Mac 'n Cheese

[kaitlinnegan]

Here's a recipe I like:

Stove top mac and cheese
With my modifications:
1/2 box of pasta (macaroni or other small shapes)
1 whole package of Mori-Nu firm vacuum packed silken tofu
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup plain unsweetened soy milk
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp white miso
1 Tbsp umeboshi vinegar (Eden organics is one supermarket brand - would try soy sauce if you can't find ume vinegar)

Cook pasta to desired texture. Combine all remaining ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. You can either return the pasta to the pot and stir in the sauce to be true to the title, or just add the sauce to individual servings. This is really good when mixed with steamed broccoli or kale.

[icetbear]

Thanks for all the replies I suspect I need to be using Aged Cheddar much like the American Sharp Cheddar. Most of my recipes call for Dijon Mustard and Cayenne neither of which I had on hand. Mac 'n Cheese is great for carrying to our office for a hot lunch, comfort food from childhood. Take care.

NanaBear

[DorothyL]

The only thing that really matters in Mac and Cheese is the little bit of blue cheese you toss in when all the other cheeses have melted.

Dorothy

[Shellymoon]

Dorothy...blue cheese....yum! never tried that.
I am a fan of colby cheese in mine. I also like it baked. The family prefers the stovetop version.
An upscale restaurant near my house makes a good mac & cheese with smoked gouda. It is divine, but not worth what they charge for it.

[lendube]

I know what you mean, Shelly. It shows up often at trendy places as bar food. But you're right, way overpriced most of the time but oh so good.

[Mule]

I forgot to post this, but here it is:

Macaroni and Cheese
6 main course servings

Ingredients
3/4 pound elbow macaroni
For topping
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups panko or coarse dry bread crumbs
1 cup coarsely grated extra-sharp Cheddar
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
For cheese sauce
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
2-3/4 cups whole milk
3/4 cup heavy cream
3-3/4 cups coarsely grated extra-sharp Cheddar
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400 F and butter a 3-quart shallow baking dish. Fill a 6-quart kettle three fourths full with salted water and bring to a boil for macaroni.
Make topping:
Melt butter and in a bowl stir together with panko or bread crumbs and both cheeses until combined well. (Topping may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.)
Make sauce:
In a 5-quart heavy saucepan melt butter over moderately low heat and stir in flour and red pepper flakes. Cook roux, stirring, 3 minutes and whisk in milk. Bring sauce to a boil, whisking constantly, and simmer, whisking occasionally, 3 minutes. Stir in cream, Cheddar, Parmesan, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Remove pan from heat and cover surface of sauce with wax paper.
Cook macaroni in boiling water until al dente. Reserve 1 cup cooking water and drain macaroni in colander. In a large bowl stir together macaroni, reserved cooking water, and sauce. Transfer mixture to baking dish.
Sprinkle topping evenly over macaroni and bake in middle of oven 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden and bubbling.

[lendube]

I think my pants just got tighter reading that but ooooooooooooooo, that sure does sound delicious! Thanks, Beth.

[icetbear]

Thanks again for your ideas and taking time to post recipes , looking forward to trying them. Enjoy the day, stay warm/dry/well.

NanaBear back to work

[Mule]

One more thing --

Now that there are just the three of us at home, and my DS (who ate as much as the rest of us put together) is no longer here, we always have leftovers. The next day I scrape off the topping and scoop the remaining macaroni into an appropriate sized dish. I then make some fresh topping for it. I reheat covered (since it's a little drier than it was the first day) for all but the last 10-15 minutes. Just enough for the topping to crisp up a bit.

Last time I did that, DD looked amazed and asked "how did it do that??" Yep, she may look grown up but she's still a child!