la fille de la ville

I’d never before made macaroni and cheese that did not have its genesis in an all-in-one box. Also, every homemade mac-n-cheese I’ve ever had has been serviceable but not jaw-dropping. Thus, when it was requested, I had no experience and no one to call for a recipe.

I did a little scouring of the internets and patched together a recipe from various ones that sounded tasty. All the leftover cheeses in the fridge went into the mix, and I’m pretty sure that whatever cheeses you decide to use will work beautifully. This time around it was Sharp Cheddar, Brie, and Parmesan. I am of the belief that one really can’t go wrong when there’s cheese involved. We ate it with green beans from the can and Abita Pecan Ale (the review of which I imagine will be forthcoming), and it was delicious, cozy, and comforting.

Just like mac-n-cheese should be.

Macaroni and Cheese

Fills a 9×13 casserole dish.

INGREDIENTS

3 cups elbow macaroni

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp flour

2 1/2 c milk or half-and-half, depending on how rich you want your sauce

2 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

2 cups cheese, shredded or otherwise made tiny and easy to melt

salt and freshly ground black pepper

cayenne

coarse bread crumbs or panko

paprika

RECIPE

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook your macaroni, drain, and put it in the casserole dish.

2. Melt the butter over medium heat and stir in flour, salt, pepper, and cayenne to make a roux.

3. Remove from heat and slowly add the milk (or cream), followed by the mustard and Worcestershire. Cook until thickened, then add the cheese and stir until melted.

4. Pour the sauce over the pasta and make sure every noodle is coated with cheese. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and Parmesan.

5. Bake 30-35 minutes.

(I totally took this photo.)