Baked Mac & Cheese

The best way to make mac & cheese. Stovetop mac & cheese is tasty, but pales in comparison. I have 2 versions: the one you should make, and the one you shouldn’t.

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Linda’s Mac & Cheese

My favorite mac & cheese. Fancy cheeses you have to shred blend? Scaled milk? Mustard or other emulsifiers? Nope. Humble, home-made mac & cheese, without any of the fussiness that other great recipes call for. The only “fancy” ingredients are the Gruyère and smoked paprika, and those really make the dish. Pre-shredded bagged “Mexican” cheese blend is fine. Pre-seasoned breadcrumbs are great. My basic bachelor version is, in some ways, more difficult!

Ingredients:

• 1 lbs. large elbow noodles
• 4 tbsp. butter
• 3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• 8 oz Gruyère cheese, shredded
• 1 lbs of shredded mexican blend or cheddar cheese
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 2 tsbp. Spanish smoked paprika
• kosher salt to taste

Topping

• 2 cups seasoned panko bread crumbs
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (don’t waste Parmegiano Reggiano here)

Directions:

1. Add of water to small stock pot. Add kosher salt. Put on high heat covered.
2. Pre-heat oven to 350F.
3. Melt butter in large stock pot. Add flour and stir to combine into a roux. Cook until the raw flour taste is gone.
4. Add milk to roux and whisk briskly until combined. Bring mixture to boil over medium-high heat.
5. Add most of the cheese one handful at a time, waiting for each addition to melt completely before adding the next. Reserve some for top.
6. Add paprika and black pepper to sauce. Taste. Add salt or more spices if needed.
7. Add pasta to boiling water. Boil for half the time the box tells you to, or taste until the noodles are soft on the outside, but still stiff and a little crunchy inside. (you want it very undercooked)
8. Drain pasta. Add directly to sauce, and combine thoroughly.
9. Move half the pasta and sauce mixture to baking dish. Sprinkle half of the remaining cheese. Add the rest of the pasta, and the rest of the remaining cheese.
10. Add 2 tbsp butter to the microwave for 15-30 seconds, until just melted.
11. Mix breadcrumbs and parmesan with melted butter.
12. Add breadcrumb topping on top. Cover with foil.
13. Cook at 350F for 20-30 minutes, until cheese is all melted and everything looks cohesive.
14. Remove the foil. Broil on high for 1-2 monutes until brown.

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Basic Bachelor Chow

I made this recipe as a simplified Mac & Cheese for a Catholic young adult men’s group in the early 2000s to teach a bunch of young bachelors how to cook, and how to use that as a tool to not be a bachelor. I demonstrated all the skills in this, printed recipe cards. This does not have a seasoned bread crumb topping, which would be the easiest addition to improve it, nore does it have a nice blend of cheeses to add complexity.

Recipe card - printable PDF

But seriously… don’t make this version. This is here for archival purposes early. Make the recipe above.

Hardware:

• 2+ gallon stock pot
• 3+ qt. saucier or sauce pot.
• large collander
• large wooden spoon
• wire whisk
• baking dish

Software:

• 3 tbsp. butter
• 3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk, scalded
• 1¼ lbs of sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 lbs. pasta (elbow noodles are classic)
• ½ cup kosher salt
• 1 tsp. white pepper (optional)
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)

Procedure:

1. Assemble mise en place (this is the unwritten first step to every recipe ever written)
2. Add 1 gallon of water to stock pot. Add ½ cup kosher salt. Put on high heat covered.
3. Pre-heat oven to 350F.
4. Make light roux with butter and flour in saucier or sauce pot.
5. Remove roux from heat. Add milk and whisk briskly until combined. Add spices.
6. Bring mixture to boil over medium-high heat. You now have a basic sauce béchamel
7. Add cheese to béchamel one handful at a time, waiting for each addition to melt completely before adding the next.
8. Taste sauce. Add salt to taste if needed. (this is the last step for any sauce or soup recipe!)
9. Add pasta to boiling water. Boil for half the time the box tells you to, or taste until the noodles are soft on the outside, but still stiff and a little crunchy inside. (you want it very undercooked)
10. Drain pasta. Add directly to sauce, and combine thoroughly.
11. Move pasta and sauce mixture to baking dish. Cook at 350F for 20-30 minutes, until the cheese starts to brown.