Homemade Macaroni and Cheese: The Topic

[andiesenji]

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?

There is a "trick" for partially cooking and rendering some of the fat out of the bacon that works whenever it is an ingredient in a baked dish - beans, pasta, or ??.

Half an inch of water in a skillet, brought to a boil, add the cut up bacon (works for salt pork also) and simmer until the water is almost gone remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

At this point it will cook readily in a casserole.

You can use this same method for pre-cooking pork chops that are going to be in a dish of scalloped potatoes so the chops will be fully cooked by the time the potatoes are done - you will need a bit more water and may have to add more if it cooks away before the chops are finished.

Edited November 20, 2010 by andiesenji (log)

[ambra]

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.

Can I ask what the egg in the recipe adds to the dish? I saw someone upthread mention that the eggs make it custard like, but what if you leave it out?

I'd like to halve the recipe since there will only be two of us eating and I'm just wondering if I should bother halving an egg....Doesn't seem worth it.

Thanks.

[Chris Amirault]

I dunno as I haven't left it out, but I'd think it'd lend a creamy, um... eggy quality that's tasty.

[rotuts]

Id make the whole thing, and save 1/2 for later. if indeed there is any left!

[Susie Q]

I hope someone can start me off in the right direction. I want to make macaroni and cheese for my father, but not just any macaroni and cheese. It is the one he always talks about, the one he compares all others to.

 

It is one he used to order at the Clifton’s Cafeteria in Southern California. There is just one left in Los Angeles and it is closed for renovation. This mac and cheese, he said, was in an egg custard base. It was light just like a dessert egg custard except it was savory.

 

If anybody has made this type before I’d love to know how to make it. If not any guide lines to start with would be appreciated. I was wondering what ratios should I start with and what type of cheese should I use? How would I go about adding cheese to an egg custard base without becoming a sauce or breaking? I’ve made egg custard a few times and I figured it would need to bake in a water bath.

 

Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[Lisa Shock]

I saw a photo online, with a review from someone who did not like it. Looks like it might be a cheese souffle with macaroni added and topped with buttered breadcrumbs.

[JohnT]

Are you not, by any chance, referring to the old fashioned "baked macaroni and cheese"? It has gone out of fashion but I still make it on a regular basis. Here is my recipe, which can be made in a large dish or individual pasta dishes. The inclusion of the eggs makes a richer base and sets the product, which can be cut Into portions or simply spooned onto serving plates. The left-overs can be covered and refrigerated and make a good snack for lunch, cut into slices and eaten cold with a small green salad on the side.

BAKED MACARONI & CHEESE

Ingredients:

500g macaroni

15 ml salt

3 litres water

2 Kabanosi sausages, cut in half lengthways and sliced

2 frankfurter sausages, cut in half lengthways and sliced

1 medium onion, diced

1 green pepper, seeded and diced

125g sliced button mushrooms

2 tomatoes, diced

15 ml butter

200g mature cheddar cheese, grated

3 eggs

1 litre milk

salt and freshly ground black pepper

45 ml Maizina (corn flour)

Method:

Dice the onion, green pepper and tomatoes and add the sliced Kabanosi and frankfurter and sliced mushrooms.

Place 3 litres water into a pot and add the salt. Bring to the boil and add the macaroni, cooking for about 8 minutes or as directed on the packaging.

Drain the water completely and add the diced vegetables and sliced sausages. Mix well and place into dish(es).

Clean the pot and make a cheese sauce by melting the butter with a little milk. Mix the Maizina with a little milk to make a watery paste then add to the pot with the remaining milk and bring to the boil, stirring continuously, until thickened.

Once thick, remove from the heat and stir in the grated cheese, stirring until the cheese has melted and is fully incorporated. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Let the sauce cool for 5 minutes and add the eggs, whisking the sauce to incorporate the eggs fully.

Pour the sauce into the pasta filled container(s).

Bake in a preheated oven, 200°C (fan 180°C) until slightly browned, about 20 to 30 minutes, and until the product has set.

Note: you can leave out the diced sausages if you wish or use diced bacon instead. I just find the sausages give the dish quite a bit of extra flavour as modern commercial pastas really has no flavour, unlike the old days when pasta was made with egg yolks and flour.

Edited September 25, 2014 by JohnT (log)

[pbear]

Following Lisa's lead, this blog post seems to be the review she found.  (At least, it's the only detailed one I could find.)  Considering the price and the venue, I think the recipe probably is very simple.  As it happens, I've done something similar recently, but rather than give you that recipe, I'll make by best guess at how to replicate Clifton's   Emphasis on the word guess.

 

First, prepare some buttered bread crumbs, say 4 tbsp plain dry with 1 tbsp melted butter.  Second, prepare a "sauce."   Beat 2 lg eggs with 1-1/2 c half-and-half (or milk); stir in 6 to 8 oz grated medium cheddar, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper.  No heat, just mix 'em together.  Cook 1/2 lb macaroni (elbows or other small tubular shape) just barely al dente in salted boiling water; drain well; while still hot, stir into cheese mixture, then transfer to a lightly greased 2 qt baking dish (doubled, this will fit a 9 by 13 inch dish); sprinkle with buttered bread crumbs.  Bake in 350º oven (no water bath) until firm and lightly browned, about 40 minutes (a bit longer for a double batch).

 

The most important thing about this, I suspect, it gonna be the cheese.  I'd be willing to bet large sums Clifton's isn't using a fancy cheddar.  Rather, my hunch is that the right choice will be a mass-market cheese like Kraft or Tillamook, probably medium but maybe sharp.  Not only are the flavors of these milder but, because of the production process, they melt more easily.  Which, in turn, is probably critical to getting the texture right, defined here as close to Clifton's.

 

Hope that helps.  It's all just a SWAG, so feel free to modify in any way which makes sense to you.

[djyee100]

This recipe:
http://recipes.safeway.com/recipe/19368/chuck-s-favorite-mac-and-cheese.aspx

 

One reviewer said it was the Clifton's Cafeteria mac and cheese. See CookingKat's post.
http://recipes.safeway.com/recipe/19368/reviews-comments.aspx?page=135

 

The cottage cheese and sour cream ingredients would make it creamy and tangy. I wouldn't call it custardy in the sense of egg custard, though.

 

I used to make Broccoli Mushroom Noodle Casserole from Mollie Katzen's original Moosewood Cookbook. It had a cheesy cottage cheese & sour cream sauce with eggs in it. The eggs bound and enriched the sauce. Very popular back in the day, when I brought it to potlucks for friends. You could experiment with the addition of eggs to the Chuck's recipe (above).

The BMN casserole recipe:
http://www.bigoven.com/recipe/broccoli-mushroom-noodle-casserole/45480

 

good luck with your search!

[Lisa Shock]

Yeah, that was the blog post I found. I discounted the Safeway post a little, just because the blogger specifically said the texture was like egg whites had been folded in, like a dessert. It sounded like she'd never had a savory souffle.

 

If you're going to experiment, I'd leave out vegetables and meats. The original doesn't have them and they may affect your water balance.

 

I agree with the blogger, this does not look like ordinary baked macaroni and cheese. The cheese part in the traditional stuff is gooey and has a smooth texture.

 

Personally, I would take this recipe and before starting par-boil 4 cups of dry elbows, drain, and then mix in at the end. Bake in rectangular pan that is large enough to hold the mixture and allow for about a 25% rise.

[Martin Fisher]

Custard style macaroni and cheese is common old-fashioned potluck food in this area.

Something like this.... http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/custard-style-mac-and-cheese/6981102f-cb19-4d53-a550-55fe2d1b65ae

[FeChef]

Looks like reheated baked mac n cheese to me.

[FeChef]

If you want a really good base to experiment with, buy a can of Ricco's aged cheddar cheese sauce. Stuff blows Kraft, cheeze whiz and velveta out of the water. You could try small batches and add eggs to get the right texture. My guess is you want something creamy but "set".

[djyee100]

Custard style macaroni and cheese is common old-fashioned potluck food in this area.

Something like this.... http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/custard-style-mac-and-cheese/6981102f-cb19-4d53-a550-55fe2d1b65ae

 

I think this recipe is going on the right track. I googled "custard style macaroni and cheese" and a bunch of recipes came up. It was described as being a Southern variation of mac and cheese as well. I've never tried this kind of mac and cheese. Learn something new everyday.

 

Yeah, that was the blog post I found. I discounted the Safeway post a little, just because the blogger specifically said the texture was like egg whites had been folded in, like a dessert...

 

I didn't know what to make of the blogger's post. She disliked this style of mac & cheese, and that may have affected her description of it. The description sounded so weird and unappetizing to me. How could so many people like this mac & cheese? It's ironic that other people online raved about Clifton's mac & cheese, said it was the best they've ever had, and yet they didn't describe it.

 

Susie Q, I suggest that you consult the expert--your father. Ask him what he liked about Clifton's mac & cheese (beyond the egg custard base), and tweak some recipes in that direction.

 

Edited September 26, 2014 by djyee100 (log)

[Lisa Shock]

Custard style macaroni and cheese is common old-fashioned potluck food in this area.

Something like this.... http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/custard-style-mac-and-cheese/6981102f-cb19-4d53-a550-55fe2d1b65ae

 

I think this is it. I just made a half-batch of it. (kind of, I only had block cheese and was sort of iffy on how much to use) It had that odd texture and the flavor was a bit flat/watery. It was not gooey, the cheese part did not stretch or run at all. And, it was in no way greasy. The watery part may have been because I used skim milk. Anyway, when it first came out of the oven it was clearly a solid mass. The egginess held it together and had a fluffiness, a sort of lightness about it. The cheese flavor was more of a background note or aftertaste. I can't really compare it to anything, and I have never had the cafeteria in question's offering, but, this seems to match the blog post.

[suzilightning]

.

 

I agree with the blogger, this does not look like ordinary baked macaroni and cheese. The cheese part in the traditional stuff is gooey and has a smooth texture.

 

This looks like the mac and cheese I grew up with...my mom used to cube and shred good rat cheese, mix it with the hot elbows then mix in an egg beaten with some Worcestershire sauce then fill with milk until you can just see the milk under the level of the macaroni.  Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes in a 350F oven then uncover and broil.

[Kerry Beal]

Here's mine.  Imperial cheese added makes it cheesier.

 

Mom's Macaroni and Cheese Ingredients

 

• 1 lb macaroni
• 3 tbsp butter
• 2 cups milk
• 3 eggs
• ½ lb shredded old cheddar cheese (1/2 to 1)
• 1 tsp salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons grated onion
• 4 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 cup breadcrumbs

 

Method

 

Cook pasta until soft. Drain, add 3 tbsp butter, shredded cheese and when melted add milk. Add eggs, onion, salt and pepper. place in large casserole dish and sprinkle with breadcrumbs that you have mixed with melted butter. Bake at 350 until browned and bubbly, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

 

 

[pedie]

I am trying various recipes to find one I can prepare for a crowd of about 50 for a baby shower.  Every one I have tried has a bechamel sauce prepared with a roux, then gently melted schredded cheese so it is rich and creamy when combined with the pasta.  However, when it comes out of the oven, it seems to have broken down and it is oily.  Is the oven too hot? (most recipes call for 375 degrees)  Is it baked too long? (most suggest 30 minutes)  Is it the cheese? (I used a combination of sharp cheddar and  gruyere and some parmesan.)

any suggestions would be appreciated.

[gfweb]

The MC thread has answers  http://forums.egullet.org/topic/147699-modernist-cuisine-mac-and-cheese-3%E2%80%A2387-and-6%E2%80%A2192/?hl=+modernist%20+mac

[gulfporter]

I think it's the cheese.  I tried to upscale my Mother's mac n cheese recipe by using fancier cheeses, but it's never as smooth as hers.   She used Kraft White American.  It really does melt down nicely. 

Edited October 27, 2014 by gulfporter (log)

[Shelby]

I'm tellin' ya, ya gotta use Velveeta.

[gfweb]

I'm tellin' ya, ya gotta use Velveeta.

Pretty much what MC ends up with.

 

But using designer cheese and chemistry.

[btbyrd]

Sodium citrate. Here's a recipe.

[pbear]

I think it's the cheese.  I tried to upscale my Mother's mac n cheese recipe by using fancier cheeses, but it's never as smooth as hers.   She used Kraft White American.  It really does melt down nicely. 

 

This sounds right to me, as I've had similar experiences trying to use artisan cheeses in conventional mac and cheese.  They'll work in modernist mac and cheese but, frankly, I don't think that's suitable for a buffet, as it tends to congeal unless kept quite warm.

 

BTW, pedie, bechamel isn't the only way to make a conventional mac and cheese.  There's also custard style.  This thread from last month has several recipes.  Also, I've gotten good results simply melting a mass market cheese, e.g., Kraft or Tillamook, with sour cream, but that's a stove-top sauce, not a baked casserole.

[Lisa Shock]

I make mine with grocery store block mozzarella and cream -and lots of garlic, but, it doesn't taste like what people expect. I don't like cheddar cheese (or Jack, or a well, a lot of cheeses), so, it suits me fine.

 

That said, when cooking for others, the Modernist cheese is the way to go.