Macaroni & Cheese
"Simple, classic, delicous. So many variations. What could be better?"
- Ready In:
- 45mins
- Ingredients:
- 7
- Serves:
-
6
ingredients
- 8 ounces elbow macaroni
- 1⁄4 cup butter
- 1⁄4 cup flour
- salt
- fresh ground black pepper
- 2 cups milk, warmed
- 8 ounces grated cheese (I like a mix of sharp cheddars)
directions
- Cook the elbow noodles in plenty of boiling, salted water, until cooked but slightly firm Drain and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a shallow casserole dish or Pyrex pie plate.
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan.
- Add the flour, salt and pepper, and stir or whisk continuously to form a smooth roux. Cook for 1 minutes.
- Add the milk, stir or whisk until smooth, and bring just to a boil. This mixture should be thick and creamy.
- Remove from the heat, and gradually add the cheese, stirring until smooth and melted.
- Stir in the noodles.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared dish.
- Bake 25-30 minutes.
-
OPTIONAL:
- Top with a mixture of toasted bread crumbs and finely grated parmigiano-reggiano before baking.
- A nice addition is to saute a finely chopped onion in the butter until translucent, then add a tablespoon of dijon mustard and a few pinches of cayenne pepper, before adding the flour to make the roux.
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
I'm a programmer by day, bread baker by night. To make a living, I do process automation for management at an inbound call center. (It's really not as exciting as it sounds.) Actually, I enjoy my job. There are worse things I could be doing to finance my cooking / baking habits.
I never really knew how to cook growing up. Some of you in the Breads and Baking forum have heard my disastrous story about making Nestle Toll House cookies...
When I went to college and moved out of the dorms, I started to become interested in actually learning how to cook. I had a lactose intolerant boyfriend, and a limited budget, so it made sense to stop eating take-out pizza and Taco Bell every day. I have to credit The Dairy Free Cookbook by Jane Zukin as my first real guide. (I still cook out of it , even though the boyfriend is long gone!)
With that as a start, I set about systematically teaching myself how to cook.
Five years later, I'm getting a reputation from friends and family as being a good cook. I love baking bread from scratch (I could really become a sourdough freak - thanks Donna!) - I can't seem to make enough cinnamon raisin swirl to keep my mom and grandmother happy. I'm enjoying getting back to eating seasonally, eschewing over - processed prepared food in favor of simpler, healthier, better tasting, cheaper meals I make myself. When I set out to learn, I never imagined I'd be making stock, roasting whole chickens, baking bread, or shopping at our local farmer's market. Now I can't imagine going back to the way I used to eat.
I hope someday to learn enough about bread baking to open a local bakery/cafe, somewhere in Westport or Downtown Kansas City. I love my city, and the kind of place I have in mind will be a place that gives back to the community. I want to leave this city a better place for my having been here.
Here's my standard metric for how I review recipes here, because I want my reviews to be helpful and consistent:
***** Fantastic as is. Wouldn't change a thing and will make it often.
0**** Fantastic tweaked a little to suit my tastes. Will make it often.
00*** Had to tweak it alot to get something I would make again.
000** Not very good. May try tweaking it again at some point.
0000* Not good. Probably won't try making again, even with tweaks.
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