Homemade Macaroni and Cheese: The Topic

[Khadija]

I've had no problems with the cheese separating, but I haven't tried baking the mac n' cheese yet.

I haven't tried the Olive Mill recipe per se, but I've cooked lots of dishes using the risotto-style method. I make a dish that involves sweating finely chopped onion and lots of grated butternut squash with a bit of sage. I then adding "raw" penne to the mixture, then adding water to the mixture in small amounts until the pasta is cooked. I finish the dish with fresh grated parmesan. The squash and onion disintegrate and form a thick sauce around the pasta. I noticed recently, after adding more cheese than usual, that the dish resembled mac n' cheese in some respects, and that's when I started thinking I should experiment using the "risotto-method" for mac n' cheese.

[Khadija]

Oh, my previous experiment involved aged cheddar and some parmesan.

[MarkIsCooking]

I know most kids love Mac n Cheese, but I never did when I was younger. As an adult, I became a big fan. Maybe because I never ate that stuff out of the box. I've eaten more adult versions at various restaurants. I'm sure we've all had dishes that we remember forever. Maybe our memories even improve the flavor over time. Some years ago, I ate a Truffled Mac n Cheese at Mistral in Boston that was awesome. A friend of mine supposedly obtained the recipe and I'm sharing the link to the recipe in my recipe file. Truffled Mac n Cheese

How about it folks. What's YOUR favorite take on this classic? PLEASE share recipes, not just descriptions (but as usual, I'll take what I can get).

-Mark

[kayb]

Here's the one my kids still clamor for. Nothing gourmet about it...but they love it.

1 pound cooked elbow macaroni

1/2 stick butter

about 1/2 to 3/4 cup half-and-half

1 1/2 cups grated cheddar or cheddar-jack mix

1 1/2 cups grated Velveeta

salt

pepper

bread crumbs

Cook the mac in salted water, drain, put back in pot on low heat; add butter, grated cheeses, cream and pepper to taste. Add enough cream to make it "juicy." Turn into buttered baking dish, top with bread crumbs, and bake at 400 until golden.

[nakji]

This was on the menu tonight, and I made my standard pan, which uses a bechamel with a mix of old cheddar and parmesan, buttered breadcrumbs and macaroni. I didn't have any one hand, so I subbed in ditalini, which worked even better, I thought, at maintaining cube integrity after I cut it out of the pan than regular mac. I don't know why, but in my head, mac and cheese has to come out of the pan in a square, and hold like that, or it's just not a success. My husband asked me where I'd gotten the recipe, which made me stop and think - I don't use one, and haven't since I started making it as a kid. I don't know when the idea of mac and cheese made with bechamel came into my head, or why it stayed there, but that's all I've ever made.I'll have to use the trick of hot sauce next time - are we talking tabasco here?

I served mine with sauteed green beans and a nice chardonnay.

[MaxH]

I'll have to use the trick of hot sauce next time - are we talking tabasco here?

Thanks for an appetizing account, Nakji!

Tabasco will certainly serve, even though de-fanged some years ago (I guess to widen the market) -- in the 1960s, a spoonful could put you in the hospital, and almost did me, not to dwell on the point. But any hot sauce that tastes good to you will work, just as you don't need a particular recipe for M&C.

The tart (vinegared) red-pepper flavor of Tabasco fits cheese (and egg) dishes well. It's also good as a table garnish for M&C, whether or not you include the gentle under-the-radar hint of it within the M&C itself, which brightens up the cheese flavors. I keep about a dozen widely different hot sauces on hand, refrigerated (easy, because compact and durable), and have tasted through many more.* In particular for cheese dishes, a neighbor kindly introduced Coyote Cucina brand, during experiments with seasonings for Welsh Rabbit/Rarebit. CC is based on Scotch Bonnets and again vinegar, not quite as hot as some of the Bonnet / Habanero sauces, and for some reason it goes exceptionally with cheese dishes. (For anyone who doesn't know about it, Welsh Rabbit or Rarebit -- both nicknames go back several hundred years -- is a spiced melted cheese dish that can be outSTANDing on toasted freshly baked high-gluten bread -- PRIME comfort food.)

* There used to be a specialty pepper-sauce shop near me, like the Mo Hotta Mo Betta that sells by mail in the US. It was amazing, you could walk in, explain the variety of pepper you wanted and the rough Scoville strength, and they'd prescribe like a classic apothecary. Scores of bottles were open for tasting, with tiny plastic spoons just like those for sampling ice cream; unlike ice cream, hot sauces didn't exactly refresh the palate and after several tastes you found yourself wishing desperately for a cold light beer, even inveighing the owner to get licensed for that vital but missing adjunct!

[judiu]

My favorite adjunct to add zip to a cheese sauce (or a bechemel to use in a mac and cheese) is Coleman"s English mustard (the dry type, not prepared) Doesn't take much, only about 1/2 a teaspoon or so, but it sure brightens up the cheese flavors! Oh, yeah, gotta have onions in there too, minced almost to a pulp, but not QUITE.

[JAZ]

I don't know why, but in my head, mac and cheese has to come out of the pan in a square, and hold like that, or it's just not a success.

In contrast, I like a very soft consistency with lots of sauce. When it congeals into a solid mass, I'm not happy. I think that's why leftover macaroni and cheese is never very satisfactory for me; it always seems to solidify after refrigeration and never regains its original creaminess.

[nakji]

The only chili sauce I have on hand right now is a bottle of Vietnamese sri racha, and a tub of gochujang, but I don't either are appropriate mixes for cheese (or are they?), so I'll have to chase down a bottle of tabasco. In the meantime, I might add some dijon to help balance the cheese flavours. As for reheating - I'm staring down the rest of the pan for lunch, and yeah, it's not going to be as good as right out of the oven.

[prasantrin]

In contrast, I like a very soft consistency with lots of sauce. When it congeals into a solid mass, I'm not happy. I think that's why leftover macaroni and cheese is never very satisfactory for me; it always seems to solidify after refrigeration and never regains its original creaminess.

It helps to make a small batch of cheese sauce and blend it in to reheated mac&cheese. It's still not the same as freshly cooked m&c, but it's creamier than plain reheated m&c.

I've also made cheese sauce, refrigerated it, and added it to m&c before reheating. Still not the same as fresh, but a little creamier/saucier.

Plus you can never have too much cheese sauce in m&c.

[JAZ]

I use mustard as well (dry, usually, but dijon style if I don't have dry), but have also used a pinch of cayenne instead when I didn't have mustard. You could try that.

[Dave the Cook]

Although it's nearly as much trouble as making macaroni and cheese itself, a great way to deal with leftover m&c (especially if it's on the dry side) is to slice it, bathe it in egg and roll in panko. Deep fry until the bread flakes are, you know, golden brown; serve with pepper sauce.

Speaking of pepper sauce, I prefer cayenne for anything that cooks for prolonged periods (depending on how you make your m&c, it may or may not qualify). In my experience, cooking pepper sauces for more than about 20 minutes dramatically reduces their effectiveness.

[violetfox]

"Leftover macaroni and cheese"?

Anyway, I have a recipe that I really like from our church cookbook.

Heat oven to 350. Butter a casserole dish - I use a Fire King lasagna pan.

I package of elbow macaroni, cooked (Prince casserole elbows if I can find them), mixed with some butter, a bit of salt and pepper so that the macaroni tastes good on its own

in the pot, mix in:

3 packages of grated SHARP cheddar (I like Cabot Hunters') or equivalent of fresh-grated depending on time available

1/2 finely diced medium red onion

2 Tbsp. flour

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Tabasco or other hot sauce to taste

You'll need 1 quart of whole milk. As you mix, add some of the milk to make the mixture pourable. Pour into the prepared pan, add the remaining milk.

Spinkle top with about 1/2 cup of dry bread crumbs.

Cover loosely with aluminum foil, bake 30 minutes with the foil, then remove and bake another 30 minutes until browned.

[MSRadell]

I thought, at maintaining cube integrity after I cut it out of the pan than regular mac. I don't know why, but in my head, mac and cheese has to come out of the pan in a square, and hold like that, or it's just not a success.

Just a good example of how we all cook and like different things. In my opinion if Mac and Cheese comes out in a square it's way too dry and possibly overcooked. I like and make mine so it's nicely scoopable and still soft. Leftovers are normally quite firm but when it's fresh and warm it's quite soft.

My favorite adjunct to add zip to a cheese sauce (or a bechemel to use in a mac and cheese) is Coleman"s English mustard (the dry type, not prepared) Doesn't take much, only about 1/2 a teaspoon or so, but it sure brightens up the cheese flavors!

I used Coleman's and so many other things I don't know why I've never used it in Mac and Cheese but I certainly will. I normally use a little fresh ground white pepper to brighten it up and it also works quite well.

[Jaymes]

I had an absolutely wonderful Green Chile Mac & Cheese while out to lunch yesterday. The flavors went together perfectly. My new quest will be to find a good recipe. I googled it and there appear to be many likely possibilities.

[MelissaH]

We have three different versions of mac and cheese in our house: My Way, His Way, and the Blue Box Way. My Way starts with a bechamel sauce, seasoned with a pinch of chile and a bit of dry mustard, to which I add half monterey jack and half sharp cheddar. The sauce gets mixed with cooked small elbows, poured into a pyrex dish, and baked until the top is crusty and the whole thing is bubbly. I've been known to mix in a can of diced tomatoes. His Way uses large elbows, which get tossed with chunks of sharp colby (which can be hard to find; you can use sharp cheddar if you must) in a baking dish. Evaporated milk is poured over the top, and more chunks of cheese get added to the top. It too gets baked.

Since I'm usually the one making the mac and cheese during the week, I do it My Way. On the weekends, he's more likely to make it, and of course he does it His Way. It's been eons since either of us has done it the Blue Box Way.

MelissaH

[nakji]

I've been known to mix in a can of diced tomatoes.

Oh, I don't know why I've never thought of that. That must really give it a nice tang of acidity. Sometimes I find mac and cheese too creamy, and it gets boring to eat about halfway through, tomatoes might be worth trying. Does His Way work out well? It sounds intriguing, and I've been looking for some ways to use up evaporated milk.

[Chris Amirault]

Just another vote for Alton Brown's recipe, a big hit last night. Not as good as when I included the bacon lardons, but, well, that's to be expected.

[Jon Savage]

instead of cheddar I use Italian truffle cheese from Trader Joe's. Tasty.

[Canned Tuna]

Macaroni and Cheese My Way by Jan Birnbaum.

[JAZ]

A friend of mine sent me this link to a recipe from Amanda Hesser, because he knows I have a thing about texture. I think her initial premise is correct:

I've always thought macaroni and cheese's 20% crunch to 80% soft ratio was all wrong. The ratio should be more like 50:50. The soft part, delicious though it may be, wears you out. You need lots of crisp bits to stay interested in the dish.

But I think her solution is all wrong. Baking macaroni and cheese with a layer of cheese on top doesn't give you crunch; it gives you leathery cheese you can barely chew through. Plus, I've tried the cream+milk combination in the past, and am not convinced it makes superior mac and cheese.

Mostly, I'm not sure why she chose this odd route to getting a higher crunch to soft ratio. When I make macaroni and cheese, I just use a shallow dish that fits the macaroni/cheese mixture in a thin layer -- like one or two noodles thick. Then I top with buttered panko, mixed with parm if I have it and want to go the extra mile, and bake.

But maybe I'm missing something. Has anyone tried this? What do you think?

[emmalish]

JAZ, that approach makes much more sense to me too. I usually bake my mac & cheese in a deep-ish dish, but I'm okay with a 20-80 ratio.

Just read the Alton Brown recipe posted upthread. That's pretty close to what I usually do, but I'm just winging it. I also sautée the onion in the butter, then add the flour and mustard and continue on, rather than adding the onion later. And like Melissa, I'll sometimes add a can of tomatoes as well. Depends what I'm in the mood for.

[Tim Dolan]

Given that Thanksgiving is right around the corner it seemed like a good time to bump this topic. Everyone has to bring a dish at my gathering so I'm thinking that mac and cheese will solidly fill my requirement. Anyone have anything new to add?

I have a question about bacon. What do you think the results would be like if I cut up some uncooked bacon and added it to my mixture of pasta and cheese and then just let it cook in the oven? It would have a chewier texture, right?

Or even better, what about diced pancetta?

Edited November 17, 2010 by Tim Dolan (log)

[JAZ]

It seems to me that there are two problems with this approach: first, the bacon or pancetta wouldn't cook through in the time the macaroni and cheese takes to cook, and second, it would result in puddles of rendered fat in the dish.

[nakji]

Mmm, not a fan of semi-cooked bacon or pancetta myself, either. How about strips of cooked bacon on the top, or even better, crisp crumbled bacon bits interspersed with the breadcrumbs in a crunchy top layer?