My (In)famous Mac N Cheese

Finally, the recipes are here. :)

I never use recipes, and these are all my own creation, unless I say otherwise--and I will! I'm not good at following recipes.. short attention span while cooking, I guess. I just throw in a little of this, and a little of that, and when it's ready, I usually know.

This, of course, means that my recipes are not always exact. Most of them can be altered to your liking; if you have any questions about alterations, please post them as comments and I will post a reply!


First up: My Infamous Macaroni and Cheese recipe

I love this macaroni and cheese recipe. It's probably the best I've ever eaten. I can't guarantee it'll be as good with vegan substitutes--you guys are on your own on that one! If you do try it and it's good, please let me know how it turned out and I will post it!

There are a few ways you can make this mac and cheese recipe. Obviously you can add all sorts of goodies to it--you can make it Mexican with some taco seasoning and chiles, that's really good, or add mushrooms or fake meat for a "cheeseburger" mac n cheese... etc. There are also various liquids you can use to make the sauce, which I will discuss in the 'sauce' section.

The Noodles

2 1/2 cups dry macaroni or other tubular noodle (shells work, too)

The Sauce

3 cups liquid. Use at least 1.5 - 2 cups dairy (or dairy sub), the rest can be veg broth. If you're not counting calories or saturated fat the night that you're making it (and don't we ALL need a comfort food night sometimes?), use 1/2 milk and 1/2 cream or half and half.. mmmmmm. Also, beer works well in this recipe, but I often am not able to use it or I get pouted at by my fiancee.

1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese

3 tbsp butter or margarine or oil (butter/margarine is the best.. but if you aren't eating it, oil will work)

3 tbsp flour

3 cloves garlic/3 tsp preminced garlic (handy stuff, that)

salt and pepper, to taste

pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (optional but delicious)


The Extra Bits

Several slices of good melting cheese OR extra shredded cheese (must be something that doesn't get stringy--no mozzarella! Try American, cheddar, muenster, provolone, or any other good melting cheeses. I prefer American slices for flavor--I know it's processed cheese food, but it's really good)

a cup of bread crumbs

2 tsp of smoky paprika, or to taste

3 tbsp margarine or butter, cut into small pats (or, if using oil, it will be combined with breadcrumbs prior to spreading)

Any extra bits that you want to add



The Assembly

Gather your mise en place. This is always handy when you're going to be multi-tasking in the kitchen. If you need to cook any of your extra bits before they go in the macaroni, now is the time!

Preheat your oven to 375F or 400F, depending on if your oven tends to run a little hotter or a little cooler. If you're unsure which, go with 400F and watch the mac closely the first time.

Get your noodles cookin' on the back burner--or at least start the water for the noodles. The noodles should be about half cooked when you pull them off, so watch them carefully.

In a cold, large skillet--preferably one with high sides--add your garlic and butter/oil. Turn the burner on to low and let the garlic and the butter melt together, stirring to prevent the garlic from burning.

When the butter is melted and has cooked down for a few moments, add the flour and stir. Let the flour cook with the butter for a few minutes. If the roux (that's the flour/butter mix) seems really chunky, add a little more butter. If it seems really slurry, add a little more flour. It should be a little slurry, but not too much.

Once the flour has cooked for a few minutes, it should still be in the blond stage. That means that the flour hasn't darkened very much, but still is beginning to smell a little nutty. Add your three cups of cold liquid (make sure it's cold!) and whisk to break down the roux into the liquid. I like to add half my liquid, stir really well, then add the other half. Bump the heat up to medium or just below.

Season the sauce with salt, pepper, a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg, and any spices you'd like to add. I often add a teaspoon or two of paprika. Whisk frequently, but not necessarily constantly until it begins to come to a bubble. When it looks like it's getting ready to boil, whisk furiously and constantly (well, not too furiously--try to keep the sauce in the pan!) until it's fully to a boil. It should thicken as it comes to a boil. After this happens, turn the heat off.

(By now, your macaroni is probably already done. Strain it, but don't add it to the baking dish yet. It'll be fine hanging out--now don't you rinse it, either!)

Once the heat is off under your macaroni, stir in the shredded cheese. I generally use about a cup and a half to two cups; any more than that, and I find the sauce gets a little stringy. It won't seem as cheesy as the premade stuff in the restaurants, but it's plenty cheesy, trust me.

Using a 9 x 9 baking dish (or 8 x 8, whatever), we will now assemble this gift from the cheese goddess.

Put a VERY thin layer of the sauce on the bottom of the baking dish. Portion out roughly 1/3 of the noodles on top. Cover the layer of noodles with sliced cheese or shredded cheese, then 1/3 of the remaining sauce mixture. Repeat, repeat. (If on the last layer your sauce seems a little too thick, thin it out a little bit before adding it. It's going to bake, anyway.)

On top of the top cheese layer, add your thinly sliced butter/margarine pats (if using) and then cover that with the bread crumbs. Before adding the bread crumbs, mix them with the paprika and a pinch of salt. If foregoing the butter, mix the bread crumbs also with enough olive oil to make them moist.

Bake until the crust is browned. It won't brown VERY much, so don't look for a drastic difference. The sauce should be all bubbly and delicious at this point. I have left it in for as little as ten minutes or as long as 40, depending on the oven. Keep a close eye if you don't know your oven very well!



Next recipe to come: Vegan AvoTuno Salad!