Macaroni and cheese is a favorite comfort food—and always a crowd pleaser. Whether you serve it for family dinner or a Thanksgiving side, you know the casserole dish will be empty and everyone will be full and happy. This is Martha's favorite macaroni and cheese recipe, a version of which appeared in The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The Original Classics.
Her easy-to-make version is popular for good reason. It uses two cheeses, sharp white cheddar and Gruyère. Cheddar is the cheese most often used for macaroni and cheese, and Gruyère is one of the best melting cheeses. The recipe is broken down into very simple steps; guiding you through making breadcrumbs, stirring up the cheese sauce, cooking the macaroni, assembling the dish, and baking.
Macaroni and cheese means different things to different people. There’s the quicker stovetop version and the baked casserole-like version, which this recipe is a great example of. Each has its fans.
Stovetop mac and cheese tends to be creamier, it has more sauce to pasta than baked versions. On the downside, it can be mushy if overcooked and lacks the textural contrast found in baked mac and cheese.
Baked macaroni and cheese can lay claim to being the original dish. The first known recipe appeared in Elizabeth Raffald's 1769 book, The Experienced English Housekeeper.There is a great deal of variation within the category of baked mac and cheese. Recipes use a variety of cheeses, from cheddar to Fontina to Monterey Jack to Gouda to Parmesan. Many use a combination of cheeses, because each cheese brings something different to the dish.
And not all recipes use macaroni, some substitute other types of short pasta. Some skip making a béchamel sauce to flavor with cheese; instead, they use evaporated milk as a shortcut. Adding a crunchy breadcrumb topping, like in this recipe, is popular for bringing a crunchy contrast to the dish—it also insulates the pasta underneath, preventing it from drying out.
Heat oven to 375°F. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish; set aside. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter.
Butter breadcrumbs:
Place bread in a medium bowl. Pour butter into bowl with bread, and toss. Set breadcrumbs aside.
Heat milk:
In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, heat milk.
Melt remaining butter and whisk in flour:
Melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. When butter bubbles, add flour. Cook, whisking, 1 minute.
Add hot milk and whisk until sauce is thick:
While whisking, slowly pour in hot milk. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick.
Stir in cheeses and seasonings:
Remove pan from heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar cheese, and 1 1/2 cups Gruyère or 1 cup Pecorino Romano; set cheese sauce aside.
Cook macaroni:
Fill a large saucepan with water; bring to a boil. Add macaroni; cook 2 to 3 minutes less than manufacturer's directions, until the outside of pasta is cooked and the inside is underdone. Transfer macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well.
Undercook the macaroni: Be sure to read the instructions on the box regarding cook time because different brands of macaroni cook at different rates.
Add macaroni to sauce:
Stir macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce
Transfer to prepared dish and top with cheese and breadcrumbs:
Pour mixture into prepared dish. Sprinkle remaining 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup Gruyère or 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano, and breadcrumbs over top.
Bake:
Bake until browned on top, about 30 minutes. Transfer dish to a wire rack to cool 5 minutes; serve hot.
For a Smaller Mac and Cheese
You can divide this recipe in half; Simply halve the ingredients and bake it in 1 1/2-quart casserole dish.
Making Ahead
After completing step 9, cover dish tightly with plastic wrap and freeze for up to three months. To cook, replace plastic wrap with aluminum foil and bake until bubbling in a 375 degree Fahrenheit oven (about 60 to 70 minutes). Remove foil and continue baking until golden, 5 to 10 minutes more.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you put too much cheese in mac and cheese?
Yes, adding more cheese than a recipe calls for will not improve the dish. Too much cheese will result in a dish that is heavy and greasy.
Should I bake my mac and cheese covered or uncovered?
Macaroni and cheese is generally baked uncovered so the topping browns and crisps. Some recipes do call for covering the dish at first and then removing the foil to allow the top to brown. It’s best to follow the recipe, so don’t cover the casserole dish if the recipe doesn’t call for that. The one exception is if your dish is browning too fast or catching around the edges, you can cover the dish with foil to prevent it burning or drying out on the top.
In 1937 during the Great Depression, Kraft came out with it's boxed macaroni and cheese option. Back then, one box could feed a family of four for only 19 cents and Kraft quickly sold over 8 million boxes in one year. During World War II when rationing became a necessity, Kraft's blue boxed mix continued its success.
Remember that the noodles for macaroni and cheese are not entirely cooked when they hit the baking dish, so they will continue to cook and absorb sauce while baking. Plus, the starch from the pasta will thicken the sauce as it bakes too, so you need to initially make the sauce looser than your final desired viscosity.
The ABSOLUTE MINIMUM you need to know, in 50 words or less: Boxed mac and cheese is high in phthalates because of plastic involved in processing, plus fat content. Phthalates are definitely a cause for concern, especially for infants and expecting females, but threshold doses aren't known.
Add 1 tablespoon of milk per cup of mac and cheese and mix to incorprate as much as possible. *If you'd like to add more creaminess and flavor, substitute half-and-half or cream. 3. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and place in the oven at 350°F for 20-30 minutes, or until heated through.
Water actually works perfectly well as a milk substitute in mac and cheese. It adds all the liquid you need, though it doesn't have the creaminess or flavor that other substitutes add. However, if you add a little pasta water, instead of plain tap water, to your cheese sauce, you might get better results.
To make the roux, start by melting butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add flour, salt, and pepper and stir until smooth. Slowly pour in milk and stir until the mixture is smooth and bubbling.
By cooking the pasta in milk instead, you get to keep all that starchy goodness for your cheese sauce. However, as the Kitchn points out: “Some milk is absorbed into the pasta as it cooks, but you need to reserve enough to make your sauce.
Feta has a high moisture level and doesn't melt properly, so it would clump rather than give you a smooth sauce. This also goes for cheeses like queso fresco and paneer.
Sauce too thick? Stir in a splash of milk and mix until the sauce has loosened up. (This is also a great trick for reheating mac and cheese - if you're microwaving leftovers and the sauce seems to have dried up, stir a splash of milk or half-and-half into the pasta to bring the sauce back to life!)
In 1937, Kraft debuted its boxed macaroni and cheese, which it sold for 19 cents and contained four servings. Its slogan was “make a meal for four in nine minutes,” and the product got a big lift with American consumers during World War II because you could get two boxes and spend only one ration point.
One of its most popular products, Kraft macaroni and cheese was introduced in 1937. At just nineteen cents a box and easily prepared, the prepackaged product was a hit during the Great Depression and into World War II as rationing took place and working women had limited time at home.
During the end of the Great Depression, macaroni and cheese became a popular food item due to its low cost. It was billed as “the housewife's best friend, a nourishing one pot meal” and sold 8 million boxes when it was released by Kraft Foods in 1937. The popularity of the food then exploded once again in World War II.
HEALTH WATCHDOG OBJECTS TO KRAFT HEINZ MAC & CHEESE ADS
The brand maintains its signature blue and red colors while its typography, photography, iconography and packaging all are updated. Kraft Mac & Cheese explained that the name change was made to reflect the way customers "organically" reference the brand.
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