I've tried several recipes for mac and cheese. Creamy and a lot of
cheese sauce was important to me. A lot of sauce is reminiscent of the
Kraft macaroni and cheese I ate as a child. I still can see the neon
cheese sauce coating the macaroni and pooling on my childhood plate.
It's
taken me a while, but I realize that creaminess, especially where mac
and cheese is concerned, is not an abundance of sauce, but a certain
"mouth feel". This recipe is creamy and rich and not over sauced.
Here's what I did to make my favorite so far, mac and cheese.
Assembled the ingredients and had Saveur Magazine open to the right page.
Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, thyme and cook until onions are soft, 8-10 minutes. Add wine and cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove and discard garlic and herbs.
Whisk in flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
Gradually whisk in milk, then mustard. Reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook sauce, stirring
constantly, until thick and creamy, about 30 minutes.
Remove pan from heat and stir in 3 cups of cheese, 1 handful at a time, stirring until completely melted after each addition. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Add pasta to sauce and stir until well coated. Transfer macaroni and cheese to an 8-9 cup baking dish, scatter remaining cheese on top, then sprinkle with bread crumbs.
Bake until crust is golden about 25 minutes.
mmmm ready to eat, creamy and rich.
One thing I really liked was the elbow macaroni I used. I bought
Sipa brand at a Middle Eastern grocery store I go to once in a while.
It's made with, according to the package, "Durum wheat semolina of
first quality. gluten contains." Looks like it's made in France. One
thing I noticed is that it cooked quickly and was not overly starchy.
I used 10 ounces of a white aged Irish cheddar and 6 ounces of Gouda. It's creamy but not runny with the cheese sauce.The white sauce used in this recipe is now my favorite way to make a white sauce. That in itself was worth learning from this recipe.
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Macaroni and Cheese Saveur
cheese/eggs, pasta
1 lb. tube-shaped pasta such as; rigatoni or penne rigate
salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium yellow onion peeled and; coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic; peeled and crushed
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons flour
3 1/2 cups milk
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 lb. aged cheddar cheese grated on; large holes of grater
freshly ground black pepper
1-2 tablespoons coarse dry bread crumbs
Preheat oven to 400°F. Meanwhile cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water over high heat for 5-7 minutes or until not quite cooked through. Drain, rinse under cold running water, and drain again.
Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, thyme and rosemary and cook until onions are soft, 8-10 minutes. Add wine and cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove and discard garlic and herbs. Whisk in flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk, then mustard. Reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook sauce, stirring constantly, until thick and creamy, about 30 minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in 3 cups of cheese, 1 handful at a time, stirring until completely melted after each addition. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Add pasta to sauce and stir until well coated. Transfer macaroni and
cheese to an 8-9 cup baking dish, scatter remaining cheese on top, then
sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake until crust is golden about 25 minutes.
Contributor: Saveur issue 83
** Exported from Now You're Cooking! v5.82 **
I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.