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Feeding my Cravings: Macaroni and Cheese

Posted on Tuesday, March 1, 2011 7:54 PM | By: Sheena and Seanna

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After church on Sunday I was in the mood for gooey warm delicious macaroni and cheese. I had a loaf of Pepper Jack cheese in the fridge that I wanted to use up so I decided to try it in mac and cheese. Of course my cooking began by scouring the Internet for what looked like the best recipe. I ended up deciding on an Alton Brown recipe from Food Network.com.

It was a bit more labor intensive than my quick macaroni and cheese that I have been making for years but so worth it. Right out of the oven with a crunchy top and oozing with cheese center. Perfect meal for a cold Sunday afternoon.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese by Alton Brown
(*with small changes by Sheena)

  • 1/2 pound elbow macaroni
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 1 tablespoon powdered mustard
  • 3 cups milk
  • 1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 large egg
  • 12 ounces pepper jack cheese, shredded*
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • Fresh black pepper

Topping:

  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup crushed cornflakes*

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta.

While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the bay leaf.

Temper in the egg (Put a small amount of the hot mixture onto the egg and combine to slowly warm the egg up before adding it to the rest of the hot mixture. I had to watch the video on Food Network to know what that meant). Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.

Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the crushed cornflakes to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.


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