I finally have someone to cook for and I feel like I am running out of ideas. In reality I am actually doing fine, we have lived together for just over a month and I haven’t repeated a meal yet. Though to be honest there were some leftovers, some delivery and some dinners out, but I have really developed quite the list of recipes to pull from during the week. I have also added in some large weekend meals so we do have leftovers and I don’t have to cook every night. I also have a definite advantage since I work at a grocery store and can spend the day walking the aisles planning dinner or dreaming up ideas as I bag up other peoples groceries. Since I seem to be pulling this off and have had no complaints on any meal so far I think it is time to share some of the success stories and recipes. I promise to share the funny missteps as they happen as well. To start with it might as well be my specialty. For whatever reason, I hate to admit that this was adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe titled Macaroni and cheese 101. I have served this for many parties, potlucks or just eaten the whole tray myself.
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for casserole
- 6 slices good white bread, crusts removed, and cut into 1/4 inch cubes
- 5 1/2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for water
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper
- 18 ounces medium sharp cheddar cheese, grated
- 12 ounces Gruyere, grated
- 1 pound elbow macaroni
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Butter a 3 quart casserole dish; set aside.
- Place the bread in a medium bowl. In a small dish melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the microwave. Pour butter into bowl with bread and toss. Set aside.
- Warm the milk in a medium saucepan set over medium heat. (keep an eye on this and don't let the milk start to burn on the bottom of the pan). Melt the remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. When the butter bubbles, add the flour. Cook, stirring about 1 minute.
- While whisking, slowly pour in the hot milk a little at a time to keep mixture smooth. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick, about 8 to 12 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in salt, pepper and other spices, 3 cups cheddar, 1 1/2 cup Gruyere set the cheese sauce aside.
- Cover a large pot of salted water, and bring to a boil. Cook the macaroni until the outside of pasta is cooked and the inside is underdone, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain macaroni in a colander and rinse under cold running water, and drain well.
- Pour macaroni into the prepared dish. Pour the cheese sauce over the macaroni and mix together so all the macaroni is covered and it is evenly spread through the dish. Sprinkle remaining cheese and bread cubes over the top. Bake until golden brown and bubbling, about 30 minutes. Let it rest for 10 minutes and serve.
*adapted from Martha Stewart's Macaroni and Cheese 101
i want you to make me some of this… because i’m too lazy to make it myself, too lazy to travel out of MY neighborhood grocery store to get the nutmeg & elbow macaroni we don’t carry, and because my midgets will think you’re the best thing ever if you bring over macaroni and cheese.
I can smell the nutmeg in this recipe :-). Macaroni and cheese are always welcomed! Thanks for sharing.
I’ve always had a weird fascination and obsession with mac and cheese. Great recipe, thanks so much for sharing, I am now following your site =]