Macaroni and Cheese

Amazing Macaroni and Cheese in Cast Iron

I came across a complicated - although delicious looking - recipe for macaroni and cheese and wondered if I could revise it to be a little simpler yet still taste amazing. I made this for my old roommate, who is the pickiest eater I know. She loved it! Enough said.

6 tbsp Butter (almost a whole cube)
2 tbsp Dry Bread Crumbs (I use either panko or I love crumbled savory bagel chips as well!)
1/4 cup of Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 1/2 tsp Chopped Fresh Thyme (a pinch of dried thyme will work is fresh is unavailable)
1/4 cup of All-Purpose Flour
2 tbsp of Spicy Mustard
Fresh Ground Salt and Pepper to taste
2 1/4 cups of Milk
2 Cloves of Garlic, Chopped
1/2 cup of Creme Fraiche (found in Trader Joe’s)
2 cups Grated Extra Sharp White Cheddar Cheese
1 cup Grated Mild Chedder Cheese
8 oz of Elbow Macaroni, cooked al dente, drained, and rinsed with cold water

Preheat oven to 400. In a small pan, melt 2 tbsp of butter. In a bowl, mix bread crumbs, parmesan, thyme, and toss with melted butter.

In another pan, melt the rest of the butter. Whisk in flour, mustard, salt, and pepper until smooth. Cook on low for a couple of minutes. Add milk, whisking until smooth. Add garlic, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from head and add creme fraiche. Reserve 1/2 each of cheese as topping, and stir in the rest until melted.

Place macaroni in a baking dish, add cheese sauce and stir until coated. Sprinkle with layers of bread crumb mixture, cheese, and another layer of bread crumb mixture. Bake uncovered about 20 minutes or until browned and bubbly. Enjoy!

Tags: Comfort Food

This entry was posted on February 12th, 2008 and is filed under Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or Trackback from your own site.