What's your best macaroni & cheese recipe?

Posted on Fri, Oct 1, 2010 : 6 a.m.

What's your best macaroni & cheese recipe?

By Jessica Webster

My favorite Southwest macaroni & cheese.

Jessica Webster | AnnArbor.com

We've been talking about macaroni & cheese a lot since Alton Brown and the Food Network named our own Zingerman's Roadhouse's macaroni and cheese "America's Best Comfort Food." Many AnnArbor.com readers weighed in with an opinion on how much a plate of mac & cheese should cost and where they buy their favorite mac & cheese.

Around the AnnArbor.com Community Space, we've been sharing tales of our ultimate macaroni & cheese experiences. Pam Stout was inspired by the conversations to make her favorite recipe - Emeril Lagasse's "Easy & Cheesy" Macaroni & Cheese. James Dickson favors the pulled pork mac & cheese from Blue Tractor. Elizabeth Palmer swears by the Better Homes and Gardens classic mac & cheese recipe. Ed Vielmetti has a complicated process that involves leftover pasta, canned tomatoes, bread crumbs and an oven.

Earlier this year I posted my own take on Zingerman's Macaroni, Smoked Chicken and Monterey Jack, and Zingerman's has shared its Roadhouse Macaroni & Cheese recipe with us below. And now it's your turn. What's describes your ultimate pasta and cheese experience? Is there a favorite family recipe? Do you swear by the old Bill Knapp's side dish? Share them below.

Roadhouse Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:

Coarse sea salt
1 pound macaroni
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup diced onion
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 pound grated raw milk cheddar cheese
2 Tsp Olive Oil

Method:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons salt and the pasta and stir well. Cook for about 13 minutes (if using Martelli) or until the pasta is done. Drain it and set it aside.

2. Meanwhile, melt the butter for the sauce in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat (be careful not to scorch the butter). Add the onion and bay leaf and sautÃ© until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes.
Remove the bay leaf. Add the flour, and cook for a minute or so, stirring constantly.

3. Slowly add the milk, a little at a time, stirring constantly to avoid lumping. When the flour and milk have been completely combined, stir in the cream. Keep the mixture at a gentle simmer (not at a high boil) until it thickens, 2 to 3 minutes.
Reduce the heat to medium. Stir in the mustard, cheddar cheese and salt. Simmer for 5 minutes and set aside.

4. In a heavy bottom skillet over med-high heat get the pan very hot. Add olive oil and when it begins to smoke add the cheese sauce and the drained cooked noodles. Toss thoroughly and continue to cook, stirring occassionally until you have approximately 15 % of the mixture golden brown.

5. Taste and adjust the seasonings if necessary. Remove from heat.

Serve each bowl of macaroni. Dig in!

Jessica Webster leads the Food & Drink section for the AnnArbor.com community team. You can reach her at jessicawebster@annarbor.com.

Comments

Erin Mann

Sat, Oct 2, 2010 : 10 a.m.

I love making this Butternut Mac & Cheese in the fall; just made some the other weekend with squash I picked up at the farmer's market. The squash lends a wonderful sweetness (& some nutritional value, too!) http://kitchenadventures.typepad.com/blog/2008/01/butternut-mac-and-cheese-revisited.html

krc

Fri, Oct 1, 2010 : 10:20 a.m.

Open the box and take out the foil packet. Pour the macaroni into the water you have already brought to a boil. Cook until al dente or to taste. Drain and pour back into pot. With fire on very low, add the chunked up quarter cup of margarine and the quarter cup of milk. Pour in packet of cheese powder. Stir all until thoroughly mixed and the margarine is melted. Turn off heat. Let sit until it thickens a little, et voila! Mac n cheese a la dorm room!!

A2K

Fri, Oct 1, 2010 : 9:18 a.m.

My Mac -n- Cheese: Oven at 450 F. 1 lb. macaroni (cooked al dente) 2 C. 1/2 n 1/2 2 C. grated sharp cheddar 1 C. grated meunster 1/2 C. grated parmesan 6 oz. cubed velveeta 1/2 inch cubes (yeah, that's right! Trust me...mwahaha!) 6 T. melted butter 1 minced garlic clove 1/2 t. salt 1/4 t. cayenne pepper 1 C. fresh bread crumbs Heat 1/2 n 1/2 in a heavy saucepan until it's steaming. Stir in the cheeses until melted and stringy...do NOT let it boil, use gentle, med/low heat. In another pan, mix the melted butter with the garlic and then add the cooked macaroni. Stir. Combine cheese sauce, salt, cayenne, and the buttered macaroni. Then stir in the cubed velveeta. Pour into a buttered 9 x 13 pan. Top with the breadcrumbs and a little more grated cheese. Bake for 15 minutes, and voila! Delish.

Fri, Oct 1, 2010 : 8:04 a.m.

This http://veganyumyum.com/2007/10/mac-and-cheese-cheeze-yeast/ It's healthy and tasty. I rarely bake it though!

cheshirecat

Fri, Oct 1, 2010 : 7:48 a.m.

My family sort of "specializes" in baked mac&cheese dishes for family gatherings. The link below goes to my favorite recipe, which I've posted on my food blog. It is without a doubt my most requested recipe: http://haveforkwilleat.com/2009/06/baked-macaroni-and-cheese/ This second recipe is a baked mac and cheese casserole with leeks, spinach and chicken and is also amazing: http://haveforkwilleat.com/2009/10/meal-in-a-pot-baked-mac-and-cheese/