Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Mac 'n' Cheese! Mac 'n' Cheese!

**Edited** After re-reading what I had here a few times I realized it sounded...weird.

Today I decided to make some cholesterol raising, artery blocking, heart attack inducing mac 'n' cheese. It's not really that bad, it could be worse for you.

Macaroni and Cheese


You will need:

  • vegetable oil
  • kosher salt
  • 1 lb elbow noodles
  • 1 qt whole milk (4 cups)
  • 8 tbsp unsalted butter (divided)
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 12 ounces Gruyere, 4 cups grated
  • 8 ounces extra sharp cheddar, 2 cups shredded- I used Yancey's Fancy xxx sharp white cheddar cheese, soooo good:)
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 3/4 lb fresh tomatoes (4 small)
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh white bread crumbs- I used panko bread crumbs instead
Pre heat oven to 375 degrees. Drizzle oil into a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the macaroni and cook according to the directions on the package. Drain well. 

Mean while, heat the milk in a saucepan, but do not bring it to a boil. Melt 6 tbsp of butter in a large 4 qt pot and add the flour. Cook over low heat for two minutes, stirring with a whisk. Add the hot milk while whisking continually and cook for an additional one or two minutes more, until thickened and smooth. Remove from heat and stir in both cheeses, 1 tbsp of salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add the cooked macaroni and stir well. Pour into a 3 qt baking dish.


Slice tomatoes thinly and arrange on top.


Melt remaining butter, combine it with the breadcrumbs, and sprinkle over the top. Bake for 30 or 35 minutes, or until the sauce is bubble and the top is browned on top.

I actually cut this recipe in half when I made it and it worked out just fine. The recipe I put here serves 6-8. Matt and I obviously don't need that much mac 'n' cheese laying around. Well, maybe Matt does, but I don't!
It was easy to halve everything since all the measurements are pretty even, nothing to obscure that requires too much math:).


Dig in!


Source: Ina Garten: Food Network- I know, I know. I can't stay away from her.

2 comments:

  1. Mmmmmm- looks good! Feel free to bring any leftovers my way. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mac & Cheese is one of the greatest things on earth!

    ReplyDelete