Your Favorite Mac n' Cheese Recipe
and a pretty good article too.
Hello,
Friday night is here again and it feels good. The sun is setting and the air is getting cool. The lights are beginning to come on in the neighborhood and the house is warm. The smell of freshly roasted chicken fills the kitchen and the dog waits off to the side. His attention fully on the chef - hopeful that a piece of that chicken will hit the ground. If it does, he will spring into action.
The week was busy, as usual. I managed to schedule things just right and I got (almost) everything done that I wanted to so that’s pretty good if you ask me.
We made mac n’ cheese on Thursday night with brie cheese and mushrooms that were sauteed in butter before we threw them in. We also used goat milk instead of cow’s milk because it’s just what we had.
Okay, it was so worth it. I’m going to drop the basic recipe below because you just need to have it. I got it from a magazine 20 years ago and it’s still my go-to recipe. It’s for classic mac n’ cheese but you can throw anything you want in there. I used to make it with crab meat too.
The recipe is a great baseline for anything you want to add - or change up what kind of cheese you want to use. It’s great!
Mac n’ Cheese
1 lb. elbow macaroni
1 c. dry bread crumbs
1/4 c. fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 c. olive oil
3 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for baking dish
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
6 c. whole milk
3 & 1/2 c. (about 14 ounces) grated cheddar cheese
If you want to do the crab mac n cheese I recommend using a cheese blend of fontina, gruyere, and a mild white cheddar. You don't want the cheese to overwhelm the seafood. Buy claw crab meat (it's usually cheaper & has more flavor). Stir it in after your sauce has thickened. Right before you incorporate the noodles in the sauce.
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Butter a casserole or 9X13 inch baking dish.
Cook the macaroni until tender but still firm, about 2 minutes less than the package directions.
Dran & rinse under cold water.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, parsley, oil, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and pepper; set aside.
In a saucepan (pretty much use the biggest pot you have) over medium heat, melt the butter. Stirring constantly add the flour and cook for 3 minutes; the mixture will clump together. Still stirring constantly, add the milk slowly. Cook for 7 minutes. Add the cheese and the remaining salt and cook, stirring, until thick and creamy, about 5 minutes (this always takes at least 10 min for me.) *the crab would go in here* Add the macaroni and combine. Transfer to the baking dish and top with the bread crumb mixture. Bake until golden & bubbling slightly around the edges, about 25 minutes.
After you get done making that pasta and get all down in comfort food, kick your feet up and read my latest article.
It’s about shoplifters this week. It gives you an insider’s view of what we typically deal with in retail and it also gives you some insight into a CA law that opened the floodgates to petty theft.
You can read it here.
Have a great weekend! If you do make that mac n’ cheese I suggest throwing down a salad first. It’s all about balance, am I right?
Take care & safe travels,
Kit