Never, Ever From A Box

If you had asked me as a child or young adult if I liked macaroni and cheese, I would have said no. My mother, like so many working mothers, used that blue box.



I am a cheese freak, and I never felt that the box stuff was cheesy enough.

When I was in my twenties, I discovered Velveeta Shells and Cheese. It was cheesy enough and pretty good. Anyone who turns up their nose at Velveeta is a poser. It has a place in American food history, if for nothing more than queso dip. It is wonderfully delicious chemical concoction that makes parties special.



I experienced a total revelation the first time I had homemade mac and cheese. It had a custard base made with evaporated milk and bread crumbs on top. It was wonderful, but lacked the smooth cheesiness I craved. The cheese was not evenly distributed throughout the dish.

One day I stumbled upon a recipe from Southern Living that began with a bechamel and became a luscious cheese sauce poured over elbow macaroni before being topped with more cheese and baked.

Classic Baked Mac and Cheese

1 (8oz) box elbow macaroni
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. flour (all purpose)
2 cups milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. ground red pepper
1 (8oz) block SHARP cheddar cheese divided.

Prepare the pasta and keep warm.

Melt butter in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium low heat: whisk in the flour until smooth. Cook, whisking constantly, 2 minutes until thick. *Gradually whisk in the milk and cook whisking constantly, 5 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat and whisk in the salt and peppers then add one cup of shredded cheese and stir or whisk until melted. It becomes thick (slightly) and creamy. Add to the cooked pasta and mix together.



Spoon pasta mixture into a lightly greased 2 quart baking dish and top with remaining cheese.



Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until bubbly (I think mine was bubbly after 15 minutes then I turned off the oven and let it sit for another 5). Let it stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.

*Raise the temperature to medium/medium high.

A little more food porn?



This has become my go-to recipe. While making it today, I had a bit of inspiration, so don't be surprised if a variation of this recipe shows up some time in the future.