As I've stated before, we are always looking for a better mac & cheese recipe as it is, in my humble opinion, the ultimate comfort food. If you were of the poorer persuasion as a child, then you undoubtedly grew up with the store bought stuff in a blue box (we all know what brand I'm referring to, hopefully) and while that is a suitable quick fix, I've got a recipe that doesn't take very long that comes out better by several orders of magnitude. This can be doctored any way you like. I decided to go with bacon and green onions at Jen's request and I believe it worked beautifully. But you could do roasted garlic, or leeks, or add green beans, or sausage or pepperoni, or whatever you like! Incidentally, you can use almost any cheese, or cheeses, you want with this so get creative if you feel like it. Just remember that the harder a cheese is, generally, the more oily it'll be when it melts. I went with some Colby Jack as it's a good all around cheese for flavor and meltiness and also used some Smoked Gouda to stretch the smokey flavor without overpowering the dish with bacon (is there such a thing?).
To accompany this musically, I went with an old favorite, Down By Law. Their album Punkrockacademyfightsong is a classic and one I've listened to so often that I know it by heart. My favorite song on there is without a doubt 1944 so I went with that, though I listened to most of the album again, just to be sure. It's that good.
Mac & Cheese Time: 45 minutes Difficulty: Easy Serves: 4-6
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Pasta
4-6 cups water
1/4 cup salt
1 lb Rigatoni or Rotini pasta (these hold the sauce well but use whatever you like)
In large stock pot or dutch oven, bring water and salt to a rolling boil. Add the pasta and return to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook for 12 minutes or until your pasta is al dente. Remove from heat and drain in a colander. Place back in pot and cover till compiling the dish.
Sauce
2 strips thick cut bacon, diced
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup shallot, minced
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 cups heavy cream (if you like a thinner sauce also use an additional cup of whole milk)
12 oz cheese, grated
1/4 cup green onion, diced
In a small skillet, heat bacon over medium high heat until crisp, 4-5 minutes, stirring as needed. Drain off excess grease and set bacon aside. In a 2 qt saucepan, heat butter and olive oil over medium heat and add shallots when the butter has melted. Cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes or until your shallots start to brown a little. Add the flour and stir in thoroughly. Reduce heat to medium low and brown the flour for 2 minutes. Add the salt and pepper and heavy cream (milk as well if you are using it). Return heat to medium high and bring the cream to a low boil. Add 8 oz of the grated cheese, reserving a third for later use, and the green onions and crisp bacon. Stir continuously until cheese has melted completely.
Add your cheese sauce to the drained pasta and mix thoroughly. Spoon the cheese sauce and pasta into a 2 qt, glass baking dish, sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese, and place in the 350 degree oven for 5 -10 minutes or until the top cheese is melted. Serve immediately and enjoy the cheesy creaminess!
We're always trying to make the perfect macaroni and cheese. This one comes pretty close for our likings. I think it's the shallots that do the trick.
I have no connection for this recipe and this song. But I'm a huge Kinks fan... I wore out my parents' Kinks vinyl more than they did, and I loved this song when the Kinks did it. But then, one of my favourite bands did a cover, and it was awesome! Close to the original, just a little bit of their own flare. I always hope that tomorrow, I'll find better things... and if not, I'll just listen to some Bouncing Souls and eat some mac and cheese
Drew... this recipe was made with you in mind, bro. -jen
MACARONI AND CHEESE
3 tablespoons salt
3 cups dried macaroni
1 egg, slightly beaten
5 tablespoons butter, divided
1 large shallot, finely chopped (about 3 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 cup flour
2-1/2 cups whole milk
2 heaping teaspoons dry mustard
2-3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1/2 to 1 teaspoon Srirachi hot sauce
1 pound cheese, shredded (we used 1/2 pound sharp cheddar, 1/4 pound champagne aged cheddar and 1/4 pound mozzarella for a little stringiness)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Fill a large stock pot 3/4 way full of water. Add 3 tablespoons salt and bring to boil. Add macaroni and cook 9-12 minutes, until al dente. Drain and set aside.
For a creamier, saucier macaroni, preheat your oven's broiler (this only takes about 5 minutes so you could do it later). For a thicker, more custard-like macaroni and cheese, preheat oven to 350 F.
Use 1 tablespoon of the butter to generously grease a large baking dish.
In a small bowl, lightly beat egg and set aside.
In a large pot (I just use the same one I cooked the macaroni in), melt remaining 4 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic, stirring frequently until shallots are tender and translucent. Sprinkle flour into pot and stir, cooking another 3-4 minutes.
Turn up heat to medium-high and while whisking, pour in milk and vigorously whisk to avoid any flour lumps. Add mustard, Worcestershire, and Srirachi. Stir continuously until sauce begins to thicken (if it starts boiling, lower heat to medium.)
Temper egg by adding a little of the sauce into the bowl of egg, whisking to combine. Then add all of the egg back into the sauce. Set aside about 1 cup of the cheese for later. With the remaining cheese, add a handful at a time to the sauce, waiting to add the next handful until the first one has completely melted. Once all the cheese is incorporated, remove from heat and taste. Add salt and pepper to taste. (Some cheeses are saltier than others, so always taste your sauce first!)
Pour the drained macaroni into the sauce and stir until combined. Pour macaroni into the prepared baking dish.
For a creamy, saucy macaroni, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and place under broiler until cheese is golden brown... only takes a few minutes.
For a thicker, custard-like macaroni, place in oven for 30 minutes, adding the remaining cheese to the top for the last 10-15 minutes of baking.
