Dish of the month (May 2022): macaroni cheese

kaneohegirlinaz said:
Okay!
I'd like some clarification please?
Does the Cheese have to be melted to make it Macaroni Cheese?
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If your definition of "Macaroni and Cheese" is simply a dish that contains both macaroni and cheese, then sure you can make all sorts of things with unmelted cheese. Just understand that if you served it at a restaurant, you'd have a lot of very disappointed 10 year olds.
 
MaximumSam said:
Mac n Cheese is like my white whale. I am never satisfied with how it turns out. Typically, I make the roux, add milk and then the flavorings and cheese. Once I had a bite and it was perfect, then poured it into a pan to bake and didn't like how it came out. I dunno, I'll give it another shot.
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Macaroni and Cheese is the sort of dish where you need to say "screw it" to any notion of being even remotely healthy. You need an awful lot of cheese, preferably different kinds of cheese. Cheddar is the most typical, but I like to mix it with gruyere and/or jarlsberg.

Also, an acidic component does wonders, such as dijon mustard. I've also had success using beer, because beer and cheese are the best of friends.
 
MaximumSam said:
Mac n Cheese is like my white whale. I am never satisfied with how it turns out. Typically, I make the roux, add milk and then the flavorings and cheese. Once I had a bite and it was perfect, then poured it into a pan to bake and didn't like how it came out. I dunno, I'll give it another shot.
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I usually don't make a roux at all. I use some heavy cream and melt in a little bit of American (or Velveeta), then blend in what other types I am using (Gouda, Havarti, cheddar, etc.). If it gets too thick I thin it out with milk. The sauce needs to be a larger ratio to your macaroni (or shells, etc.) for it to not get dry when baking. I usually cover it for the first part of baking then uncover, adding bacon and panko/grated parm or romano at the end. I generally use at least 3 different kinds of cheese in mine as well.
 
garlichead said:
I don't believe dictating methodology is a good idea.
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Agreed. Mac & Cheese is a US "classic" - but the title is basically "pasta" and "cheese".
Mix your macaroni with chicken, salami, mozarella and creamed spinach . Call it Mac&Cheese Florentine.
Mix it with mushrooms, bechamel, garlic and wild boar, and call it "Forestière".
Mix it with paneer, garam masala and five vegetables and call it "Masala".
Wasn´t it James Beard who said:
" The first time you make a recipe, follow it exactly. After that, you´re on your own".
In a dish of the month challenge like this, I´d say there are no holds barred.
 
JAS_OH1 said:
I usually don't make a roux at all. I use some heavy cream and melt in a little bit of American (or Velveeta), then blend in what other types I am using (Gouda, Havarti, cheddar, etc.). If it gets too thick I thin it out with milk. The sauce needs to be a larger ratio to your macaroni (or shells, etc.) for it to not get dry when baking. I usually cover it for the first part of baking then uncover, adding bacon and panko/grated parm or romano at the end. I generally use at least 3 different kinds of cheese in mine as well.
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A roux is just one means to thicken a sauce. You happen to be doing a sodium citrate thickened sauce, which I count as a perfectly good branch of the macaroni and cheese family tree.
 
NailBat said:
A roux is just one means to thicken a sauce. You happen to be doing a sodium citrate thickened sauce, which I count as a perfectly good branch of the macaroni and cheese family tree.
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Yeah, I just don't like eating flour, cornstarch, etc. as a thickener. Bring on the heavy cream everytime! I am not saying it's wrong for anyone to do make a roux, it's just my personal preference, and I thought maybe MaximumSam doesn't like his mac n cheese because that.

I sure which lobster wasn't so expensive right now. A lobster macaroni and cheese would be awesome.
 
JAS_OH1 said:
Yeah, I just don't like eating flour, cornstarch, etc. as a thickener. Bring on the heavy cream everytime! I am not saying it's wrong for anyone to do make a roux, it's just my personal preference, and I thought maybe MaximumSam doesn't like his mac n cheese because that.

I sure which lobster wasn't so expensive right now. A lobster macaroni and cheese would be awesome.
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I have a lobster in the freezer - not an expensive one (Canadian lobster, bought frozen from a supermarket), so maybe now is the time to use it. :)
 
Morning Glory said:
I have a lobster in the freezer - not an expensive one (Canadian lobster, bought frozen from a supermarket), so maybe now is the time to use it. :)
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We ate all of ours, unfortunately. All lobster over here is currently expensive, around $35 a pound. A few years ago they were on sale for $20 a pound and I bought a bunch and froze them. The last ones we ate this past fall. I do have some langoustine lobster tails in the freezer, but those to me are really more like shrimp.
 
Here’s my “macaroni and cheese” - cold, so it’s a macaroni salad:

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It’s not elbow macaroni, but around here, just about any pasta that’s not long and skinny, or wide and flat, or a big shell, can rightly be called macaroni.

Dressing is mayonnaise, a little mustard, and sweet pickle juice. Other ingredients are white cheddar, hard-boiled eggs, pickled onion, and sweet pickles.

Building bridges, not walls. :wink:
 
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