pasta & cheese

[Anonymous No.4025469]

So I have standard cheddar cheese, butter, flour, milk, and no macaroni but I have spiraly pasta, so close enough. How do I make this shit? I'm looking to make about 2 nicely sized portions. I have a toaster oven and rice cooker, but I don't think i'll bake it to save time and mess

I'm thinking...
>boil pasta until done (I like it soft), maybe toss in some butter to prevent stickage, set aside
>knob of butter, let it melt
>a spoon or two of flour until it comes together, cook it out for a few minutes
>long splash of milk while mixing
>shitload of cheese
>add pasta

Do those measurements sound about right? Not too experienced in making roux or bechamel. I forget, will cold milk into a hot roux work?

Thanks for the help.

[Anonymous No.4025472]

melt the cheese in a double boiler before adding to the roux. otherwise you look good to go.

[Anonymous No.4025473]

That will work for you.

And cold milk into a hot roux is the proper and preferred method, it reduces clumping.

You could also skip the roux entirely and use heavy cream instead, both methods work well.

[Anonymous No.4025475]

Make a roux, melt the cheese in a double boiler so it doesnt burn, and just toss everything together

[Anonymous No.4025479]

>>4025472

Unnecessary. Just grate the cheese and sprinkle into the roux. Grating it will help it melt quickly and avoid lumps, and that takes less time and less mess than a double boiler.

[Anonymous No.4025484]

>>4025472
In a college dorm, can't exactly set up a double boiler. Why does the cheese need to be melted first, and why would I add it to the roux?

>>4025473
No cream, only milk, but that's good to hear. I'd rather not have to cool the roux and heat the milk.

>>4025475
Not really worried about cheese burning in the rice cooker. That's 2 suggestions for cheese straight into the roux? What about the milk?

[Anonymous No.4025486]

>>4025469
Boil the noodles until they're still rather chewy and hard.

>1/4 cup butter
>1/4 cup flour

Melt the butter and mix in the flour. Cook until a tan/blonde color.

>2 1/4 cups of milk

Mix in and simmer until it starts to thicken

>take off heat and allow to cool

In about 10 minutes, add the cheese. It won't melt completely.

>combine with noodles

Put it in a buttered casserole dish and bake at 350 F for 25-30 minutes.

[Anonymous No.4025492]

>>4025486
Sounds a bit excessive for 2 portions...

[Anonymous No.4025496]

>>4025492
Please die.

[Anonymous No.4025503]

>>4025486

Why are you calling for both a roux and milk? You don't need both.

the recipe needs a stabilizer to keep the cheese in a sauce rather than separating into oil and solids. You can do that with either a roux or with milk/cream like >>4025473 suggested. You don't need to do both, it's redundant.

[Anonymous No.4025514]

>>4025496
No u fatty

[Anonymous No.4025521]

>>4025503
OP here, I thought you were supposed to make a roux, then a bechamel by adding milk, then you add the cheese.

[Anonymous No.4025552]

bump for clarity?

[Anonymous No.4025567]

Another bump. Can someone please give their opinion on if milk is needed or not? Seems like most people here and saying to add the cheese right into the roux.

[Anonymous No.4025587]

>>4025503
>Why are you calling for both a roux and milk? You don't need both.

Are you fucking stupid?

[Anonymous No.4025595]

>>4025587
hnnghhh

Can't tell if should add milk or not, and the pasta is almost done.

[Anonymous No.4025613]

Haha cute thread. Mac-n-Cheese Mexican Standoff

>>4025486
> Sounds a bit excessive for 2 portions...

Better have a LOT of pasta if you use that sauce. Ratios sound fine tho, just scale it back unless you want soup. I've eaten large bowls of pasta with only a "knob" of butter and a small handfull of parm. Sauce doesn't have to be excessive for it to be good.

I would use the rice cooker to put your sauce together, then bake it. Start with the cheese. Dump a shitload of it in the cooker (reserve some), and then add just enough milk to make a paste. Spiral pasta is pretty good about holding sticky sauce, but if its just a little too wet, u r fucked. Flour can be used as a tool to make it pastey.

Baking is the way to go. Don't dick around buttering the noodles, just makes them slippery and unable to hold sauce. Toss the noodles with cheese so that they don't fall apart when scooping, add sauce, another layer of cheese, then just broil that shit in your oven until the cheese is crusted over.

Cooking pasta/cheese is pretty idiots proof, just beware of what happens when you boil dairy after modifying the fat content, weird shit can happen, and not all of it is tastey.

[Anonymous No.4025628]

>>4025613
Current status. Doesn't look a lot of roux. Hopefully it will be enough. Just waiting to add the milk and cheese now. I will be baking it.

[Anonymous No.4025630]

Amount of pasta for reference.

[Anonymous No.4025632]

>>4025613
Why does everyone have a problem with that recipe? It's as standard as it gets.

[Anonymous No.4025641]

>>4025630
I didn't take a picture of adding the milk, but I think it was very necessary. The roux was starting to darken and dry up, slowly adding the milk until it became a thick and creamy no lump white mixture looked pretty essential. Cheese is in with it now.

[Anonymous No.4025645]

>>4025628
Is that a rice cooker? How well does it cook noodles?

[Anonymous No.4025657]

Why are we cooking with a rice cooker here...do you not have a stove?
>>4025595
A proper macaroni and cheese sauce has milk in it, don't worry

[Anonymous No.4025668]

>>4025641
Make sure to whisk like a mofo to prevent clumping.

Also, the longer you cook roux, the thinner and darker it should get. Cooking it longer gives it a nuttier, more intense flavor but decreases its thickening ability. For instance, Cajun-style gumbo uses an exceptionally dark roux. For macaroni and cheese you'd not want it any darker than a medium tan color at most.

[Anonymous No.4025674]

>>4025657
Dorm room bro. Not going to walk down to first floor to make this shit.

So I added the pasta, and it became pretty gluey, so I added more cheese (taste was a bit uncheesy) and more milk, then threw it in this buttered pan and into the toaster oven.

>>4025645
It boils water, so it's just as good as any pot, although maybe a bit slow. It's very versatile though, I couldn't live without it. I use it brown ground beef, and it cooks amazing scrambled eggs. Less stick than any fancy ass pan I've ever used and they always come out great. You can leave eggs in there for a while without them getting too rubbery too.

[Anonymous No.4025677]

>>4025674
Oh yeah, here's a pic of just the sauce before I added the pasta and extra cheese/milk. It was almost doughy in the way it moved in the pan (probably because non stick) but it was very smooth and tasted okay. A tiny dash of S&P was added.

[Anonymous No.4025690]

>>4025677
It looks thicker than the kind that I make but it probably will be fine.

I'm sure some people will like it the way that you made it, but personally I think it's rather bland so I add more than just salt and pepper to the cheese sauce. I experimented with curry spices, cayenne pepper, Sriracha, and some others.

By the by, if you're going to bake it, putting some extra cheese on top, for a crust, is a decent plan.

[Anonymous No.4025701]

>>4025690
Yeah, can always use more cheese. This is my second time making it, looks like it'll be much better than the first. I didn't cook the flour out long enough last time and it was all gritty, combined with not enough cheese. Can always use more cheese.

It looks ready to pull out now, don't know if you guys want a pic. It looks the same as it did going in, just slightly more melted and such.

[Anonymous No.4025717]

>>4025701
Fuck it, have a pic anyway. It's pretty good, but still kind of bland. I put a good amount of cheese in, but it was regular strength. I'll make sure to use sharp cheddar and maybe a blend of some other cheeses for more flavor next time. The texture is okay, but it's a bit tight and gluey. More milk would probably help it be a less viscous and "creamier" flowing cheese sauce.

To the people who said use just roux and cheese, how the hell would that work? It'd be like melting cheese straight onto the pasta.

[Anonymous No.4025719]

>>4025717
Forgot the pic.

[Anonymous No.4025732]

>>4025717

flour tends to mask flavours so if you reduce the use of flour in a sauce it's generally a good thing flavour wise, try a recipe using evaporated milk and cornflour, that's what i use

[Anonymous No.4025733]

>>4025732
Hmm, interesting. I just wanted to make this because I'm kind of low on other food and I had the stuff to make this.

[Anonymous No.4025762]

>>4025733
yeah that's cool, this is one of those pantry clear-out dishes and all, i'm just saying that if you're optimising for flavour the inclusion of significant quantities of flour is gonna hold you back. i happily use roux in things where the flavour can take a bit of muting and that cereal note is desirable but i think if you want the dish to scream CHEESE at you full blast there are more efficient ways of thickening. it's the same with gravies and things like that. otherwise you have to dump a lot of cheese into the sauce, or boost the flavour with other things like spices, acidity, etc.

definitely not poopooing a good mornay though.

[Anonymous No.4025775]

Toss some bread crumbs on top before you bake for the extra crispy effect

[Anonymous No.4025794]

>>4025719
Looks good OP, thanks for the pics. That cheese sauce looked like taffy. I think I saw a subliminal vag in there (third time today on this board).

Anywho...

> To the people who said use just roux and cheese, how the hell would that work?

I've pulled that off with only cheese and flour, no roux. If your cheese has enough moisture and you are setting up a dish that will be minimally cooked (straight into the oven sealed in foil, noodles pre-cooked, not reduced on the stove) its definitely possible. I always avoid diluting dishes with milk. If its a creamy base, I will use that instead of water, but otherwise, it will take your cheese down a few notches every time.

If you like your noodles wet, just get a stronger cheese.

> I'm kind of low on other food and I had the stuff to make this.

I enjoyed the thread... And all-in-all, you did good.

[Anonymous No.4025817]

I stick it out and use a blonde roux rather than make a bechamel sauce. I think the nuttier flavor adds some depth to what can be a very one-dimensional dish. I also add a few dashes of Worcestershire Sauce for the same reason.

But that's just like, my opinion man.