Baked Mac & Cheese
This dish is a staple for me. Very creamy, delicious, easy to make, and good for leftovers the next day. The recipe is basically a cheese sauce (much like the one my souffle recipe; it starts as a béchamel), mixed with elbow pasta, topped with bread crumbs and baked.
This was also the meal that finished up my month-long mid-winter experiment. I did manage to go a whole month without repeating the same dinner twice and it wasn't really that difficult. I considered keeping it going for the rest of February, but my need for roasted brussels sprouts with walnuts and parmesan was overwhelming. Who could go more than a few weeks during winter without roasted brussels sprouts? Even if buying them means picking them out one at a time with the silly tongs Wegmans puts in the bin. So I'm off the daily meal plan, but will still post recipes and such as I make them. This week's challenge: omnivore's delight? Lovely carnivorous bf is visiting and we're trying to find some meals that will make both of us happy. We'll see how it goes.
At any rate, my mac & cheese is modified from Mark Bittman's recipe in HTCEV. This time I experimented with mustard bread crumbs, which was pretty awesome.
Here's how I make it:
Baked Mac & Cheese
Makes one 8 x 8 pan; 4-6 servings
~1/2 lb. elbow macaroni
4 tbl. butter
2 tbl. flour
1 c. soy milk
~2 c. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
~1/2 c. shredded parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
heaping tsp. dijon mustard
~1 c. bread crumbs (I like to use Panko--Japanese bread crumbs--lighter, crunchier and I like the texture)
Preheat oven to 375-degrees F and put a large pot of salted water on the stove to boil. Use 1 tbl. of the butter to grease the 8 x 8 pan and set aside. melt about 1 tbl. of butter in a pan, add mustard and toss with breadcrumbs. You'll want to adjust your butter : bread crumb ratio as necessary to coat. Cook for a minute until they just start to brown. Move crumbs to paper towel to drain and set aside.
Add elbows to the boiling water and cook until they're almost al dente; ideally, about a minute undercooked, but precision isn't really important here. Just remember that they'll keep cooking a bit in the oven so don't overcook them on the stove. When they reach this point, drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking and put in a large bowl.
If you're quick, you can make the sauce at the same time you're cooking the noodles and it will all come out together, but you also run the risk of overcooking both while tending to one or the other. If in doubt, make the noodles first. To make the sauce, first heat up the soy milk and set aside. You can use the stovetop, but I just use the microwave. Melt the remaining 2 tbl. of butter in a sauce pan and add the flour. Wisk butter and flour together to form a roux and cook for a few min. until it starts to brown a bit (but don't let it stick to the pan). Slowly add the milk a little at a time, wisking to incorporate. You want to keep the sauce thick and smooth. If it's too thin, just reduce for a few minutes. When all the milk has been incorporated, add the cheddar and stir until it has melted and formed a creamy cheese sauce.
Pour the sauce over the noodles, and stir in the parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir to combine well, then pour into waiting 8 x 8 dish and top with the bread crumbs. Bake for 20-25 min. until bubbly and browned.
I served it with greens and a balsamic dressing. Simple and delicious.
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