Mom's Macaroni and Cheese
Comfort food at its finest - no boxed stuff here.
Ingredients
- 1 lb elbow macaroni
- CHEESE SAUCE
- 3 T unsalted butter
- 3 T all-purpose flour
- 1/2 t dried hot red pepper flakes
- 2 3/4 cups whole milk
- 3/4 cups heavy cream
- 4 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 2 t dry mustard
- 1 1/2 t salt
- 1/4 t freshly ground back pepper
- TOPPING
- 2 T unsalted butter
- 2 cups panko* (Japanese bread crumbs)
- 1 cup grated extra-sharp cheddar
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400F.
Make topping - Melt butter in a bowl stir together with Panko and cheddar until combined -set aside
Make sauce - in a heavy saucepan melt butter and stir in flow and pepper flakes. Cook roux, stirring and whisk in milk. Bring sauce to a boil, whisking constantly, and simmer, whisking occasionally. Stir in cream, cheddar, mustard, salt and pepper. Remove pan from heat and cover surface of sauce with wax paper.
Cook pasta until al dente- reserve 1 cup pasta water and drain macaroni in colander.
In a large bowl stir together macaroni and sauce. Add reserved cooking water -mix well. Transfer mixture to baking dish. Note it will be soupy. Sprinkle toping evenly over macaroni and bake 20-25 minutes or until golden and bubbly.
Shared Meals
See how others made this recipe