Classic Macaroni And Cheese From Fine Cooking Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
• Grease a 2 quart casserole dish. Place a quarter of the macaroni in the bottom, followed by an even layer of one-quarter of the cheese slices. Dot with butter and season with salt and pepper. Repeat layering three times. Pour evaporated milk evenly over the top of all.
• Bake, uncovered, for one hour, or until top is golden brown.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees and butter 9x13" baking dish.
• Cook macaroni according to package directions just until tender and drain well.
• Melt 12 tablespoons of butter in a heavy-based medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour, onion, bay leaf, thyme, and peppercorns; reduce heat to medium low and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, to make a roux. Slowly whisk the milk into rux until smooth and blended. Raise heat to medium-high; whisk constantly until mixture boils. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened. Lower heat and continue simmering for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Strain sauce into a large bowl, removing the onion, herbs, and peppercorns. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cheddar cheese, stirring until cheese is melted. Toss pasta with cheese sauce and pour mixture into baking dish.
• Melt last 2 tablespoons butter and toss with breadcrumbs. Spread the buttered curmbs over casserole. Bake until sizzling and lightly browned, about 40 minutes. Cover with foil is browns too quickly.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Meanwhile, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a non-reactive saucepan. When bubbly whisk in flour and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring every now and then. Slowly whisk in the milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, whisking on occasion for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove pan from heat and whisk in grated cheese. Stir vigorously just until cheese has melted. Then whisk in heavy cream to adjust the texture and season to taste with salt and cayenne pepper. In a mixing bowl combine sauce with sun dried tomatoes and drained macaroni and adjust seasoning. Transfer mixture to a 13 x 9-inch baking pan and spread it out evenly. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top and dot with remaining 4 tablespoons of butter. Bake until hot and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Melt butter in large saucepan on low heat. Stir in flour; cook and stir 2 min. or until bubbly. Gradually stir in milk; bring to boil on medium heat, stirring constantly. Simmer on low heat 3 to 5 min. or until thickened, stirring constantly. Add 1-1/2 cups cheese; cook and stir 2 to 3 min. or until melted. Stir in macaroni.
• Spoon into 1-1/2-qt. casserole sprayed with cooking spray; sprinkle with remaining cheese.
• Bake 20 min. or until heated through.

Steps:

• Cook macaroni according to directions. Do not add salt to the cooking water.
• Drain and set aside.
• Spray a casserole dish with nonstick cooking oil spray.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Lightly spray saucepan with nonstick cooking oil spray.
• Add onions to saucepan and sauté for about 3 minutes.
• In another bowl, combine macaroni, onions, and the remaining ingredients.
• Mix thoroughly.
• Transfer mixture into casserole dish.
• Bake for 25 minutes or until bubbly.
• Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 400°F and put a large pot of well-salted water on to boil over high heat.
• Meanwhile, in a 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven or other heavy-duty pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and 1/2 teaspoons salt and cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring, until slightly darker, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the mustard.
• Switch to a whisk and gradually add the milk, whisking constantly. To avoid lumps, go slowly at first, whisking until the mixture is smooth before adding more milk. Once about half the milk is in and the mixture still isn't very thick, you can add the rest more quickly.
• When all the milk is in, switch back to the spoon and stir in the thyme sprig, bay leaf, and 1/2 teaspoons salt. Let come to a bare simmer, and cook, stirring frequently, for 15 minutes to meld the flavors (reduce the heat to medium low or low as needed to maintain the bare simmer).
• Discard the thyme sprig and bay leaf. Add the Cheddar and Jack cheeses, stirring until melted, and then add the Worcestershire and Tabasco. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep warm, stirring occasionally.
• Tip: For individual servings: choose small baking dishes that hold 1-1/2 to 2 cups each. You can fill them to within about 1/2 inch of the rim. The number of servings will, of course, depend on the volume of your baking dishes. Without any of the add-ins, this recipe yields about 9 cup.
• Cook the pasta in the boiling water until al dente. Pour into a colander and shake it a few times to drain really well. Add the pasta to the cheese sauce, and stir until well combined. Generously season to taste with salt and pepper. Lightly oil a 9x13-inch baking dish and spread the pasta in the dish.
• In a medium bowl, toss the breadcrumbs, Parmigiano, olive oil, chopped thyme, 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoons pepper. Scatter the crumbs evenly over the pasta.
• Bake in the center of the oven until the crumb topping is golden, about 15 minutes. Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
• Meanwhile, in large sauce pan melt butter. Cook onion in butter till tender but not brown.
• Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Cook one minute.
• Pour in milk. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly, be sure to scrape bottom as it cooks. Cook and stir 1-2 minutes more.
• Stir in cheese. Heat and stir until cheese is melted.
• Stir in cooked macaroni. Pour into large 3 quart casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Steps:

• Prepare pasta according to package directions. Keep warm.
• Melt butter in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-low heat; whisk in flour until smooth. Cook, whisking constantly, 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in milk, and cook, whisking constantly, 5 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in salt, black and red pepper, 1 cup shredded cheese, and cooked pasta.
• Spoon pasta mixture into a lightly greased 2-qt. baking dish; top with remaining 1 cup cheese.
• Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
• Note: For testing purposes only, we used Kraft Sharp Cheddar Cheese. To lighten, 2% reduced-fat milk and reduced-fat cheese may be substituted.
• One-Pot Macaroni and Cheese: Prepare recipe as directed, stirring all grated Cheddar cheese into thickened milk mixture until melted. Add cooked pasta, and serve immediately. Prep: 10 min., Cook: 7 minutes.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook elbow macaroni in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain.
• Melt the butter in the bottom of an oven-proof fry pan. Add the flour and stir over heat until just beginning to brown - don't let it get too brown. Take it off the heat and stir in about 1 cup of milk until the butter and flour mixture is fully incorporated. Put it back on the heat and simmer until just beginning to thicken, about 5 minutes. Add the rest of the milk; stir to fully incorporate.
• Add all of the cheeses and stir to melt. Once melted, add the cooked macaroni. Stir to mix.
• Cover the top of the mac and cheese with panko crumbs and place the pan in the oven. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until it is bubbling and the bread crumbs are slightly browned.