Use whole grain macaroni.
Here’s “my” mac & cheese that I make once or twice a year when I want to be talked about at parties.
No flour, onions or meat, tons of fat, three kinds of cheese (the Velveeta makes it) with salt, pepper, paprika, mustard and a dash of Tobasco. You start on the stovetop and end in the oven.
As a lifelong lover of the mac & cheese, this is the one that made me want to settle down and start a family.
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Pre-shredded cheese is dusted with cornstarch so the strands won’t clump. This has the effect of muting the flavor, dulling the taste, and basically taking away oomph. Also, pre-shredded cheese is going to be the cheap stuff, which doesn’t taste too great to begin with.
Also, depending on brand, some pre-shredded cheeses have cream cheese added. If there’s any reason for this other than messing up the consistency of whatever you’re making, I don’t know.
Use an actually good aged sharp cheddar, in combination with a cheese that’s good for melting (like Colby, or jack). Blitz it in a food processor using the shredding disc if you’re lazy. It’ll make a difference.
A grown-ass American man who has never eaten mac & cheese? This world doesn’t even make sense anymore.
And to the OP: Might I recommend crumbling thick cut bacon and diced jalapeno into your m&c.
I can never hear the words “Kraft Dinner” without thinking of the great footnoted description in David Boswell’s Heartbreak Comics (1984):
“National dish of Canada, and salvation of that country’s Poor.”
I make Ina Garten’s “Grown Up” mac & cheese. It uses sharp cheddar, gruyere, and blue cheese, with bacon and bread crumbs.
The Kraft stuff on the box? Disgusting garbage, maybe worth using to save starving third world children. Maybe. Personally, I’d rather starve.
I’d say one way to change it up would be to use the Modernist recipe(don’t worry- not particularly strange), and use an actual tasty cheese of some kind.
Basically, you dissolve a bit of sodium citrate (the main reaction product between citric acid (found in lemon juice) and sodium bicarbonate(baking soda), along with CO2 and water) in a measured quantity of hot milk, then use a stick blender to essentially emulsify a surprisingly huge quantity of cheese into that milk.
You can use very sharp Cheddar, or mozzarella, or Gruyere, etc… or a combination of them, and put some Parmesan in for an extra kick. We’re kind of partial to the Tillamook Extra Sharp, or some of the Kerrygold Irish cheeses.
It comes out with an extremely creamy, viscous texture, and also has the added benefit of having no garbage like eggs, bechamel, etc… Just cheese, milk and macaroni (and a tiny bit of sodium citrate).
You can add things like hot sauce, bacon, jalapenos, etc… with terrific results.
We upscaled our Kraft package last night with the use of half and half instead of milk, and added 4 oz of 5 year old cheddar, and topped it with chipotle hot sauce. Threw some polish sausage into the mix. Quick and dirty and tasty.
but some of the recipes above certainly appeal.
No you wouldn’t.
I actually have this cheddar cheese powder for a slightly punchier version of Kraft-style mac-and-cheese when I’m feeling like it. Kraft mac-and-cheese was one of the most requested comfort foods items for the American expats in the community when I lived abroad (in Central/Eastern Europe, no less, where we can actually find real cheese and make “real” macaroni and cheese.) Every time one of us went back to the US, we’d bring back boxes of the stuff for the others.
Ever since I was a poor college student I’ve been making the box kind with only butter, and half of what is called for. And no milk just a spritz of water. Add salt &a pepper and that’s how I prefer it!
However someone on this board recommended putting cream cheese in there too so now I do that. About one Tbs I think. Adds more fat with out soupiness (milk). Thanks, person!
Better cheese
Some Worcestershire sauce
Just a tiny bit of nutmeg
I often make mac-and-cheese when I have different kinds of cheese ends to use up. In addition to cheddar, I’ll throw in some Swiss and/or some smoked gouda, maybe some parmesan, mozzarella, whatever is in the fridge. The smoked gouda is an especially good addition - I don’t use much, less than an ounce, but it adds so much flavor.
Didn’t mean to just post and disappear, sorry!
We’ll definitely try it with some different cheeses - the smoked Gouda sounds excellent. A little bacon or ham is always nice. Maybe some sun-dried tomatoes. I’m guessing that anything that can add some extra umami to the mix would be helpful.
I just made this. Amazing, this woman… who made this recipe… It has everything in it, should be good… in the oven now.
Panko’d bacon bits and ribbons of Gouda.
This is what I came to say, although for some reason it’s not always easy to find shredded.
I also came to say my family would probably disown me if I messed with the mac and cheese. I like it, but for them it’s sacred.
I think I love you.
It’s really good, I cheated a little because I didn’t have some of the fancier cheeses but held true to most of it. It’s really good.
Half&Half is my newest favorite ingredient for cooking in lieu of or addition to whole milk, whether in cocoa or coffee or mac & cheese. Tomorrow making sausage gravy with it, with a little chicken boullion and coffee in it for that cheap diner flavor we all crave. Served over crispy hash browns w/a couple runny poached eggs.