It’s cholesterol-packin’ time at the WhyHouse tonight. Homemade Mac ‘n’ Cheese, from scratch. (Well, I did by the noodles pre-made, I’ll give you that.)
Why did my mom make it sound like such an ordeal when I was a kid? Really, it’s a 15 minute dinner. 30 if you brown it in the oven when you’re done, but that’s high-falutin’ mac and cheese. Gimme a fresh roux, cream, milk and grated cheese. Dash of salt, crank of pepper, splash of tobasco. Pinch of nutmeg if I’m feeling frisky. Never did like the crunchy breadcrumb topping - mac and cheese should be smooth as satin!
What sort of cheeses, you may ask? What I had lyin’ around. Medium and sharp cheddars, colby and some havarti, just 'cause I like it creamy.
I agree that the real stuff is so much better than the boxed stuff.
However, my kids have a perential desire for the day glo orangey crack that covers the prefab kind.
I use velveeta as my cheese ( with milk and flour to thicken things up.)
I use evaporated milk in mine with one egg and a bit of regular milk mixed in. Cheeses? Mild and sharp cheddar mix, with maybe a little mozzarella for difference.
Pop it in the oven until the top is browned, let it cool until its still warm, but the cheese is congealed.
I don’t understand. Are you claiming that boxed Macaroni & Cheese isn’t the Real Stuff? (No, that would be impossible. Only an alien from another planet would believe such a preposterous thing.)
Don’t get me wrong - I love the boxed stuff. Especially made extra slices of American cheese or even gasp Velveeta melted into it. Yummers.
But it’s a completely different taste and texture sensation than The Real Stuff. I don’t actually consider them to be the same dish, any more than I consider rice and couscous to be the same. I can love them both for what they are.
After the cheese sauce is all mixed with the noodles, I dump a can of diced tomatoes on top, then cover that with cheese and bake it until it’s all melty and brown. Mmmmmmmmmm.
We just had homemade mac and cheese for dinner, with a bit of ham added in. Mmmm.
Related evilness from Alton Brown-- I don’t have the exact recipe (it’s in one of his books) but: some ground beef (we use sausage, actually), and bacon, and some sauteed onion and garlic. Add a can of cream of mushroom soup. Stick this glop in a casserole dish. Top this with a bunch of blue cheese. Top THAT with a bag of 'tater tots. Bake to a fair-thee-well.
(Actually we do a version with cheddar that we call “NASCAR pie”; the kind with the blue cheese we call “Formula 1 pie”)
Homemade mac & cheese has got to be my favorite food ever. My mom has this old Betty Crocker cookbook and I always use the recipe from that. It’s got milk, a little flour, and onion. I always use velveeta. It’s the best mac & cheese ever.
Hmph! Alton Brown can kiss my grits. That’s an old midwestern casserole (or ‘hot dish’) recipe called ‘Tater Tot Casserole’. I used to make a variation of it for my kids when I was poor.
Alton Brown also has a pretty good mac & cheese recipe. The one above isn’t it, nor even from the same episode.
I like extra sharp cheddar (so sharp I need metal gloves to protect my hands), monterey jack, and some diced roasted jalapeños mixed in. As Odinoneeye states, it’s part of a mean, not the meal itself (unless I’m having leftovers for breakfast )
Cook’s Illustrated has an amazing mac and cheese recipe in their The Best Recipe cookbook. Handily enough, it doesn’t involve the oven – it’s delicous and creamy and cooks on the stove. Cheese: cheddar, medium to sharp. Maybe some colby.
We do enjoy the Kraft variety (but no Velveeta – ugh, but fine if that’s your thing, of course), but when we want to splurge on calories and have the gourmet version, Cook’s recipe is the one we use.
Okay, does anyone have a recipe that doesn’t involve velveeta? All this talk is making me wanna try some mac and cheese, but I don’t think they sell velveeta here (UK).
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