/ck/ - Food & Cooking

[Anonymous No.5683015]

Macaroni and cheese thread?

I have a few basics at home cheddar cheese white cheese both sharp and some mozzarella. But if you have any other recommendations I can make another run.

I'm open to stovetop versions and oven baked versions.

Does either one and give a more intense cheesy flavor or does that depend on the kind of cheese that you use?

[Anonymous No.5683034]

>>5683015
I do a roux add hot milk and cheese then mix with noodles, pour into a dish and top with cheese and raspings

a little bit of dry mustard or sodium citrate are also common

[Anonymous No.5683065]

Gruyere is a pretty good cheese to use for mac and cheese.

[Anonymous No.5683072]

>>5683034
Any favorite cheeses or do you just use all cheddar?

[Anonymous No.5683094]

>>5683072
just depends on what I have on hand and what im having with it. almost any cheese works, I dont like mozz bc its too stringy, I prefer a creamy mac, sometime I also cut up chunks and mix in with the sauce and mac too.

you can also just eat it without baking

[Anonymous No.5683118]

I thought this was the shit. Wife and kids preferred Kraft bullshit in a box. Fuck that, fuck them.

[Anonymous No.5683131]

mac n' cheese is just one of those dishes that I cannot master.

Instead I just throw in some cream and cheese when the noodles are done and cook it off.

[Anonymous No.5683139]

>>5683065
Any specific brand or whatever's cheapest?

[Anonymous No.5683150]

>>5683131
see >>5683034
it damn easy

[Anonymous No.5683174]

>>5683118
That looks really good. The sweetened condensed milk is new to me but I've seen stranger things go into a pot of Mac n cheese.

[Anonymous No.5683198]

>>5683150
Oh I've done it, but it just doesn't blow me away.

[Anonymous No.5683264]

>>5683118

[Anonymous No.5683279]

>>5683015
do a white sauce with nutmeg, salt, pepper, and cheese of your choice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlMtbX-0ABA

or do a cream sauce like making alfredo.

also use a pasta with ridged surfaces. the sauce will cling to it better.

[Anonymous No.5683339]

>>5683264
Didn't make it, just saved it.

[Anonymous No.5683458]

BEST FUCKING MAC AND CHEESE RECIPE EVER. My grandmother passed it down to me, so I will share.

Ingredients
4 different blocks of cheese (I use sharp cheddar, pepper jack, mozzarella, and a Velveeta cheese block)
1 stick of butter or margarine
1 1/2 cup of flour
Milk
2 boxes of macaroni elbows
Salt
Pepper
Bread Crumbs

Instructions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Boil water and cook the macaroni until soft (Add salt to the water). Drain macaroni and leave in big mixing bowl. Cut all of the cheese blocks into cubes, combine butter, flour, and a splash ofmilk into large saucepan on medium-high heat until a roux forms. Add another splash of milk and add all cheese, let it melt on stir continuously. When cheese sauce is at thick smooth consistency, add it to the macaroni. Fold it over and stir continuously until cheese sauce is even all the way through. Put the macaroni and cheese mixture into a pan, shape it out and top with bread crumbs. Wrap with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes. Per-fucking-fection.

[Anonymous No.5684273]

Anyone else have some good Mac and cheese recipes?

[Anonymous No.5684293]

>>5684273
me too. preferably in metric system measures

[Anonymous No.5684309]

>>5683034
>a little bit of dry mustard or sodium citrate are also common
mustard or cayenne amps up the sharp cheese flavor, but I've never seen sodium citrate in any recipe? This seems like some processed food type of science in lieu of proper ratios of the usual ingredients.

OP, I do the bechamel method, to which I add half of the cheese until combined, then fold that into the pasta with the other half of the cheese, more coarsely shreaded. I like the telefono strings of cheese when eating macncheese. I use as much as three or four kinds of cheese, depending what I have. If I'm planning in advance to make it, it's extra sharp cheddar and regular colby or cheddar. I might use asiago or parm with some of the cheddar on top, as well as buttered coarse breadcrumbs. Optionally, add 1/2 diced onion to the butter when making my roux for added texture.

[Anonymous No.5684335]

>>5684273
not in metric but anyway....
Alton Brown's stove top mac and cheese from his book and here:
http://www.food.com/recipe/stove-top-mac-n-cheese-by-alton-brown-313325
are very good

My family is picky (don't like casseroles) and they like this though the measurements are funky to what you buy (5 ounces condense milk in recipe - condensed milk comes in 6 and 12 0z cans).

I fudge a bit with the amount of cheese (I add more) but it turns out great.

[Anonymous No.5684348]

>>5684335

this site has metric conversion

I use 1 lb. of elbows and it's still great

[Anonymous No.5684352]

ok, clear something up for me, is mac and cheese just macaroni and cheese? cause that sounds like shit and yet i hear people praising it.

[Anonymous No.5684360]

>>5684352
>that sounds like shit
> macaroni and cheese
>sounds like shit

...

[Anonymous No.5684361]

>>5684352
one and the same

[Anonymous No.5684366]

>>5684335
This guy's face is pretty startling to say the least.

[Anonymous No.5684370]

>>5684309

sodium citrate is a melting salt that helps the cheese combine into the sauce without the fat splitting out. it's not 'common', it's a modern thing. dunno why that guy put it in the same sentence as dry mustard, unless he's talking specifically about the lecithin content in mustard.

[Anonymous No.5684395]

>>5684370
>dunno why that guy put it in the same sentence as dry mustard, unless he's talking specifically about the lecithin content in mustard.

I think he was saying that both are uncommon ingredients in Mac and Cheese.

[Anonymous No.5684413]

>>5683139
Emmi is pretty good.

[Anonymous No.5684433]

I got a block of pepper jack and some macaroni noodles lying around. Think I could make some good stovetop shit?

[Anonymous No.5684439]

>>5684433

of course you could. at the end of the day all you need is cheese and pasta.

[Anonymous No.5684443]

I'm lazy. I don't bother to make a sauce or anything. I just melt cheese in noodles.

Does that make me a bad person?

[Anonymous No.5684445]

>>5684443
It's not that hard to make sauce, and it makes it infinitely more tasty.

[Anonymous No.5684450]

>>5684443

i often do that myself, not even necessarily out of laziness, just preference.

[Anonymous No.5684452]

>>5684443
>Does that make me a bad person?

i leik where this thread is heading -- all over cooking macaroni and cheese

life imitating art once again

[Anonymous No.5684453]

>>5684445

I disagree, and I think it comes down to the cheese you use.

I find that the sauce dilutes the flavor of the cheese. However, depending on what cheese you use, it may be necissary for a good texture. Normally I use cheeses that melt well, like gouda. gruyère, or even blue cheese. Those don't require any kind of roux or sauce. I add a little cream, salt/pepper, and that's it. The flavor of the cheese itself really comes through.

On the other hand if you want to use something that doesn't melt well, like a sharp or aged cheddar, then I agree that making a roux or bechamel makes a lot more sense.

[Anonymous No.5684481]

Ooh, I know.

Anybody know how to make Mac n cheese that doesn't go dry after sixty seconds? My mother's tried baking this shit in a big pan multiple times, and every time it comes out dry and rubbery, despite her best efforts and having thrown in a shitton of cheese.

[Anonymous No.5684510]

I can't make mac and cheese from scratch for the fuck of me. I've shredded the cheese myself, and the sauce still comes out gunky/curdled with full fat everything.

If anyone has a fail-proof recipe, pls share. I've always fancied stove top because of the creaminess. Oven baked always seemed to dry it out.

no onions, or bacon. just mac and cheez plz :^)

[Anonymous No.5684540]

>>5684481

sounds like the wrong cheese, or she's putting it in the oven for too long.

>>5684510
>>gunky/curdled

You're either using a cheese that doesn't melt very well and/or you're overheating it.

>>oven baked
If you put it in the oven you don't need to bake it for long. It's really only to brown the top. It shouldn't be in the oven long enough to dry out.

anyway, this is a simple recipe that's been foolproof for me:
-preheat oven
-boil your pasta in salted water for about 2 min less than the package says
-drain the pasta
-in the pot you just dumped the pasta out of: add about half your cheese, finely grated. Pour in about a cup or so of heavy cream. Add the pasta. Add the other half the cheese. Mix up. Pour into your baking dish. Breadcrumbs on top.
-transfer to the oven, broiler on high, watch it until the top is a nice golden brown.

The key is to use a cheese that melts well. Don't use a hard cheese or an old aged cheddar--those taste good but need more work to not separate. Gouda, Gruyere, fontina, etc. are all good choices.

[Anonymous No.5684547]

>>5684395
>I think he was saying that both are uncommon ingredients in Mac and Cheese.
No, mustard is in fact quite common.
No one who isn't running some business should worry about splitting if their recipe is right. It might even be some fix for gluten free types. Either way it isn't common nor belongs in mac n cheese.

[Anonymous No.5684551]

>>5684445
>It's not that hard to make sauce, and it makes it infinitely more tasty.
The sauce adds no tastiness. It simply prevents separation of fats from the cheese, either upfront or from a reheated portion later. It adds texture, or rather, retains cheesy creamy flavor.

[Anonymous No.5684563]

>>5684547

you should try a simple sauce made with sodium citrate and good cheese bro, it's pretty great

[Anonymous No.5684590]

>>5683264
thank you based anon

[Anonymous No.5684786]

Would it be that big of a sin if I just dropped in a block of Velveeta for creaminess and mixed it with better cheeses for more flavor?

[Anonymous No.5684810]

>>5683118
>>5683264
Just made these
And that fucking cheese sauce is godly
Will post results when it comes out of the oven

[Anonymous No.5684813]

>>5684786
Yes

[Anonymous No.5684819]

>>5684810
This is what it looks like in the oven
I can't wait

[Anonymous No.5684857]

>>5684819
Finished product

[Anonymous No.5684871]

>>5684857
yum

[Anonymous No.5684889]

http://modernistcuisine.com/recipes/silky-smooth-macaroni-and-cheese/

Try the modernist version of Mac and Cheese. According to them, versions with flour are inferior in terms of cheese flavor intensity.

[Anonymous No.5684900]

>>5684857
>other people making the shit quicker than me
>be op

Please report on flavor. I forgot to add I have some roasted peppers. Should I add those to the cheese sauce or just toss them in before it goes into the oven.

[Anonymous No.5684902]

>>5684857
>Finished product
Put it back in another 20 minutes!

[Anonymous No.5684907]

>>5684889
>According to them, versions with flour are inferior in terms of cheese flavor intensity.
Implying pasta and the starch it exudes isn't made with flour.

[Anonymous No.5684923]

stop appropriating black culture you racists

[Anonymous No.5684930]

>>5684923
wut

[Anonymous No.5685004]

>>5684907
True, but when making Mac and Cheese the traditional way you actually want a lot of starch molecules in your sauce so they can absorb the water. With sodium citrate you can avoid this change of flavor.

[Anonymous No.5685101]

>>5684900
It is really sweet. Not bad but sweet.
I think it would have been better with the suggested milk and heavy cream. But overall was good experience

[Anonymous No.5685399]

I always make extra bacon or fried vegetables whenever preparing a dish to throw into mac & cheese a couple days later.

[Anonymous No.5685522]

is this actually eatable?
like, looks kind of disgusting but apparently it's a big thing in USA

[Anonymous No.5685530]

>>5685522
It's noodles with cheese. Not really a valuable meal but it sates the hunger and tastes fairly good if you like molten cheese.

[Anonymous No.5685543]

>>5685530
might give it a go one day, still I'd probably prefer to get jar of pesto sauce @ shop and use it instead of cheese

[Anonymous No.5685549]

>>5685543
I think the comfort food factor plays a big role in why it's so popular over there, I don't really understand it's popularity either (as an European).

[Anonymous No.5685553]

>>5685543

>jarred pesto

you're no better m8

[Anonymous No.5685563]

>>5685553
yeah, I know it certainly is shit, but what I meant is that if I'm in the dire situation of needing something for my pasta to server really fast and easily, I'd probably go for mentioned pesto and not cheese (my guess is that it's just as low-value as cheese itself - perhaps worse, but I can't really imagine it being worse by a huge margin - and I just prefer the taste from a pretty personal point of view).

[Anonymous No.5685573]

>>5685522
Out of a box it's fucking sick. Made with decent pasta, decent cheese (not "american" that melts at room temperature) and with some decent twists its godly comfort food.

[Anonymous No.5685590]

>>5683015
The cheesy taste varies with the cheeses used.

I like vegetables in mine, but I think I might alone in this...

[Anonymous No.5685613]

>>5685590
That is not even mac and cheese. Like, I'm sure you enjoy it and that's fine. But macaroni and cheese is just...macaroni and cheese. That's like, a cheesy broccoli casserole or some shit.

[Anonymous No.5685647]

>>5683264
Great timing.

[Anonymous No.5685656]

>>5683264
Is the condensed milk an important ingredient?
That's the only thing that I'm missing right now and the whole reason I'm making it is so I don't have to spend extra money.

[Anonymous No.5685657]

i've always melted cheese into a bechemel, mixed with noodles and baked

but it's always bland. how2fix

[Anonymous No.5685661]

>>5685656
No.

[Anonymous No.5685663]

>>5685657
Salt. Better cheese. Onion or garlic powder.

[Anonymous No.5685664]

>>5685661
Ok thanks

[Anonymous No.5685665]

>>5685657
>bland

Use better cheese
Season it.

[Anonymous No.5685677]

>>5685665
i'm using the sharpest cheddar i can get my hands on, and seasoning with onion, garlic, and mustard

[Anonymous No.5685724]

>>5685677

And it's still bland? Either you're not using very much of the ingredients or your palate is shot. Do you smoke?

[Anonymous No.5685734]

>>5685724
>do you smoke
off and on. but the last time i made mac and cheese i hadn't smoked in about 10 months

i think the cheese i get is a scam

i'll make some tomorrow and post for /ck/, but with fancy ass cheddar

[Anonymous No.5685741]

>>5685734
>i think the cheese i get is a scam

Why would there be any doubt on this? Taste it, by itself. Is it good or not? Just because it says "extra sharp" on the label doesn't mean anything.

[Anonymous No.5685754]

>>5685741
yeah it's good
but it's not like sharpness has a standardized scale

[Anonymous No.5685773]

>>5685754

You might be overcooking it then. Honestly, if the cheese doesn't taste bland to you by itself then there's not many other reasons why the finished dish would be bland.

[Anonymous No.5685779]

>>5685773
im probably diluting it too much
ill try a thread recipe tommorow and make another thread

[Anonymous No.5685782]

Anons, you have not lived until you've had lobster Mac and Cheese. That is all.

[Anonymous No.5685788]

>>5685782
i had it at didney whorl

it was okay

[Anonymous No.5686165]

>>5683264
Would probably be better with unsweetened condensed milk or evaporated milk.