Your best Macaroni & Cheese Recipe......

Lay it on me.

I have been playing with different cheese blends lately but haven’t landed on anything that really knocks me over. I am also a firm believer in topping and finishing in the oven.

Whats your favorite recipe?

Kraft Mac & Cheese - follow instructions - when done place on plates. THEN

Me: top with bacon bits, cover with 2 slices of American Cheese, nuke for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Add Lawry’s seasoned salt and seasoned pepper.

Carrie: top with grated cheddar cheese and nuke for 1 to 1/2 minutes.

Serve with Lillian Syrah.

A gourmet delight

Look up Alton Brown’s recipes- he has both an oven and a stove-top version, both excellent.
I guess you could tweak/embellish them, but there is really no reason. They are great as they are.

Tyler,

I use Emeril’s recipe here:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/macaroni-with-4-cheeses-recipe/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Then add:

Spanish cured Chorizo (the spicy kind) - I used to be able to get a smoked version of this that was wonderful. The smokiness would permeate the entire dish while in the oven, adding a layer of complexity.
Some fresh nutmeg
A layer of Basil leaves in the middle
Use Panko crumbs instead of plain in the recipe

Try this once, every other recipe will just seem bland.

Nothing impressive, but I replace the milk in Kraft Dinner with white wine.

Mac and Cheese was one of the many things I had growing up, that I’ve never had since I left home for college. My mother used to to make it with velveeta and elbow macaroni; no wonder I never tried to cook it or eat it again.

I love Fettucine Alfredo and fix it often.

I love it but it is SO full of calories!

There are fancy variations including one with foie gras.

I know the chef of a local soul food restaurant (Delta’s). He told me that – on the menu they allow 2 sides with an entree. One of the sides was mac and cheese, and he actually had to make a rule that you could NOT have two orders of mac and cheese as the “side dishes”. Shows how popular it is.

I hardly ever eat it but I could almost imagine living on that and nothing else. Sure is good.

Then again – when my wife makes it she uses good sharp cheddar. That makes a huge difference.

google for Cook’s Illustrated (or their book New Best Recipe) version. They mix two cheeses, I think a sharp cheddar and a jack.

Man. So much fat in that dish.

We play with different cheese blends the Irish cheddar at Costco is a nice addition but the real key is Cayenne pepper it just adds a dimension to Mac & Cheese that kicks it up a notch, also a little Dijon mustard.

If I can get these folks to share their recipe, we’ll have a definitive answer: http://www.communityqbbq.com/communityq_bbq_menu.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Give’em a try is you’re in the ATL area. The rest of the menu is very good. The Mac N Cheese is ambrosial.

I do one with a little southwestern flair to it. I can’t tell you exact amounts but…

Bowtie pasta- cooked
Sauce of cream, butter, and a stock (not too much as to flood the pasta)
chopped green chiles
chopped jalapenos

Top this with long, thick slices of jalapeno jack cheese. Then top with breadcrumbs and mexican cheeses for some color.

Bake.

It’s pretty delicious and a little spicy. You can also add chicken fajita to it.

I make it for Nolita (and me) in Spain every couple of weeks and always use either Manchego cheese (I have cured and semi cured in the frig. usually) or I use goat cheese from the village. They both impart nice flavors to the mac n cheese recipe which I use a thick white sauce, nutmeg, dash of dry mustard and a little spicy paprika.

Lisa Schroeder’s cookbook “Mother’s Best” uses reduced cream as the base and adds aromatics to build a sauce that just cooked pasta is added to. Unlimited as to what you can add. In her restaurant she parboils pasta, adds a little vegetable oil, and refrigerates in air tight containers. Simply place pasta in hot water one minute and you are good to add to sauce. Mike

Agreed. I don’t have the recipe, but I had a mac and cheese made with taleggio and black truffles that so did not suck.

Lisa’s Portland restaurant, Mother’s Bistro, features a mac ‘n’ cheese of the day - or perhaps of the week. Don’t remember.

Anyway, I had jambalaya mac ‘n’ cheese there once. I don’t know if, at that point, the dish can truly be called mac ‘n’ cheese or if it’s become something else, but it was outstanding. Problem is, I don’t know what kind of cheese she used or I’d try to duplicate it. I suppose I could ask since she’s very accessible and the preparation seems pretty straight forward - begin as for jambalaya (trinity, andouille, etc.) and finish as mac ‘n’ cheese.

An easy, basic recipe from Craig Claiborne of days long gone (written when most Mac was Elbow, Dick!):

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  • Exported from MasterCook *

Macaroni and Cheese

Recipe By :Craig Claiborne’s Kitchen Primer
Serving Size : 6
Categories : Casseroles

Amount Measure Ingredient – Preparation Method


1/2 pound elbow macaroni – raw
4 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons flour
2 cups milk – hot
salt – to taste
black pepper – freshly ground
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cayenne – optional
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese – diced
2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese – grated

Preheat oven to 375°.
Cook the macaroni according to package directions but be careful not to overcook it. It should be tender but not mushy. Pour the macaroni into a colander and immediately rinse with cold water. This will keep the macaroni from sticking together. Set aside.

Melt half the butter and stir in the flour, using a wire whisk. Add the milk, stirring rapidly with the whisk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. When the mixture is thickened and smooth, add salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the Cheddar cheese.

Butter a 2-quart baking dish and pour a little of the sauce over the bottom. Add a layer of macaroni, more sauce, and so on, but end with a layer of sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and dot with remaining butter. Bake until bubbling and golden-brown, about 25 minutes.


Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 428 Calories; 24g Fat (50.7% calories from fat); 18g Protein; 35g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 73mg Cholesterol; 386mg Sodium.

NOTES : Formatted by Nancy Dolce

Beecher’s in Pike Place Market, makes a killer mac n cheese.

‘WORLD’S BEST’ MAC AND CHEESE
SERVES 4 AS A SIDE DISH


6 ounces penne pasta
2 cups Beecher’s Flagship Sauce (recipe follows)
1 ounce cheddar, grated ( 1/4 cup)
1 ounce Gruyere cheese, grated ( 1/4 cup)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Oil or butter an 8-inch baking dish.

Cook the penne 2 minutes less than package directions. (It will finish cooking in the oven.) Rinse pasta in cold water and set aside.

Combine cooked pasta and Flagship Sauce in a medium bowl and mix carefully but thoroughly. Scrape the pasta into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the top with the cheeses and then the chile powder. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

NOTE: If you double the recipe to make a main dish, bake in a 9-by-13-inch pan for 30 minutes.


BEECHER’S FLAGSHIP CHEESE SAUCE
MAKES ABOUT 4 CUPS


1/4 cup ( 1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups milk
14 ounces semihard cheese, such as Beecher’s Flagship, grated (about 3 1/2 cups)
2 ounces grated semisoft cheese, such as Beecher’s Just Jack
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat and whisk in the flour. Continue whisking and cooking for 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly. Cook until the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat. Add the cheese, salt, chile powder and garlic powder. Stir until the cheese is melted and all ingredients are incorporated, about 3 minutes. Use immediately, or refrigerate for up to three days.

I’m too lazy to post it but the macncheese we make has a recipe on-line. It’s from a defunct LA restaurant called Violet, by the chef Jared Simons.
It uses a mix of gruyere and reggi. parm… There are sauteed leeks and serrano ham mixed in. It can’t keep up with the luxury of lobster or truffles, but it is damned good.

Thanks, John. Couldn’t find the exact recipe, but here is info about the dish from Violet Restaurant.

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“I like to make the dish as rich as possible,” the chef says. So he sautes cubes of serrano ham with leeks, adds heavy cream and parmesan, mixes in elbow macaroni, then bakes individual servings finished with Gruyere and bread crumbs for a crispy top.

Guess the restaurant is closed, but the memory of this mac 'n cheese is all over the internet!

Yes, unfortunately Violet closed. Jared Simons (who came from Carlsbad) was doing ok there, and it was a favorite with the off-liners. He had his eyes on a more glamorous, clubby venture which I think fell through.
You can definitely find the recipe on-line. It’s not too complicated, which relatively basic ingredients. We often just use prosciutto instead of serrano. It’s less salty and easier to find. We made a quickie version (sans breadcrumbs) to accompany Bruce L’s hand-made pizzas for a wino get-together last night.