March 7, 2008
Baked Macaroni and Cheese
These snowy winter days call for comfort food. Not much else fits that bill like cheesy, creamy, hot macaroni and cheese. I couldn’t find a recipe I liked enough to follow exactly, so I created my own, using these two as my base. What came out what a slightly spicy, extremely cheesy pasta dish.
Using three different cheeses added dimension to the dish – every bite is completely unlike the other! The blue cheese really gave it a punch. I also really enjoyed the panko breadcrumbs over the usual sandwich-breadcrumbs; they were lighter, and weren’t at all in competition with the pasta.
A salad goes great on the side. A version of Soli’s tabouleh made an excellent match this time around.
Baked Mac n’ Cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
¾ pound elbow macaroni
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 ½ tablespoons dry mustard
2 ½ cups milk
½ cup cream (10%)
1 onion, sliced
1 bay leaf
1 ½ teaspoon paprika
1 ½ teaspoon cayenne
12 oz cheese (I used about 6 oz sharp cheddar, 4 oz emmental and 2 oz blue cheese
Salt
Black pepper
TOPPING:
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the paste to al dente.
2. While the pasta is cooking, in a large saucepan, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving until there are no lumps left. Stir in the milk, cream, onion, bay leaf, cayenne and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the bay leaf.
3. Grate / crumble the cheese together and mix. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese mixture and stir until the cheese is melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Drain the macaroni and pour cheese mixture in with the pasta, stir together. Pour macaroni into a 13x9x2 baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.
5. For the topping, melt the butter and toss the bread crumbs in it until they are coated. Sprinkle over top of macaroni.
6. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F. Remover and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
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LyB said,
March 8, 2008 @ 9:01 AM
Baked macaroni and cheese is one of my favorite dishes, your combination of cheeses sounds delicious!
Deborah said,
March 11, 2008 @ 10:28 AM
I’ve never had blue cheese in mac and cheese, but it sounds delicious!!
kimberleyblue said,
March 11, 2008 @ 10:31 AM
It is! I would only put in a bit because it is so powerful – but a little adds a really great dimension to it.
Kevin said,
March 11, 2008 @ 7:43 PM
I like the idea of using a blue cheese in mac and cheese!
Ashley said,
March 12, 2008 @ 12:04 AM
Yum I looove mac and cheese. I’ve added Dijon to my mac and cheese before but not mustard powder, I should try that. One time I went all out and put tortilla chips and cheese on top of the mac & cheese then baked it yumm. My favourite way to eat it is to sautee lots of veggies, add it to the sauce, then baked it with bread crumbs, herbs, pine nuts, garlic and cheese.
kimberleyblue said,
March 13, 2008 @ 12:58 PM
Dijon is a great addition! I like to use it as a dipping sauce on the side.
And pine nuts would make it incredible, thanks for the idea!
Natasha said,
March 29, 2008 @ 5:46 PM
just made this and had to say thanks for the recipe! found it on tastespotting.com and made some substitutions with what i had on hand: part soy milk instead of cream, leftover st. agur blue cheese and sharp white cheddar. i used seasoned croutons for the topping and diced and sauteed the onion with the butter before adding the flour and mustard. it’s a rainy/hailing/snowy day here in vancouver and this hits the spot – for cooking and eating! i will be sure to add this to my repertoire and share with friends. thanks so much it’s my best mac and cheese yet!
kimberleyblue said,
March 30, 2008 @ 9:51 PM
I’m happy to hear it worked out well for you! It’s a great recipe because it’s open to so many changes.
djou said,
July 28, 2008 @ 2:14 PM
i’m fishing for tips… is it better to leave out the egg? i was told that baked mac & cheese wouldn’t set properly without an egg or two, but yours looks just about right and there was no egg in your recipe. it doesn’t come out runny at all, does it?
thanks in advance! can’t wait to try this recipe
kimberleyblue said,
July 28, 2008 @ 3:16 PM
djou – it was perfect, even without an egg, it wasn’t runny at all.
let m know if you do try it, and what you think!
shana said,
November 20, 2008 @ 7:16 PM
this looks delish! i’m searching around for thanksgiving recipes and was wondering how many this serves?
kimberleyblue said,
November 21, 2008 @ 2:00 PM
well, i guess it all depends on the appetites of the people you’re serving it to, and if you’re serving it as a main course or a side dish.
if it’s to go as a side for thanksgiving, then i’d say it should give out about 12 servings. perhaps more?
sarah said,
December 6, 2009 @ 8:51 PM
I’m making this recipe now, but just realized it lists butter in the ingredients twice, but never mentions how much flour to use?
kimberleyblue said,
December 7, 2009 @ 11:07 AM
Wow, I can’t believe I never noticed that! Thanks for pointing it out, Sarah. It’s been fixed.