As I explained before, I’m on a quest for the perfect mac and cheese. Tonight I may have found the Mozart of Mac. It was, quite simply, awesomeness on a plate.
I started with this stuff:
I melted 3 Tbls of butter and added 2 Tbls of flour and salt and pepper to taste to make a roux.
After the roux cooked for a bit so that it didn’t taste like glue I gradually added 2 cups of milk. You have to stir the whole time you add the milk or you get these little rock-like lumps that do not go away and are not good eats. Don’t ask me how I know this. You don’t want dumplings in your mac, it ruins the whole experience.
After you’ve blended the milk in completely add 10 oz of grated American cheese and stir until melted. The Kraft American cheese in the blue brick really is the shit for this, no lie. It was totally worth getting four pounds of the stuff in the mail from Amazon. The singles just are not the same.
It’s going to be a little runny – that’s ok. It thickens in the oven.
Isn’t it cheesylicious? Now mix it with the cooked macaroni (10 oz uncooked) in a casserole dish and bake it at 350 for 30 minutes. I used shells for this because I love how they hold onto the sauce so much better than elbows.
Behold:
It was so bodaciously cheesy! I served it with a mixed greens, apple, blue cheese, and pecan salad and some pesto sausages. Awe. some. ness. The shells make little cups to hold pools of cheesy goodness that explode in your mouth. This, my friends, is the real deal!
Thank you, Mrs. A for the recipe! You rawk the cheesy disco.
The girl has been bugging me to make mac and cheese. Mine consists of 3 different cheeses plus a little bit of cream cheese. I was supposed to cook it for her this week but I don’t want her catching whatever plague Bill has.
I’ve never seen a roux that isn’t half fat, half flour.
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floating princess Reply:
March 13th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
I’ve never seen a roux like it either, and it wasn’t pasty like a traditional roux. It made the sauce very loose, but it tightened up in the oven. This was more like a diner mac and cheese with the american cheese, which was what I was after this time but I want to try more variations. I bet your three cheese one is great! What cheeses do you use?
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March 13th, 2009 at 9:26 am
I use a mild white cheddar, monterey jack and medium yellow cheddar. I often put some parmesan in there too.
I always use elbows cuz…um…cuz. I never thought about it. I’m going to do the shells because I can see how there would be lots more cheese on the pasta.
My sil fries leftover mac and cheese. I’m afraid to try it…sounds kinda blechy.
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floating princess Reply:
March 14th, 2009 at 9:29 am
@Miss Ann Thrope,
I’ve heard of fried mac and cheese but have never tried it. I think one of the fast food places does it now too. I just don’t know how they do it. Do you make a patty out of it and cover it with breadcrumbs and then fry it? It sounds a lot like deep fried snickers bars to me! There’s enough fat to clog a horses arteries in the mac and cheese without frying it!
I thought about putting breadcrumbs on the top, but didn’t at the last minute. I love that part too.
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March 13th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Oh and I buy the shredded versions of the cheese…sargentos…when it goes on sale buy 1 get 1 free at the store. The 12 oz packs.
The cream cheese really seems to give it just the thing…oh and I always put in a pinch of cayenne.
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March 13th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
Oh and um (haha!) I love it with the breadcrumb topping. Best part if you ask me.
Ok, done now.
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March 13th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
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