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Sunday, April 6, 2014

Baked Mac and Cheese






This is my most recent Mac and Cheese recipe. After much research this is what I came up with and it is wonderful. Give it a try.
Heres what I do:


Macaroni and Cheese 
 
5 cups uncooked elbow macaroni

White Sauce
½ cup good quality butter
¼ Cup flour
3 ½ cups whole milk
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. Lowerys season salt
½ tsp. ground black pepper
Two sprigs thyme leaves stripped from stalk
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
Pinch of nutmeg
2 tsp. dry mustard
8 ounces greyer cheeses, shredded  
12 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
4 ounces velveeta, cubed
Topping
 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
 4 ounces Cheddar cheese
 ½ cup Parmesan cheese
Mix the topping ingredients together and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and boil pasta till al dente (no more or it will be mushy when done.)
While the water is heating and coming to a boil start the white sauce. Measure the milk into a large measuring cup or bowl and add in the salt, lowerys season salt, black pepper, thyme leaves, cayenne, mustard and a scant pinch of nutmeg or grate small amount of nutmeg into the milk and whisk together. Set aside.
 In a pan melt butter over medium high heat. Add flour and whisk till blended with flour and cook for a few minutes. Pour milk into the cooked flour and whisk together. Cook till thickened. About 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the Gruyere, Velveeta and cheddar cheese. Stir till cheeses are melted. Taste for salt. You want it to have plenty of salt so that when put on the pasta it isn’t tasteless. When the pasta is cooked, drain well and add to the cheese sauce. Stir together and put into a casserole dish. Top with panko/cheese mixture. Bake 30 minutes in preheated 350 degree oven.

Enjoy