If you've been following this blog for a while, you'll recall earlier this year I made a couple posts with variations of mac and cheese. You can find the latest here.
I think I have the cheddar formula down this time, but let's start with the basics for anyone who's just joined us
3 T unsalted butter
3 T flour
3 cups whole milk
3 cups cheese
1 pound your favorite pasta
For this batch, I used a cup and a half of smoked gouda and a cup and a half of the sharpest cheddar I could get my hands on. Success! We had the smokiness from the gouda, and the nice sharpness from the cheddar and no graininess at all.
Regarding pasta, I'm not going to tell you one noodle or another. For a cheesy dish, I like rotini or small shells, something that will grip the sauce and bring it to my mouth. If you're feeding kids, you might go with the traditional elbows, there's no wrong answer here.
Since I've made this, I've tried a few different "upscale" mac and cheeses at a few different restaurants. Boston Market is nice and creamy, but I think they use processed cheese food (sounds like something cheese eats, doesn't it? You can thank my friend Barbara for that one) as opposed to cheese. A restaurant chain in the south called J. Alexander's makes a nice one using gruyere, and I think that will be a project sometime in November.
Questions? Comments? Ideas? Death threats? Let's hear them!
I wish my kids would eat REAL mac and cheese. For some reason they still think the box kind is the "real kind"... but they will learn eventually.
ReplyDeleteAnyway...do you accept products to try?
We're looking for bloggers to help promote our authentic Italian pasta, Pasta Lensi, through social media and blogs. Pasta Lensi is sold here in the states through American Italian Pasta Company mostly in the NE at Price Chopper and Kings Supermarket.
We're looking for blogger to try the pasta, which comes in several shapes, using their own recipe or ours... and then let us know what you think- hopefully through your blog, Facebook or Twitter.
Let me know if you are interested and I'll be happy to send you some samples.
In the meantime check us out at www.pastalensi.com or on facebook at www.facebook.com/pastalensi.
Thanks!
Karen Jenkins