Adventures In Comfort
Ahhhh, comfort food. Is there anything better? And here in the good old US of A, I would posit that macaroni and cheese is the ultimate comfort food.
A common belief in this country is that founding father Thomas Jefferson invented the dish. However, a quick trip through Wikipedia makes it clear that no, he didn’t. He just introduced it in this country after encountering it in another. It’s been around in various incarnations for centuries.
There are many versions of boxed “instant” macaroni and cheese available in the grocery store. The Kraft version is probably the most famous. I admit, I do like the taste of it but only for about two bites. Any more than that, and I get queasy. Really, the best way is homemade.
My mother, who knows many things (almost everything, in fact), taught me how to make stovetop macaroni and cheese when I was a child. She would cook the pasta, make the cheese sauce, combine everything into a casserole dish, and then bake it in the oven for 20-30 minutes to get a nice crispy top. On really decadent occasions, she’d top it with buttered bread crumbs before dropping it into the oven.
These days, I don’t bother with the oven. I just whip it up on the stove and dig in. Oh, I set some aside for future meals, as it freezes quite nicely. But I do serve myself a generous (extremely generous) portion hot off the stove.
First, the method, followed by the recipe: boil the macaroni for about 9 minutes, and then drain and set aside (once you learn your timing, you can actually do this while you are starting the sauce). In a saucepan, make a roux with butter, flour, salt, pepper, and a few “secret” ingredients. Okay, they’re not really secret since I’m listing them in the recipe, but come on, work with me as I try for a smidge of mystique. Melt the butter with the spices, then add the flour and cook for a couple minutes so the flour doesn’t make your sauce taste dough-y. Add your cold milk (yes, cold…according to Chef John of Food Wishes on YouTube, that’s the way to make sure you don’t end up with lumps—cold liquid into hot roux), and then stir until the sauce has thickened to your liking.
Add your cheese. Now, the recipe calls for 1.5 cups of shredded cheese in two varieties but you have some leeway here. You could make this with just cheddar (delicious) or you could use 2-3 different cheeses. These days, I go with about half a cup each of cheddar, Parmesan, and mozzarella. I like the flavor profile of the first two in combination and the melty lushness of the third. Yum! When the cheese has melted, add in the cooked macaroni and stir it all up. This can be eaten right away, or if you want to be fancy, you can put it in a casserole dish, top it with some buttered bread crumbs, and bake at 350° for 20-30 minutes. Basically, bake it until it’s all bubbly and you like the way the top looks. Don’t burn the bread crumbs.
I find that if I skip the baking, it takes under 20 minutes to make this dish from start to yum (I’m not counting the time it takes to heat the water). So it’s really quite quick as well as very easy. Put that Kraft box back on the shelf, go home, and make your own comfort food. It tastes so much better! Plus, you get to feel all smug about cooking from scratch. It’s what we Americans like to call a win-win.
Macaroni and Cheese
Click here for a printable PDF of the recipe
INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup Butter
1/4 cup Flour
3/4 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp mustard powder
Dash of cayenne pepper
Dash of nutmeg
2 Cups whole milk
1 Cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 Cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 Cups macaroni
DIRECTIONS
While making the sauce, cook the macaroni, drain, and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Blend in the flour, salt, nutmeg, and mustard powder, cooking over low heat and stirring constantly until smooth (about 1 minute or so).
Remove from heat and stir in milk. Return to heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese until melted. Mix in the cooked macaroni.
Place the mixture into a buttered casserole dish and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, until bubbly and the top forms a crust.
