Macaroni and Cheese is probably the ultimate comfort food – steamy pasta, rich, creamy sauce filled with gooey cheese! I used to eat Kraft mac & cheese… only (“the blue box, please”). No generic brand was acceptable. And I would certainly never eat homemade mac & cheese because it tasted “gross.” Little did I know what I had been missing!When Beechers cheese shop opened in Seattle, I was introduced to the most delectable mac & cheese I had ever tasted… it was way better than Kraft – hehe! As soon as I could afford it, I was trying out lots of different homemade mac & cheese recipes with the most divine cheeses I could find.
Far and away, this is the BEST homemade mac & cheese recipe that I have tried. It is only slightly adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe. Admittedly, this is a complicated recipe, full of multi-tasking and intense preparation. The results are SO worth the effort. Use the best-quality cheeses you can find (I usually use about $20 worth of cheeses in this recipe) and you won’t be disappointed!
No offense to “the blue box,” but once you try this recipe for mac & cheese, you’ll never ask for the blue box again!
Macaroni & Cheese
Adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe
Ingredients:
For the Sauce:
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
½ C. flour
5 ½ C. milk
2 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
¼ tsp. pepper
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
4 ½ C. sharp, white cheddar cheese
1 ½ C. gruyere cheese
½ C. parmesan cheese
1 pound pasta (macaroni or preferred pasta)
2 Tbsp. butter
6 slices of good-quality bread, slightly crusty
Directions:
1. Butter a large casserole dish (a 9x13 works great).
2. Prepare the breadcrumb topping: Heat 2 tablespoons of butter. Tear bread into ¼-inch pieces. Toss breadcrumbs in a bowl with melted butter. Set aside.
3. Grate all of the cheese for this recipe. Set aside.
4. Heat milk in microwave or on the stove (to use for sauce).
5. Bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta. It is best to cook the pasta and the sauce at the same time, although this requires careful attention and multitasking.
6. Make the sauce: In a large skillet, melt 6 Tbsp. butter over medium-low heat. When bubbly, add ½ C. flour. Whisk and cook for one minute, until lightly browned. *You can begin making the pasta now, too... just be prepared to multi-task!
7. Add the warmed milk slowly (about one cup at a time) until thick. Whisk after each addition, dissolving any clumps of flour. **This is the hard part... the sauce needs to be mixed just right to avoid clumping... keep the whisk moving to avoid burning!
8. Remove pan from heat. Add seasonings: salt, nutmeg, pepper, cayenne pepper. Add about 2/3 of the grated cheese.
9. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the directions on the package (about 9 minutes in well-salted water). Drain the pasta in a strainer and rinse the pasta with cold water.
10. Pour the pasta into the cheese sauce.
11. Pour the pasta/sauce mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese and breadcrumbs.
12. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, or until bubbling and browned on top.
For the Sauce:
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
½ C. flour
5 ½ C. milk
2 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
¼ tsp. pepper
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
4 ½ C. sharp, white cheddar cheese
1 ½ C. gruyere cheese
½ C. parmesan cheese
1 pound pasta (macaroni or preferred pasta)
2 Tbsp. butter
6 slices of good-quality bread, slightly crusty
Directions:
1. Butter a large casserole dish (a 9x13 works great).
2. Prepare the breadcrumb topping: Heat 2 tablespoons of butter. Tear bread into ¼-inch pieces. Toss breadcrumbs in a bowl with melted butter. Set aside.
3. Grate all of the cheese for this recipe. Set aside.
4. Heat milk in microwave or on the stove (to use for sauce).
5. Bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta. It is best to cook the pasta and the sauce at the same time, although this requires careful attention and multitasking.
6. Make the sauce: In a large skillet, melt 6 Tbsp. butter over medium-low heat. When bubbly, add ½ C. flour. Whisk and cook for one minute, until lightly browned. *You can begin making the pasta now, too... just be prepared to multi-task!
7. Add the warmed milk slowly (about one cup at a time) until thick. Whisk after each addition, dissolving any clumps of flour. **This is the hard part... the sauce needs to be mixed just right to avoid clumping... keep the whisk moving to avoid burning!
8. Remove pan from heat. Add seasonings: salt, nutmeg, pepper, cayenne pepper. Add about 2/3 of the grated cheese.
9. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the directions on the package (about 9 minutes in well-salted water). Drain the pasta in a strainer and rinse the pasta with cold water.
10. Pour the pasta into the cheese sauce.
11. Pour the pasta/sauce mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese and breadcrumbs.
12. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, or until bubbling and browned on top.
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