Macaroni And Cheese Recipe Epicuriouscom Recipes

MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• 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 regular bread crumbs and Cheddar 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, mustard, 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.
• *Available at Asian markets and some specialty food shops and supermarkets and by mail order from Uwajimaya, (800) 889-1928.

MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Cook the macaroni according to package directions and drain.
• Meanwhile, dissolve the flour in 1/2 cup of the milk, and combine with the remaining 1 cup milk, the margarine, and cheese in a saucepan. Slowly bring to a gentle simmer, stirring often. Cook over low heat until the sauce is smooth and thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Combine the cooked macaroni and sauce in a serving container and stir together. Season with salt and serve.
• Bake in a casserole dish at 400° until the top is golden and crusty, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Calories: 241
• Total Fat: 13g
• Protein: 12g
• Carbohydrate: 15g
• Cholesterol: 36mg
• Sodium: 265mg

MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. and butter a 3- to 4-quart gratin dish or other shallow baking dish.
• In a heavy saucepan melt 6 tablespoons butter over moderately low heat. Add flour and cook roux, whisking, 3 minutes. Add milk in a stream, whisking, and bring to a boil, whisking. Add mustard, cayenne, and salt and pepper to taste and simmer sauce, whisking occasionally, until thickened, about 2 minutes.
• In a kettle of salted boiling water cook macaroni until just al dente, about 7 minutes, and drain well. In a large bowl stir together macaroni, sauce, Cheddar, and 1 cup Parmesan and transfer to prepared dish.
• In a small bowl stir together bread crumbs and remaining 1/3 cup Parmesan and sprinkle evenly over macaroni. Cut remaining 1 tablespoon butter into bits and scatter over topping.
• Bake macaroni in middle of oven 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden and bubbling.

MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter a 1 1/2-quart casserole. Put the cooked macaroni into the casserole, pour the cheese sauce over it, and mix gently with a fork. Sprinkle the grated cheese evenly over the top and spread the crumbs over the cheese. Bake, uncovered, until the top is golden and the sauce is bubbling, about 30 minutes.

UPSCALE MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers and celery and sauté until just beginning to soften, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper.
• Combine cream, half and half and blue cheese in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over low heat until cheese melts. Remove from heat. Add celery seeds. Season sauce with cayenne, salt and pepper. Beat yolks in medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in half of cheese sauce. Return mixture to saucepan and whisk to blend. Add celery leaves.
• Butter 13 3/4x10 1/2x2 3/4-inch (4-quart capacity) oval baking dish. Cook pasta in pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain. Return to same pot. Add sauce and vegetables; stir to blend. Transfer to baking dish. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before continuing.)
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Sprinkle Parmesan over surface of pasta. Bake until pasta is heated through, sauce is bubbling and top is beginning to brown, about 25 minutes.