Talk of The Villages Florida - Mac & Cheese Recipe

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Quote:

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby (Post 1836952)

Hard-core BAKED macaroni and cheese, the way it's supposed to be:
Oven 400°

Ingredients:
1/2 pound cavatappi (spiral macaroni)
4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp flour
1 c. milk
1 c. light or heavy cream (not whipping cream, not half-n-half, must be real dairy)
1/2 tsp salt
black pepper to taste
2 c. shredded sharp (or sharp/extra blend, or sharp/gouda blend) cheddar cheese
1/2 c. breadcrumbs (I use italian seasoned breadcrumbs)

400°
1. Cook the pasta in boiling water, til just a little MORE cooked than "al dente."
2. Set aside cooked drained pasta into a baking dish. I use a glass corningware 8x8 but you can use no-stick 9x11 if that's what you have.
3. Make a roux with melted butter, flour, salt, pepper. (google that if you don't know how to make a roux, it's important)
*4. Add cream & milk slowly, stir constantly.
5. Reduce heat after it boils, keep stirring and cooking for 10 minutes.
6. add cheddar and simmer til cheese melts
7. Dump cheese sauce over pasta, stir to coat well.
8. Sprinkle breadcrumbs over top.
9. Bake 20 minutes or til top is golden brown.

* Adding the milk and cream to the roux makes a bechamel sauce - you can use that for all kinds of things, not just mac & cheese!
** You can swap out 4 tablespoons of the milk, and add a tablespoon of worchestershire sauce plus 3 tablespoons of cooking sherry if you want a "gourmet" foodie-type aftertaste. You can also add grilled boneless skinless chicken breast chunks, or a DRAINED package of peas if that's your thing. I'm a purist, I like it the original way, served molten hot in an ice cream bowl.

Great recipe
Have you ever tried crushing Lays Potato Chip on top instead of breadcrumbs.......yummy

Everybody says they really like my Mac and Cheese. I make it for lots of pit licks and family holiday meals. Reading the recipes above this seems much simpler. I am not a fan of a very creamy mac and cheese. I also like a very sharp cheddar not a soft or sweet type taste from certain cheeses mentioned in other recipes.

About 2/3 box Barillo elbow macaroni. Cook al dente.
Grate 2 blocks of aged Irish cheddar cheese and 1 block of extra sharp cheddar. Best fresh grated not the pregrated pkg. Mix cheeses together well.
Mix and heat slowly about 2/3 cup of half and half, 2 tablespoons butter, and nutmeg to taste (about a 1/2 tsp) I do not use flour so it's not really a roux but you could. I don't feel it needs it.
Butter a glass baking dish. I prefer a deeper dish vs a longer one that will make a thin layer.
Cover bottom with one layer of Mac then a thick layer of cheese alternate layers of Mac and cheese until the dish is full and pour the warm milk mixture evenly over the top.
Bake at 375 for about 40-45 minutes until nicely browned.

Mac and Cheese tuna fish casserole. Prepare the mac and cheese as you normally do, then add a can of tuna fish - drained and chopped up - a can of cream of celery soup, and some milk and butter. Place in a casserole dish in the oven, add some grated cheese, and cook at 350 degrees until it is ready (about 30-45 minutes).

I boil my Barilla elbows for 5 minutes only, drain them and pour in heavy cream (I don’t measure) add about 3/4 of a quart, mix well and turn half into baking pan, add your cheese ( I use cheddar and a small amount of mozzarella) pour rest of elbows and add the remaining cheese. Pour rest of cream over top, bake until cheese is melted and bubbling, around 25-30 minutes. I’m constantly asked to bring this dish to parties and a request from my son’s when they visit.

Not sure if you're looking for macaroni and cheese straight up, but I personally love to do the usual cheese sauce (bechamel and cheese) and add sauteed onion, garlic, broccoli and bacon which I season well with various herbs and some balsamic vinegar. SO FREAKIN GOOD. My boyfriend asks for it regularly.

An expensive dish to make around $80.00 but worth every penny. 1 used 1 lb of frozen lobster meat thawed.

Why a recipe? Pasta, milk, and any of the wonderful cheeses that are offered in the grocery store. Asiago, gruyere, Parmesan. Season to taste. Experiment with different cheese. Kraft MAC and Cheese probably isn’t real cheese.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pdesensi (Post 1837624)

My kind of cook:icon_wink:

Standard white sauce with 3 or 4 different cheeses. We like the combination of sharp cheddar, Swiss, and American (or a small amount of Velveeta for creaminess). Sprinkle with bread crumbs or Panko mixed with Parmesan. Sometimes I sneak a little Blue cheese instead of Swiss for zing.

Sounds delicious!
Thanks for sharing

Cardboard and government cheese will trump the boxed mac n cheese. You've set a low bar.

I do not like flour in my Mac n cheese recipes. This one is the most recent recipe I have tried. It is good and super easy.

Southern Baked Macaroni and Cheese
If you're looking for a homemade macaroni and cheese recipe like grandma used to make, this is it! Spice it up by using different cheeses like Pepper Jack!

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 8 people

Ingredients
16 oz. box elbow macaroni
4 cups sharp cheddar cheese shredded (reserve 1 cup for the top)
2 cups milk
4 eggs beaten
1/2 stick of butter
4 oz. cream cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Prepare macaroni according to instructions on box.
Drain and return to pot.
Add 3 cups of cheese, milk, eggs, butter and cream cheese.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Pour into a greased 9 x 13 casserole dish.
Top with the remaining 1 cup of cheese.
Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

I like Guy Fieris Mac Daddy’s Mac n Cheese recipe. I use significantly more bacon/bacon grease than the recipe calls for. Yum.

An alteration I came up with several years ago.

Mac-n-cheeseburger

Ingredients
1lb ground beef
Cheese sauce
½ cup yellow mustard
2 tbs La Victoria brand Salsa Jalapena extra hot (optional) or diced jalapenos
2/3 box macaroni

Cheese Sauce
16 ounces Velveeta, cut into ½-inch cubes
1 cup fat free milk
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup La Victoria Salsa Jalapena or small can diced jalapenos

Preparation
Prepare macaroni & set aside. In medium saucepan, combine cheese, milk and pepper. Cook over low heat until cheese is melted, stirring regularly. Brown ground beef, drain. Add mustard and salsa or diced jalapenos. Add salsa jalapena or jalapenos. Add to elbow macaroni, stirring until pasta is well coated.

For something different I'll add ground beef to regular mac-n-cheese, or bacon, or chopped up pepperoni.

Reading all this has made me hungry. Who's making Mac & Cheese for tonight and where do you live? What time is dinner? Maybe what we need to get out of the doldrums is a Mac & Cheese Cook-off. Hoping Oct 5 and having more recreation opportunities will help our dispositions. :)