Feb 8, 2009
Mac & Cheese
Yeah baybeee!! You know you love a big steaming bowl of macaroni and cheese. I have a secret for you… There are four ingredients in it. Nix the box crap. This how I roll with it at my house. There’s no recipe this time because you don’t measure anything. I’ll give approximate amounts.
Step 1: Buttttaaahhh
It’s like this. You melt 4 tbsp. (half a stick) of butter in the pan over medium high heat. Start your pasta boiling with a big dose of salt.
Step 2: Flour
Put an equal amount of flour, 4 tbsp. into the melted butter and whisk. Stir it around occasionally for a few minutes. In French terms, you’re making a “roux.” In the South, we generally refer to this technique as “cookin’.”
Step 3: Milk
Quickly whisk as you add about 1/4 cup milk. At first, it will make a goofy, lumpy paste. Continue to whisk until smooth, then add more milk. Repeat this until you get a sauce a bit thinner than you want the final product to be.
Step 4: Cheese
Here’s the magic! mmmmm cheese! Use whatever cheese you like that melts well. If you have not already discovered this, not all cheese melts. Weird, I know. I recommend American, cheddar, fontina, colby, or monterey jack.
Step 5: Salt
So now you have a beautiful cheese sauce. I can’t understate the importance of salt. Pasta needs way more salt than you would think. Salt. Taste. Salt. Taste again. Err on the side of a bit too salty, since you’ll be adding the pasta later.
Step 6: Mix
The only thing left to do is mix it all together. Add your beautiful sauce to 1 lb. of cooked pasta. I added broccoli at this point for extra credit. Plus, it a bit healthier. Cheers!
Nom!! Made this for dinner tonight. Easy, cheap, DELICIOUS. Thanks baby!