I know it's a simple, All-American classic comfort food, but I don't think you'll ever get any better of a recipe than this. Many others always lacked flavor or zip no matter how much cheese was added. Not going to put the measurements; any cook should be able to figure out what they need for it:
For the cheese sauce:
1. Get butter and flour and make a roux.
2. Add heavy cream and mix in.
3. Add chicken base, sauterne cooking wine, salt, pepper, and paprika (for a more enhanced color)
4. Add American cheese slices (not those cellophane-wrapped ones, eww!), shredded sharp cheddar cheese, and shredded parmesan
5. Mix in macaroni that is al dente and add to baking dish
6. Top with bread crumbs mixed with a little paprika and bake 400 for about 20 minutes.
I know a southern chef that mixes melted butter and sour cream in the pasta before adding the cheese sauce. With that much fat, it has to be good! The recipe is from Cooking in the Deep South with Chef Bob.
CHEF BOB'S MAC & CHEESE
1 pound elbow macaroni
4 quarts water
4 Tablespoons salt
1 stick butter
½ cup sour cream
Bring water and salt to a boil, add pasta and stir for 1 minute. Cook for 8-10 minutes. Drain and reserve pasta water. Place hot pasta in a bowl. Add butter and sour cream.
Cheese Sauce:
1 stick butter
4-5 tablespoons plain flour
1 teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon granulated garlic
4 cups milk
5-6 dashes of hot sauce
4 cups cheese (reserve 1 cup for topping)
1 cup bread crumbs
Melt butter and add flour cooking and stirring for 2 minutes. Add paprika and garlic. Add milk stirring until thickened. Stir in cheese (3 cups) Pour into pasta. Add some of the reserved pasta water until desired consistency. Place pasta mixture into a casserole dish and top with 1 cup of cheese and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
In my limited experience, I find my family is happier if I think "casserole," instead of thinking "mac and cheese." The two are similar dishes, but the heart seems to matter for taste.
I love mac and cheese in all it's forms!!! No matter what cheese I'm using there are a few additions that find their way into almost all my mac and cheeses; mustard, hot sauce and/or cayenne, and a hint of nutmeg. All these ingredients, I find, round out, and boost the flavor. As for my choice of cheeses, I'll use anything that I have in the house, at the moment, but I have to admit my favorite is to use mozzerella as the base cheese and then just enough blue cheese for a nice subtle flavor.
Depending on my mood, and the time I have available I will make both styles-stove top mac & cheese or baked mac & cheese. If I am making baked mac & cheese then I always add a couple of yolks to the mix.
Both roux and cornstarch have their proper uses and sorry, but for Mac & Cheese I find roux to be a much better solution for thickening than cornstarch.
There are numerous instances. Two that come to mind immediately are when you want a clear sauce, not cloudy the other is when you want to thicken a fruit sauce.
Also, sometimes you want a clear sauce with some body to it and a roux won't give you that. One place I worked we had a shellfish "broth" for a dish. To order we stirred in various fish roe as a garnish. We wanted a sauce with some body to it but wanted it clear so that you could see the roe suspended in it. You can't use roux for that as it would make the sauce opaque. Cornstarch fit the bill perfectly. Plus it slightly deadened the shellfish flavor making for a smoother tasting sauce.
I don't understand chefs that downright refuse to use a certain type of thickener. Each and every one has its uses and each one will be the best choice for different applications. A roux is a better choice for many applications, such as when you are hot holding a sauce or in an acidic sauce such as a tomato based sauce (think Creole sauce), both of which will degrade cornstarch over time making it lose its thickening power.
A long time ago someone turned me on to a mac and cheese where you don't make a sauce.
Boil macaroni, drain and rinse.
Place macaroni in a buttered casserole dish.
Add cubed pieces of cheese to macaroni and stir.
Salt/Pepper
Spoon flour over the macaroni and cheese cubes.
Cut small pieces of butter and distribute on top of flour.
Pour enough milk on to just cover macaroni and cheese.
Put crushed potato chips or tortilla chips on top.
Bake 1 hour at 350.
Voila!!!
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