Stephs Mac N Cheese Recipes

MAC 'N CHEESE WITH BACON AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the macaroni and cook for 8 to 9 minutes, until al dente. Drain.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a small saucepan heat the milk with the thyme sprigs and 2 garlic cloves. Melt the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly, to keep lumps from forming. Strain the solids out of the milk and whisk it into the butter and flour mixture. Continue to whisk vigorously, and cook until the mixture is nice and smooth. Stir in the 4 cups of the cheese and continue to cook and stir to melt the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Add the cooked macaroni and the parsley and fold that all in to coat the macaroni with the cheese mixture. Scrape into a 3-quart baking dish and sprinkle with the remaining 1 1/2 cups cheese. Bake for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
• While that bakes, heat a saute pan. Add the bacon, render the fat and cook until crispy. Add onion, garlic and thyme leaves and cook for about 5 minutes to soften the onion. Season with salt and pepper.
• To serve, scatter the bacon mixture over the mac and cheese. Use a big spoon to scoop out servings, making sure you get some of the smoking bacon mixture on each spoonful.

MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.
• In a large bowl, combine the Cheddar, butter cubes, sugar, ground mustard and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the macaroni and cook until al dente, a minute or so less than the recommended cooking time on the package. Drain well. While still hot, dump the macaroni into the Cheddar-butter mixture and toss to mix well.
• Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring the milk to a bare simmer over medium heat. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg briefly to break it up. Temper the egg by drizzling 1/2 cup of the warm milk in while whisking until incorporated. (This will prevent the egg from scrambling.) Mix the tempered egg and the remaining warm milk into the macaroni and stir well until everything is evenly coated.
• Pour the contents of the bowl into the prepared baking pan, spreading the macaroni and sauce evenly.
• In a medium bowl, toss together the pancetta, Parmesan, panko and parsley, and sprinkle over the top of the macaroni. (This will create a yummy crust.)
• Bake until golden brown and bubbling on top, and the pancetta is crispy, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve warm.

LOBSTER MAC & CHEESE

Steps:

• Take the lobster and twist the claws off, then use a rolling pin to crack the claws and pick the meat out. Peel the tail, exposing and removing the fleshy meat. Roughly chop all of the meat, then cover and set aside in a bowl in the fridge. Bash all the pieces of shell with the rolling pin to break them up a bit.
• Heat the oil in large frying pan over a high heat, add the onion and a large pinch of salt and cook for around five minutes until softened and well coloured, then add the lobster shell and fry for a couple of minutes more. Add the cayenne pepper and tomato purée and stir to coat everything, the turn the heat down to medium and add the milk. Stir well, then remove from the heat when it is just coming to a simmer and set aside for 30 mins to infuse. Meanwhile, mix the garlic, olive oil and lemon zest together with some seasoning to make the breadcrumb topping, then set aside. Strain the milk mixture into a jug and discard the shell.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Boil the macaroni in salted water until it has a slight bite (around two minutes less than on the packet instructions), drain and set aside. Melt the butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat until foaming, then add the wine and cook for 5 minutes until the wine has reduced by half, then whisk in the flour to make a sandy paste. Turn down the heat and pour the strained milk into the pan a little at a time, whisking constantly and allowing each addition of milk to be fully absorbed before adding any more.
• Add the chopped lobster meat, mustard, crab and cheese. Stir well until the cheese has melted, then season to taste. Tip in the macaroni and stir to coat everything in the sauce. Tip into an ovenproof baking dish (or six small ones) and top with a sprinkling of grated cheese and the garlic breadcrumbs. Bake for 20 mins until golden and bubbling, then allow to cool a little before serving.

CRAB MAC 'N' CHEESE BAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and grease a medium baking dish. Cook the macaroni following pack instructions.
• Meanwhile, melt the butter in a thick-bottomed pan and add the flour to make a thick paste, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon. Add the milk, little by little, to the paste, mixing until smooth. Cook over a medium heat, stirring continuously until the mixture thickens.
• Remove from the heat, add 150g cheese and whisk until smooth. Mix in the mustard, ketchup and cayenne. Drain the macaroni and return to the pan. Stir the cheese sauce into the cooked pasta, fold in the brown crabmeat and season.
• Spoon the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining 50g cheese on top and bake in the oven for 25-30 mins until heated through. Remove from the oven and stand for 10 mins.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine all the ingredients for the crab topping with some seasoning. Serve a big spoonful on top of each portion of the bake, then scatter over the dressed rocket (see 'Goes well with'). If making ahead, cool completely and leave in the fridge overnight. The next day, cut into slabs and reheat (covered in foil) for 10 mins in the oven at 200C/180C fan/gas 6.