Comfort Food: Baked macaroni and cheese

by Emily Matchar, Posted Mar 2nd 2008 @ 11:55AM

Everyone needs a go-to mac and cheese recipe; this is mine, from a 1994 Gourmet magazine via Epicurious.com. I've made it for numerous Fourth of July parties, birthdays and summer lunches by the pool and it's the freakin' definition of "crowd pleaser." Nothing fancy, no additions of curry powder or green onion or smoked mozzarella (though those would probably all be good), just elbow macaroni, cheddar and Parmesan, bread crumbs, milk and butter, with a dash of cayenne, dry mustard and a little flour. Baked in the oven with a bread crumb topping and sliced into wedges, it's dense and creamy in the middle with a delicate crunchy top.

If you do want to try some additions, dozens of Epicurious commenters have left their suggestions. But I think it's just perfect for what it is, which is why I wanted to share. I'll be making four batches later for my pig pickin'. More on that later...

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Filed Under: Ingredients
Tags: america, Cheese, Comfort Food, Macaroni, Macaroni and Cheese, MacaroniAndCheese, Pasta, Recipes

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

3-02-2008 @1:29PM Doctor Electro said... Sounds like good stuff, Maynard. However, when the school food service people make it, it is the only meat choice for the day. That's not the reason I don't work there anymore but I don't miss the skimpy lunches at all.
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3-02-2008 @2:30PM ABT said... I made something similar yesterday because I craved cheese and wanted to make something easy. I started it stove top, then transferred to a glass baking dish for 20 minutes in the oven. I ended up using little bits of that I had left and wanted to use up as well as cheese that I forgot I had, including Parmesan. I also included my last bit of cream cheese because I had nothing to smear it on, and I sprinkled in a bit of red pepper seasoning that an old roommate had left behind and that I rarely find use for. I used panko on top.

My next mac 'n' cheese attempt will be in the slow cooker.
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3-02-2008 @2:33PM ABT said... I just looked at the Epicurious page and wanted to add:

Yesterday's intentionally used no flour, no roux, no whisking. I cooked the pasta as normal, put it back in the pot, and basically did it Kraft Dinner style only without the powder, letting the cheese melt in. It doesn't get any easier.
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3-02-2008 @9:21PM Dan said... I have only one rule in making mac and cheese... whatever cheeses you use, always use at least 1/4 the total weight of cheese as Velveeta for creaminess and texture. I don't have a preference for egg or no egg, flour or no flour, but tend to gravitate towards the Joy of Cooking recipe (egg) using double the cheese. The next time I make some, I also want to try a trick that Jamie Oliver used in his recipe called "Cheat's Pappardelle with Slow-Braised Leeks and Crispy Porcini Pangrattato" (a simple leek pasta dish).. the crumb topping was food processed bread (I used pita, he used some artisan bread) and the secret--a couple of handfuls of dried mushrooms in the processor, then "fried" up with some olive oil. It was the most delicious variation on bread crumbs I have ever tried. Jamie said this about it..."Pangrattato is a rich bread-crumb mixture originally used by poor people in Italy for giving their food extra flavor when they had no Parmesan cheese."
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3-03-2008 @9:54PM Jeff said... I added some chopped prosciutto and onions to my last batch of Mac and (provolone and jack) cheese. It was really good when fresh and was even a bit better tasting when warmed up. Mmmmm.
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