Perfect Macaroni and Cheese

January 2, 2013

In search for the best and boldest macaroni and cheese dish around, and with a goal of satisfying the Taylor family’s love of macaroni and cheese at Thanksgiving, I decided to make  Martha Stewart’s ‘Perfect Macaroni and Cheese’ recipe.  Most liked it, with a few mentioning that the cheese was indeed, very bold.

Along came Christmas, and upon realizing that Mom’s raved about casseroles were not going to be touched with a 10 foot pole by my beloved J, I decided to make Mac & Cheese once again, replacing gruyere with goat cheese (per the request of J).  He even grabbed a bag of fried jalapenos to top off the dish

It was good, really good.

Ingredients:

Serves 12

• 6 slices good-quality white bread, crusts removed, torn into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces (I forgot to buy and attempted to substitute wheat bread but it was a flop.  Omit if you don’t have white bread)
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more to coat dish
• 5 1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 4 1/2 cups (about 18 ounces) grated sharp white cheddar
• 2 cups (about 8 ounces) grated Gruyere or 1 1/4 cups (about 5 ounces) grated pecorino Romano or any other bold cheese that you desire!
• 1 pound elbow macaroni

Preparation:

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Butter a 3-quart casserole dish; set aside.

Place bread pieces in a medium bowl; melt 2 tablespoons butter. Pour butter into the bowl with bread, and toss. Set the breadcrumbs aside.

2. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, heat milk.

3. Melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. When butter bubbles, add flour. Cook, stirring, 1 minute.  Slowly pour hot milk into flour-butter mixture while whisking. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick.

4. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar, and 1 1/2 cups Gruyere or 1 cup pecorino Romano. Set cheese sauce aside.

5. Fill a large saucepan with water. Bring to a boil. Add macaroni; cook 2 to 3 fewer minutes than manufacturer’s directions, until outside of pasta is cooked and inside is underdone. (Different brands of macaroni cook at different rates; be sure to read the instructions.) Transfer the macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well. Stir macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce.

6. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining 1 1/2 cups cheddar and 1/2 cup “special cheese”; scatter breadcrumbs over the top. Bake until browned on top, about 30 minutes. Transfer dish to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes; serve.

I removed most of the bread crumbs and left the few ‘fried jalapenos’ on top.

Enjoy!

-D

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