Mac and Cheese

Roommate and I, raised in the US, have a shared affinity for a good mac and cheese.  Boyfriend, from Germany, never saw the appeal.

BF was away for a week, returning last night.  Roomie and I treated him to dinner waiting upon his arrival... which happened to be mac 'n cheese.  Roomie'd been craving it for a while.

We found an Alton Brown recipe and discovered too late that we didn't have enough of any one cheese to fill the recipe.  The photos you see are of a five-cheese amalgam that wasn't half bad.

A lot of the reviews of this recipe call it "grown-up," and I think that's exactly what it is.  The mustard and bay leaf add a depth and contrast to the creamy cheese.  It's covered in buttery breadcrumbs and cooked with onion for texture.  It's not gooey, but it surely is creamy.  While the entire thing's crazy rich, without a doubt the best part is the sneaky layer of cheese hiding just under the toasted panko topping.

Mac and Cheese

Adapted from Alton Brown

ingredients:

• 1/2 pound elbow macaroni
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon powdered mustard 
• 3 cups milk
• 1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 large egg
• 12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Fresh black pepper

topping:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs

directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cook the pasta to al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the bay leaf.

Whisk the egg in a bowl until mixed.  Add a few tbsp of the sauce to the egg.  Continue until the egg is mixed into the sauce in your bowl - then add it to the pot.  This is called tempering and prevents the egg from cooking.

Add 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.

Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the panko to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.