enough milk over to give a hearty "hear, hear" to using a large pot. It's a b*%$@ to scrub off a flat-top stove (in fact, I'm hoping to go back to regular burners soon!)
Also, not to hijack, but does anyone else remember their mom using scalded milk to make mac & cheese in the pre-box days? The smell (right before it hits the heating element boiling over) still takes me back to my childhood.
The recipe only calls for the crust of the bread. Not one to waste anything, I sliced the middle part of the bread into smal cubes, sprinkled the cubes with olive oil, italian seasoning, and parmesian cheese. I mixed it up so the bread cubes were evenly coated, put them on a cookie sheet and into the oven while it was warming up for the mac and cheese. A few minutes later, I had croutons!