The late, and amazing, Julia Child once said, “People who love to eat are the best people.” Well, thank heaven because I love to eat! The greatest of whom has ever walked the earth commanded His disciples to feed His sheep. So maybe the ones of us who love to feed others more than we love to eat, might just be on to something. This gives me hope. Because, (a) I love to eat, and (b) I love to feed people even more! Consequently, I love, love, love to cook! As long as I can remember, I have been playing in the kitchen and creating food. Even as a little girl when we were told to play outside, I would often grab a bag of flour and a box of Hershey’s Cocoa and literally make mud pies. When we were old enough to stay home in the summer while Mom worked, the highlight of my day was creating something that we would call lunch and watching my sister eat it… hoping and praying that she would love it.
Life gets marked by our experiences and the seasons we go through… we all have different ways of memorializing those times and seasons. You mention a season of my life (and it has been a doozy) and I will tell you what my favorite things to cook were during that time. And just a little hint… they will likely just to so happen to be the things that the people I loved called their favorites at the time. We have had seasons of brownies, seasons of spaghetti, seasons of chicken spaghetti… risotto… caprese salads. There has been taco season, chicken & dumplings season, chicken salad season… you get the gist.
But perhaps my favorite season and one that seems to have no beginning and no end, would be mac ‘n cheese season. Ahhhhh…. ooey, gooey, hot, bubbly mac ‘n cheese. My favorite season. I have a feeling I am not alone. As I write this, the Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Facebook page has over 1.3 million fans. I suspect there would be more if people knew that Kraft actually had a page for this. I think that most of us grew up on the blue box of joy and can say that is where our mac ‘n cheese love started. My Mamma used to tell me at family gatherings that she made the Kraft Macaroni & Cheese just for me. (See, I come from a long line of amazing women who love people with food.) Now she may very well have told everyone that, but I believed that it was specially made for me and it meant more than any toy at Christmas ever could have. In my world, that was made just for me with love. Mac ‘n cheese = love. Yep.
Over the years, other versions of the cheesy noodle goodness came along to grow my palette. From the big fat elbow noodles at Luby’s on Sundays after church to the many variations that would always make it to potluck dinners and church picnics, to some amazing chefs and restauranteurs that have created various combinations of cheeses and add-ins, like lobster (oh my!) and BACON. (Oh, yes, yes, yes… everything is better with bacon!). One day I formulated a plan to write my own cookbook… all mac ‘n cheese recipes. That, my friends, is still a dream and a work in progress. My friend Christine asked me once, for an article she was writing for our local newspaper, what my favorite comfort food was and why. My reply? One guess. Yep! I told her what I will tell you… There is something about mac ‘n cheese that is just perfection. The right bowl of creamy, gooey, wonderfully-cheesy mac ‘n cheese just tells your body from the inside out that all is right with the world. Even if it is just for the few minutes you spend enjoying that hot bowl of goodness. It’s like getting a new puppy… total joy. Cheese is, after all, the best food ever. And pasta is quite possibly the most important gift the Italians have given the world. (Well, in addition to some great literature, architecture, art, wine and a Church that you may have heard of.)
Well, anyway, when you marry the two together, add lots of butter and cream (and maybe some bacon) you just hear angels singing as you pull it out of the oven. No, really!! Comfort food that warms you up from the deepest spot in your belly and coats your palate with happiness. It just doesn’t get any better than a great mac ‘n cheese. While there are a million ways to shake it up and make it fun. this is my most favorite, foundational and most-requested recipe for mac ‘n cheese, and the base recipe for many of the fun variations. The one that you HAVE to go back for seconds on and hits all of the criteria that are a must for mac ‘n cheese. It is super-cheesy, nice and gooey and doesn’t taste like cardboard when you reheat it. May it bring you joy… may it be fun for you to make… may it make everyone at the dinner table smile. Most importantly, may it make you and someone else feel loved when you present it. Mac ‘N Cheese love is one of my favorite kinds! Enjoy!
- 1 lb pasta noodles
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter divided
- 3 tbsp flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 cups heavy cream or half & half
- 1 tsp ground mustard powder
- 6-8 swipes fresh nutmeg
- 1 lb sharp white cheddar cheese
- 1/2 lb fontina cheese
- 1/2 lb parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs optional
- 2-3 pinches salt kosher or sea salt... not table salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper freshly ground
- Initial prep-work to make the rest of the process go more smoothly: Fill a 5 quart dutch oven or other large pasta pot about 2/3 of the way up with water, cover and bring to a rolling boil. Once it is boiling, add a nice healthy handful of salt and your noodles. Stir with a fork so no one gets stuck to the bottom and let these guys start cooking. Combine the panko crumbs and 1/4 cup parmesan in a small bowl and set aside. (This step is optional… if you don’t like a crunchy top, just skip the panko thing.) Next shred all remaining cheeses and combine them in a large bowl, pulling out about a fourth of it for your topping. With 1 Tbl. of unsalted butter, grease a 13×9 or similar sized casserole dish. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Over medium heat, in a large non-stick heavy skillet, melt 3 Tbl. butter. With a wire whisk, mix in the flour and make a very light roux, whisking for a minute or so until completely combined and bubbly. Whisking constantly, stir in the milk and cream and continue to cook and whisk until is just slightly thickens. Do not worry if it doesn’t feel terribly thick… we are going to stir in a lot cheese, which will thicken it, and the pasta will soak some up, too. Season with salt and pepper, add in ground mustard and fresh nutmeg. Stir in the cheeses (minus what you pulled out for the topping) and stir until nicely combined and bubbly throughout. Be sure to taste the cheese sauce here… you probably need more salt than you think. The salt, mustard and nutmeg are actually going to make the cheese taste cheesier. When it tastes super sharp and cheesy, you can move to the next step.
- Once your pasta is al dente (about 7 minutes of boiling time approximately), drain pasta. Keep in mind that it will absorb some liquid and cook through even more in the oven, so you do not want it mushy at this stage. Toss in about 3/4 of the noodles into the sauce and stir. Make sure there is a bit of an excess of sauce and then adjust with whether you want to add in more noodles or not. (I like mine super-gooey, so I don’t usually add all of the pasta… I reserve some and throw it in the fridge for something else.)
- Pour cheesy noodles into buttered casserole dish and top evenly with the shredded cheese you reserved earlier. This next step is optional: if you like a crunchy top do this. If not, skip the panko and throw the rest of your parmesan on top. For the crunchy top, evenly spread the panko/parmesan mixture over the top of the shredded cheese and cut your remaining 2 Tbl. butter into about 12 little cubes. Dot the top of the crumbs with the butter cubes, then put the casserole dish into the oven. Bake for about 20-30 minutes (depending on how hot your oven cooks) and start watching loosely after 20 minutes… when the top is golden brown and the edges are bubbly, it is ready. Remove from oven, let it set up for about 3-5 minutes before serving.
Since the star of this dish is the cheese, this is something I definitely splurge on. The better quality cheese you use, the better this will taste. For your white cheddar, I definitely recommend Beecher's Flagship White Cheddar if you can find it. The flavor is crazy-good and this is one the best melting white cheddars I have found.
Reheating: If you have any left, though, after you pull it out of the oven, you should just bring it to my house and let me polish it off for you! If however, you really need to save some for later, you probably know that mac 'n cheese is notoriously difficult to reheat and maintain the original creaminess it had fresh out of the oven. The oils used tend to separate from the sauce, so to prevent this there are a couple of things you can do. If you have the time, let the dish come to room temp on your counter, then reheat (covered) in the oven on 275 to 300 degrees. You can also heat it over a double boiler and stir it regularly. Lastly, if you must use the microwave, be sure to create a little well in the very center (which will make it heat through evenly) and use a lower setting... no higher than a 6. Stir it every 30 seconds or so for small quantities and every minute for larger quantities. All of these methods will make it difficult to preserve the crunchy top, but will help prevent it from becoming oily or gloppy.
*A special thank you to Mandee Montana for taking these awesome photos!
Great blog and recipe! So proud of you! This is really a work of art! Keep up the good work’
Thank you so much!! xoxo