Macaroni and Cheese

[chasingtides]

This is how my mother's family has made macaroni and cheese - my mom, my grandmother, her sisters. It's easier, it's simple, it's adaptable. When I was a kid, my mom made it with goat's milk and goat's cheese. When my brother could manage more cow's milk, she worked it half-cheddar and half-goat cheese. When I make it, I use cow's milk and cheddar cheese.

milk
pasta
cheese
flour
bread crumbs

Cook up a big pot of pasta - enough to fill a casserole dish.

Separately, in the casserole dish, make a white sauce out of the milk and flour. Heat in the microwave and mix until smooth. Slowly add small pieces of cheese and heat until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth. Make enough of the cheese sauce to coat the pasta.

Add the pasta to the sauce in the casserole dish. Mix well. Top with bread crumbs.

Bake for 10 - 20 minutes (depending on desired textured) in the microwave on high or the oven at 350 F. If you use the oven, you might add a bit of extra sliced cheese below the bread crumbs.

*

This is delicious comfort food. It's remarkably simple. It also freezes very, very well. (It's great for making a large casserole dish and then freezing meal size portions. Add some fresh or frozen veggies and a glass of fruit juice and you have a very comforting, fairly healthy meal.) You can make it with skim milk and low fat cheese. You can make it with goat's milk and goat's cheese. Really, any meltable cheese and cookable milk (ie don't use halloumi and I don't know how well almond milk would work). I prefer to use Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese and whatever milk I have in the fridge, along with whatever pasta happens to be in the cupboard.

Comments

[hecticity.livejournal.com]

Man, I really want some of this stuff now. I'll have to pick up some milk and macaroni noodles at the store next time.

[subordinate.livejournal.com]

This sounds good and easy, for sure. I might do something similar to this later this week.

[larienelengasse.livejournal.com]

I think I've posted the Mac and Cheese recipe that I ripped from Epicurous... it's friggin' decadant - brie, gruyere and white cheddar - mmm, God. So good.

Yo, you want to have either a beer or coffee this weekend? I'm free on Friday, I can drive out your way.

[chasingtides.livejournal.com]

Coffee might be good or beer. Friday definitely works for me. Let me know around what time you want to meet up - I know good coffee shops (although most of the bars I know are dive bars, I can recommend the local Irish place. It's a real Irish place, run by ex-pats, not a fake pub.)

[earis.livejournal.com]

That's exactly my father's family's recipe for mac and cheese. Although instead of bread crumbs we cover it with slices of whatever bread and cheese happens to be in the fridge.

Yum, yum. Tastes great.