Mac N' Cheese Recipe Needed
 

Does anyone have a really good, yummy home-made Mac and Cheese recipe at hand? I'd like to make a nice casserole for my sis (it's her favorite comfort food) to help her out after her surgery. Thanks!

Personally, for comfort food I prefer good ol' Velveeta, with just a dash of milk mixed in. But there are probably more complex recipes out there. :)

You could make a roux of 3 T butter and 3 T flour, by heating the butter on medium until it slows down bubbling, then adding the flour and stirring that until the flour has cooked just a little bit, like a half minute, then stir in a cup of milk such that it thickens, then stir in 2 cups of grated cheese, sharp, and a 1/4 t of dry mustard if you have it and salt to taste. Then you could cook a box of round noodles JUST to al dente. Then drain that and put it in a 2 quart casserole dish, about 2/3 of the way to the top of the disk. Then add back the cheesy sauce mix with a bit more cheese tossed into the mix just for fun, and then a layer of breadcrumbs on top, and put into a 350 oven for 20 minutes.

No onions or someone is going to be very cross

UT reminded me of the recipe that I have for this:

Mamma's Mac and Cheese

1 pound elbow macaroni
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 cups plus 1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar

Cook the macaroni in boiling water for about 10 minutes until tender but still firm. Drain well and set aside.

In a deep skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour to make a roux and cook, stirring, to remove any lumps. Pour in the milk and cook until the mixture is thick and smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in 2 cups Cheddar and continue to cook until melted. Add the cooked macaroni and stir. Transfer the mixture to a 2-quart casserole dish. Bake in a preheated 350-degree F oven for 20 minutes. Remove the casserole from oven, top with remaining 1/2-cup cheese. Bake for an additional 5 minutes until hot and bubbly.


Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes

OK, so maybe it's 2 cups of milk.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm--all sounds yummy! Is Mac and Cheese not the best? :yum:

What's a "roux"? Sorry if that's a dumb question, but I can't even boil water...

I think it's like a creamy sauce?

A mixture of flour and fat, such as butter or oil, cooked together and used to thicken/flavor.

Here ya go! This is Emeril's recipe (from www.foodnetwork.com).

There are some 52 different recipes there, ready to comfort her. He makes a kicked-up version too, but I wouldn't recommend it to a recovering surgery patient.



******************

4 tablespoons butter, plus 2 tablespoons, plus 1 tablespoon
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups half and half
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon Emeril's Red Hot Sauce
8 1/2 ounces grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, or other good-quality parmesan cheese (about 2 cups)
1 pound elbow macaroni
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
4 ounces grated cheddar cheese
4 ounces grated fontina cheese
4 ounces grated gruyere cheese
1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon Essence or Creole Seasoning

In a heavy, medium saucepan melt 4 tablespoons of the butter over low heat. Add the flour and stir to combine. Cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Increase the heat to medium and whisk in the half and half little by little. Cook until thickened, about 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat, season with the salt, pepper, hot sauce and 4 ounces of the grated parmesan. Stir until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. Cover and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add salt to taste and, while stirring, add the macaroni. Return to a boil, reduce the heat to a low boil and cook for about 5 minutes, or until macaroni is very al dente (slightly undercooked). Drain in a colander and return the macaroni to the pot. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter and the garlic and stir to combine. Add the bechamel sauce and stir until well combined. Set aside.

Using the remaining tablespoon of butter, grease a 3-quart baking dish or casserole and set aside.

In a large bowl combine 4 ounces of the remaining parmesan cheese, cheddar, fontina and gruyere cheeses. Toss to combine.

Place one-third of the macaroni in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Top with one-third of the mixed cheeses. Top with another third of the macaroni and another third of the cheese mixture. Repeat with the remaining macaroni and cheese mixture. In a small bowl combine the bread crumbs, remaining 1/2 ounce of grated parmesan, and the Essence and toss to combine. Sprinkle this over the top of the macaroni and cheese.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the macaroni and cheese is bubbly and hot and the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving.


You might want to leave out the hot sauce and garlic at first. This one is easy to make, although a bit complicated for a home cook. If you use it, tell me how it turns out, it sounds yummy!

Brian

Oh, yes it does! MMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! Cheesy! :yum:

*gawking at Emeril's creation*

Man, he makes mac and cheese sound like an event! While it sounds fantastic (and probably tastes heavenly), just looking at the laundry list of recipes and tasks, I couldn't begin to think about making it. Looks like it would take too long just to prepare. :3_eyes:

The Roux is the heart of anything that has a really good gravy or sauce. Even with the best ingredients, a ruined roux (and it's not hard to ruin one) kills the whole preperation.

The most important parts to making the roux are temperature and attentiveness.

"Ruined Roux" would be a good name for a band! :band:

The words "really good" should probably get bolded there. :) You can use other thickening agents, but nothing really brings as much as much to a sauce as a good roux. Especially one made with butter.