creamy baked mac-and-cheese
You know, this really started out far more innocently than it now may seem. And yes, I know you are snickering, because how on earth can one innocently go about a process than concludes with spooning into a deep casserole dish crusted with cheese and pasta in a two to one ratio? Well, you’re me, that’s how; and you needed to use up some milk.
The quart of whole milk had been purchased last Saturday with the intention of using it in aforementioned spinach quiche, which, oops, didn’t require any. It’s sat unopened in the fridge since, leaving me the quandary of finding a recipe that used a large quantity of it, as my inner Yiddishe Mama would not allow me to let it go bad, and god knows I am not earnest enough to actually make my morning lattes at home.
My first thought was chocolate pudding. It’s not really my favorite thing, but would that score me points with my eternal-inner-child husband or what? As I searched fruitlessly for a good basic recipe that was neither a pot de crème nor a puddle of ganache, I remembered that I also had a chunk of Cabot extra sharp cheddar to use up and now do you see how these things come to pass? Mac and cheese is one of these sinful beauts that I encourage everyone to make, at least once. There’s no comparison, not even a nominal one, to the box mixes, and if I told that the essence of most recipes is to boil milk, stir in cheese, pour it over par-baked pasta and bake it until it’s crusted, would you then believe me?
Sadly, finding a good recipe was not this simple, and seriously, when did mac-and-cheese get so gussied up? Bacon? Onions? Mushrooms? Blue cheeses? Heavy creams? Bechamel sauces with low proportions of mild cheeses? Curry? Blech! Look, there’s a place for fancy, and childhood classics aren’t it. A quick search on the New York Times website brought me to this archived article, and again to the notion that Julia Molskin is a woman after my own heart. She finds herself searching, like me, for an un-fussy, classic recipe and finds even more atrocities from white sauces, Worcestershire, smoked gouda and creamed onions instead. “None of the recipes came close to my fantasy of what the dish should be: nothing more than tender elbows of pasta suspended in pure molten cheddar, with a chewy, golden-brown crust of cheese on top,” she says, to which I say amen.
She bestows on us several nuggets of gooey wisdom. One, a seemingly outrageous 2:1 ration of cheese to pasta is indeed possible, and a good thing. Two, despite suggestions of glorious, rich cheeses, she found nothing better in end results than cheddar or (!) American cheese. Three: this is no time for whole wheat pasta or artisanal orecchiette, elbow pasta works best. Finally, she suggests that you resist the temptation to form a crust with unrelated ingredients such as bread crumbs, corn flakes or tortilla chips, with enough cheese, a crisp naturally forms on top. I leave you with her final gem:
“The moral of the story: When in doubt, add more cheese.”
Creamy Macaroni and Cheese
New York Times, 1/4/06
Molskin actually ends the article with two recipes, but I went with this first one because it had more milk, only (heh) a pound of cheese, and had the added intrigue of not requiring either the par-boiling of pasta or pre-simmering of the cheese sauce. Huzzah for fewer dishes! As it turned out, the second recipe will not be necessary as this one is just perfect for anyone looking for classic, baked, no-fuss mac and cheese. Serve it with a g’normous green salad, in a feeble attempt at caloric balance, and wine, to remind yourself that you’re a grown-up.
Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup cottage cheese (not lowfat)
2 cups milk (not skim)
1 teaspoon dry mustard
Pinch cayenne
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg (Deb note: I skipped this)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound sharp or extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated (Deb note: I’m a big fan of Cabot extra-sharp, in the purple wrapper)
1/2 pound elbow pasta, uncooked.
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees and position an oven rack in upper third of oven. Use 1 tablespoon butter to butter a 9-inch round or square baking pan.
2. In a blender, purée cottage cheese, milk, mustard, cayenne, nutmeg and salt and pepper together.* Reserve 1/4 cup grated cheese for topping. In a large bowl, combine remaining grated cheese, milk mixture and uncooked pasta. Pour into prepared pan, cover tightly with foil and bake 30 minutes.
3. Uncover pan, stir gently, sprinkle with reserved cheese and dot with remaining tablespoon butter. Bake, uncovered, 30 minutes more, until browned. Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings.
Yum!
This is how my mom makes it–without any of that totally superfluous stuff.
And um, tortilla chips?
My boyfriend and I were just talking last night about making some homemade mac & cheese (because what good is the cold outside without comfort food?). I was looking for a yummy recipe that wouldn’t take me all day long to make. This looks pretty easy and delicious! Thanks for reading my mind and posting it!
WOWOWOW!!!!!! i’ve been on a no-cooking protest since breaking up with my live-in BF a month ago (a relationship that had brought my inner domestic goddess to the forefront), but i think this is going to break my holdout! #1 cause it looks AWESOME and #2 cause he would have LOVED it and i’ll remember that as i eat every.last.bite.
THANKS for sharing this one!!!
Sounds good. I just made mac and cheese on Monday, but it was the ever delicious recipe from America’s Test Kitchen which I love - also simple and definitely worth checking out.
Yep, it’s a good one. Ben and I made it in January (if you click on my name, you can read about it), and were immobile after ingesting all that cheese. IM-MO-BILE. Good, though.
Hilary - I know! I admit to being tempted by the prospect of panko on top, but it doesn’t need it. I was also tempted to use a crème brulee torch to really crackle it up, but then remembered that I don’t have one because my mean (hee) husband thinks I might be too clumsy to play with fire. I have no idea where he gets that idea.
Sarah - So easy! I hope you like it, too.
Bridget - What is it with men and a mac and cheese obsession? I loved this dish, but it wasn’t a religious experience for me. I’ll just shut up now, before people start pointing out yet again how nutso I am.
Dahlia - Ooh, do share. I’ve been meaning to get their cookbook for eons, and have no idea why I haven’t done so yet.
Luisa - Nice! I have no idea how I missed that; I thought I’d read your whole archives when I found your site a while back. It’s so filling, but I loved that. One big scoop, a giant romaine salad and an excess of red wine (actually, that part not recommended) and I was done for the night.
Mmmmmmmmmmmm
Got to love it. My Aunt, is notoriously famous for bringing baked macncheese to each and every family gathering ever held! Her recipe is as follows: Boil16 oz bag of large elbows. Drain. Dump into glass 9×13 dish. Take stick of butter, cut into chunks and dot on top of pasta, salt, pepper add 2-3 cups shredded cheddar, pour milk over the top until it comes about halfway up the sides of the pan - pop into oven at 350. In 15-20 minutes (or when you think about it) stir to combine. Then let bake until the top achieves the preferred amount of cripyness. Nothing fancy. Just good! And yes, any inner child screams to be fed this!
I’d been thinking about mac and cheese for some time, and now it is totally inevitable. I currently have a little excess whole milk left over from the visit of a friend with a small child. I’d considered tapioca pudding - because that’s my excess milk default - but now I’m all about the mac and cheese. This will be perfect dinner on Sunday night with simple salad, crusty bread and some good wine. Bless you!
Also, the brownies were pretty fantastic, and guests are always impressed when brownies are truly made from scratch. I overbaked them by about 2 minutes, I think, but next time they’ll be perfect.
Deb…
Just curious what you think about Ina Garten i.e. The Barefoot Contessa??
Mm that looks delish. I like Alton Brown’s recipe (in theory, never having had the time to make it)- my boyfriend isn’t a fan of baked mac&cheese unfort. but Alton also has a “stove top mac & cheese” recipe I’m keen on trying.
Will you come over? And bring some of that Mac & Cheese? Please?
OOH lovely!!!
If you ever decide to visit Nashville, my husband and I will be happy to take you to a lovely restaurant here that serves the best Mac & Cheese ever.
Muffy — where? where? I may be headed that way after the first of the year!
It’s like youth in a bowl.
Macaroni and cheese is about my favorite food in the entire world. However, I tried this recipe a while ago, and it came out looking nothing like how yours turned out, and tasted horrible, so we threw it away. Now I’ll have to figure out exactly where I went wrong, because that looks amazing and I want to try it again.
while sick a few weeks ago i managed to come up with an even easier recipe, b/c when ones sick, theres no need to make life complicated, no?
but yeah, mac&cheese is just about the most awesome food ever created by woman (b/c a man could never have invented something this good)
I love this entry because I had never even heard of boxed mac and cheese, thanks to my make-it-from-scratch mom, until my high school friends corrupted me. I practically lived off of the stuff in college, which did my waistline no good. But, have you heard of S’MAC (http://www.smacnyc.com/home.html)? I read about it on MSNBC, and it appears to have gussied up the mac and cheese combo with profitable results. I haven’t decided whether this falls in my must-visit category or my against-my-principles one…
This is bizarre - I actually had the NY Times recipes saved in my recipe inbox, and was emailing my best friend all yesterday morning, before you posted this, about how I planned to make it last night. What timing!
Anyway, I decided to try the other recipe from the article (the one for Crusty Mac and Cheese) bc the crust is my favorite part. While it was delicious (I’m not sure how a dish with pasta, milk, butter and A POUND AND A HALF of cheese wouldn’t be) I have to say that the crust is perhaps to much of a good thing. You end up with a thick top crust and a think bottom crust, which are lovely, but I ended up missing the gooey, creamy middle. Next time, I think I’ll try this one.
P.S. My husband just emailed me from work: “We must make that mac and cheese from Smitten Kitchen.” End of email. Can’t you hear the desperation?
oh man…that…looks…so…goood….*drool*
I am totally cracking up at Michelle’s comment above.
Farmer Beth - Your Aunt’s recipe is exactly what I was looking for! Yet, now I’ll stick with this, only because I didn’t even have to pre-boil the pasta, and in a home without a machine dishwasher (as opposed to the man dishwasher, my husband), every dish saved counts.
Nikki - I’m glad you liked the brownies, and hope you’ll love this mac and cheese as much. It tastes so good with salad and wine. Ooh, btw, next time I might try to bake these in individual ramekins. I love the idea of pre-portioning it.
Michelle - I have an almost unhealthy obsession with her. I know she’s on the Food Network and therefore hated by many, but the woman can cook and her recipes transcend the originals that inspired them. See also: cupcakes, key lime tartlets, bbq sauce, lemon pound cake, chocolate orange cake,
Yvo - I saw that one in my Googles, the Alton baked one, but then read a review that said it was bland. Of course, one review really means nothing, but it kept my search going.
Jocelyn - I’ll bring it over for a dinner party, with pleasure. We totally need to have one, too. Your thoughts?
Muffy - I totally want to go to Nashville! Can we go for BBQ too?
Brilynn - Aww. For me, it would have to have chopped up hotdogs in it - that’s how I liked it when I was little. Yech. Also, it would have to be Kraft from the powder. Not that my mother didn’t know how to make the real thing, but I liked the box stuff… when I did know any better.
Jessie - What happened? Something went wrong? I found this so easy. Let me know if you try again.
Ann - Even easier? Do tell! I thought you’d love the lack of extra dishes required for this, being a tiny-kitchen-person too.
RA - That place is interesting; I’ve never heard of it! That said, not that I don’t think they could do a good job (that brie one aside, it just sounds weird) but, I’m always skeptical about having other people make things I can so easily do myself, with no need for the cost-cutting measures inevitably taken when making things in quantity. I have to see if any of my friends who live nearby have been there.
Also, your husband cracks me up.
KikiLee - I’m so glad someone tried the crusty one! I was curious, but as I mentioned, went with this first because it seemed easiest. I’m sorry you didn’t love it but feel almost certain you will like this. Let us know how it comes out for you if you make it.
M - I was actually just relieved that my reputation didn’t precede me, for once! I’m terrified people are going to start calling me “that Ina Garten blogger.”
Now I’m starving and have neither Mac on hand, nor cheese. What is a girl to do!
I love a dinner party. Just when the BDL is finishing up its remodelling. I am going to LA next week, but maybe after I get back?
Ciao
I think I remember that article!
I love mac-n-cheese. My grandmother always made it with the large elbows, and I carry on her tradition at the holidays for my family that misses her.
I, however, like the small elbows. And I have a great recipe with a breadcrumb topping. And now that the temps are below 50, I’m going to make it soon!
Oh my, I think I drooled a little……… That looks fantastic!
Hey Deb - I just wanted to tell you that I saw this post this morning, cancelled my plans to go out tonight (my semi-excuse: the dog I’m dogsitting seemed really lonely, and I didn’t want to leave him alone ALL NIGHT), and I’m currently anxiously waiting the recommended 15 minutes post-baking pre-serving.
So, thanks!
This is sooo not helping my diet :)
you must try barefoot contessa’s macaroni and cheese. sinful yet elegant enough to serve to a large crowd!
ive tried this recipe!! =) thought it was good, but i thought it was missing a nice crispy topping, so i added buttered breadcrumbs to the tops.. mmm…soo much better!!
FARMERBETH:
Park Cafe has the awesomest mac & cheese I’ve ever tasted. It’s a side dish, and comes to you sizzling and freshly cooked and is oh. so. good.
Then top off your dinner with their creme brulee. It’s served between layers of phyllo dough with almond slivers. SO good.
Just tried this recipe last night and it is awesome! I tried just puree the cottage cheese first in the blender and was unsuccessful. It may be my low-end blender, but is just pushed the cottage cheese to the sides without puree-ing. Used Grey Poupon as well b/c I didn’t have any mustard seed. I’m trying Ina Garten’s recipe next, but it seems more labor intensive.
We tried the recipe last night too - perfect halloween dinner. We as in “I worked all day so I made my mother cook it”. Despite my urging she did NOT do a cheddar/american cheese combo…I suppose I really didn’t care considering the amount that I ended up eating. Quite tasty though…thanks for trying it first.
I see that several people besides myself had the brilliant idea to make this as a delicious, warm, feel-good meal on Halloween night. And it sure lived up to the hype! Great recipe.
I actually made this with skim milk, lowfat cottage cheese and 2% cheddar and it still came out great! Thank you for the recipe.
I love, love love your site and am currently scouring the archives. That’s how I came up on this post. I have to tell you thought - I tried this recipe and both my and my boyfriend really didn’t care for this recipe. I thought the cheese mix curdled a bit and the oils separated. I wonder what I’m doing wrong…dunno. I’m gonna stick to my tried n true white sauce/cheddar combo.
Anyway, love your writing and your site, keep up the great posts.
Ok, when you really want to get decadent, check this out. I make it every year at thanksgiving and being that you are quite the chef I’m sure you could have some fun with this…
http://www.oprah.com/foodhome/food/recipes/food_20020726_overrainbow.jhtml
Just thought you might like to know I tried this last night and was really impressed at how well it came out for the simplicity of the recipe. Thanks for the “plain folks” version! I don’t have a food processor, only an ancient blender, so shudder at blender/processor recipes — but the only casualty was a chunk of finger in the box grater. I know, ew.
First, some history: macaroni and cheese has always–for as long as I can remember–been my favorite food. I have many other loves, but mac and cheese always comes out on top. When I was growing up, we had an older lady that went to our church, Miss Norma, that was all country and made a fantastic homemade macaroni and cheese. She knew I loved it so much that she made me a mini pan of it for a gift when I graduated from high school. The other night, I decided to finally make this recipe, although I had an eye on it since I first read it. Oh. My. Gosh. I will never make another macaroni and cheese. This is the first homemade version I have ever made, and I love it even more than Miss Norma’s! It is soooo rich and cheesy, and I agree that a little cheese on top makes a perfectly crunchy finish! We actually did use whole wheat elbows, and it still worked great. I set the timer to wait the 15 minutes after pulling it out of the oven, but we only made it 7 1/2 before diving in. My fiance doesn’t even like macaroni and cheese, and he has been devouring the leftovers with me! Thank you for the recipe!
Yes, indeedy, that is one fine macaroni & cheese. It’s over-the-top cheesy, but sometimes that’s just what you need. And that no-boiling-the-pasta thing is wonderful.
This recipe was very tasty, but definitely too cheesy for my taste. Yes I said it! I would have like a little more creamy and a little less cheesy. So next time I will decrease the cheese to 3/4 lb and increase the cayenne a bit. It was very good with hot sauce on the side.
Thank you for another good recipe!
This was really great! If I had thought about it, I probably could have guessed that it was going to firm up a lot, but it looked so soupy… it wound up a bit overcooked. But the flavor was great, and it was so easy.
A note to anyone else making it in a toaster oven though: Don’t put the top layer of cheese on until the last 10 minutes of cooking or so. I had to stir the crust in, or else it would have burned (another of those things that if I’d thought more, I probably could have avoided). It was still really, really tasty.
I made this tonight…it had a really, really good flavor to it. I think I cooked it too long because it was kind of dry. That can definitely be alleviated next time I make it.
I have a dish of this sitting in my oven right now. I have high hopes! Smells great.
Oh, my. It was fantabulous!
wow this looks amazing! and amazingly simple- cant wait!
I’m not a huge mac-and-cheese fan, but I’m thinking of whipping this up for my hub. If I do, he will no doubt track you down so he can give you a hug because you got his wife to make him a big ol’ cheesy dish!
I made this for a family potluck type dinner, and LOVED it! My husband could taste the cottage cheese though, and wasn’t crazy about it. Was it in there just to make it creamier, and if so, do you think cream cheese would do the same thing?
my husband and i are on the quest to find the best mac & cheese recipe EVER, and this is next on our list to try.
I did a loosely mimicked (due to the constraints of what was in my fridge) version of this that turned out pretty well. I think Cindy’s cottage cheese problem might be solved by using ricotta instead - it’s smoother and worked well for me. Also, this recipe (or at least my cobbled-together version) reheats much better than most m&c recipes I’ve tried. I’m off to make the by-the-book version now.
thanks for this recipe, deb. i doubled the recipe plus added garlic and jalapenos during the cottage cheese blending phase of the recipe, and it turned out great. there was none left at the end of my superbowl party and i’ve led people to your blog.
I don’t know what it is about men and homemade mac ‘n cheese but whenever I make this for my husband he showers me with praise for days! I’ve been using a terribly involved recipe - originally from the Nov ‘06 recipe of Real Simple - but I can’t wait to try this one. Thanks Deb!
I have this in the oven right now. We’re going to have this with a green salad, wine, and Garret McCord’s blondies that are on Simply Recipes right now. My boyfriend is one happy, happy man.