Make This Tonight.

By Dara O’Brien
Creative Director, Lake Isle Press

I had my share of macaroni and cheese growing up, but I am not sure if it was ever homemade. My mom’s mac and cheese of choice was a Banquet frozen dinner. Pop it in the oven and voilà.

Mac and cheese is pretty hard to mess up, so no one in my family had any complaints. Even a boxed mix will do in a pinch. It’s also fairly easy to do a stovetop version, like this one from Smitten Kitchen or this from J. Kenji López-Alt on Serious Eats.

So is it worth the time to bake macaroni and cheese from scratch? I say the answer to that question is definitely yes.

I took a trip out of the City with friends last week that was basically about lazing around the house and enjoying the view of the mountains, cooking, and eating. Each meal was a feast. We had banana pancakes and bacon for breakfast one day and eggs Benedict the next. We had a chicken dish to die for one night and then the next, spaghetti and meatballs ala my friend, Chris, that featured a fresh tomato sauce that he simmered for 24 hours.

And to start us off, I made Angela Shelf Medearis’s Baked Macaroni and Cheese from her book, “The New African-American Kitchen” published by Lake Isle Press. So creamy. So cheesy. One of my tasters said it was one of the best mac and cheeses she’s ever had. I agree.

Since I’d never made macaroni and cheese before I wasn’t sure about a few things, but I plowed ahead. Two cups of elbows seemed like too little to me, but no, it was just the right amount. I wasn’t sure what constituted a large casserole dish. My host had a few, and after hemming and hawing a bit I chose a rectangular 8-cup (I think it was 8-cup) ceramic dish. Perfect fit.

I made a few minor adjustments to the recipe. The can of evaporated milk I got was just under two cups, so I added whole milk to make up the difference. In the end, the texture was perfect and there was plenty of cheesy custard in the dish, so I suspect the 14-ounce can would have sufficed.

For the cheese, I opted for shredded sharp cheddar from Trader Joe’s. The package holds less than a pound, so I bought two of them. But when I put the whole thing together, one bag was clearly enough. And have you ever tried to grate American cheese? Yeah, couldn’t do that. So I chopped it. I now know to pop a soft cheese in the freezer for 15 minutes and then you can grate it. Next time.

I used a little extra Tabasco and probably could have used a little more. But the balance of flavors and textures was just terrific. I’m a sucker for noodles of any kind, and this recipe is the quintessence of noodledom; smooth and creamy, gently tangy, and melt-in-your-mouth good. You just don’t get that kind of richness from an envelope of orange powder mixed on the stovetop. No, you don’t.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Click here for printable recipe.

Makes 8 servings

INGREDIENTS
6 cups water
1 tablespoon salt
2 cups elbow macaroni
6 tablespoons butter, softened, plus more for the dish
2 large eggs
2 cups evaporated milk
1 teaspoon salt
2 dashes of Tabasco sauce
1 pound extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated
½ cup grated American cheese
½ teaspoon paprika

PREPARATION

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the water and salt in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil. Slowly stir in the macaroni. Boil 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. The macaroni should be firm but tender. Pour the macaroni into a colander and rinse with a little cold water. Drain. Toss the macaroni with the butter and set aside.
In a small bowl, beat the eggs until light yellow. Add the milk, salt, and Tabasco sauce. Butter a large casserole dish. Combine the cheddar and American cheeses.
In the casserole, alternate ½ layers of the cooked macaroni with layers of the mixed cheeses, ending with the cheeses on top. Pour the egg mixture slowly and evenly over the macaroni and cheese. Sprinkle with the paprika. Bake 30-40 minutes, until the custard is set and the top is golden brown.