Baked Macaroni And Cheese Joy Of Cooking P 217 Recipes

BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• For the macaroni: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 2-quart casserole dish.
• Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the salt and macaroni. Bring the water back to a boil and cook the macaroni until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain well.
• For the cheese sauce: Meanwhile, melt the butter in a 1-quart saucepan. Using a wire whisk, stir in the flour and salt, stirring and cooking over medium heat until the roux bubbles and the flour turns pale brown, about 3 minutes. Slowly whisk in 1 cup of the milk and then whisk in the remaining 1 cup milk. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens. Add the cheese and stir until it melts. Add the drained macaroni to the cheese sauce and mix thoroughly.
• For the topping: In a small bowl, stir the breadcrumbs with the butter until the crumbs are moistened.
• Transfer the macaroni and cheese to the prepared baking dish and top with the buttered breadcrumbs. Bake until the dish bubbles around the edges, about 15 minutes.

CLASSIC BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until it's barely al dente. (It should be more al dente than your average pasta: It's going to continue to cook in the oven.) Drain and set aside.
• Meanwhile, heat butter in a medium pot over medium heat. (The pot should be large enough to hold all the pasta when cooked.) Whisk in flour and cook, whisking constantly, until the flour is foamy and just starting to turn a light golden brown, about 4 minutes. Slowly whisk in milk to avoid clumping. Add garlic, paprika and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, whisking constantly and paying special attention to the edges of the pot to make sure the flour mixture is totally incorporated.
• Add grated cheese and whisk to blend until the cheese is completely melted. (The sauce will seem thick at first and thin out as the cheese melts; it will thicken while it bakes.) Season with salt and pepper and add cooked pasta, stirring to coat well.
• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil (to catch any cheesy drips).
• Make the optional topping: Combine bread crumbs, melted butter and Parmesan, if using, in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper and, using your hands, mix well to ensure the bread crumbs are evenly coated.
• Transfer the macaroni and cheese mixture to a 3-quart or 9 x 13 baking dish and scatter bread crumbs, if using, evenly over the top. Place on prepared baking sheet and bake until macaroni and cheese is bubbling, thickened and creamy, and bread crumbs are evenly golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.

BAKED MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Cook macaroni according to package directions for al dente; drain., In a Dutch oven, heat 1/3 cup butter over medium heat; saute onion until tender. Stir in flour and seasonings until blended; gradually stir in milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; cook and stir until thickened. Stir in cheese until melted. Stir in macaroni. Transfer to a greased 13x9-in. baking dish., In a microwave, melt remaining butter; toss with bread crumbs. Sprinkle over casserole. Bake, uncovered, until heated through, 30-35 minutes.

BAKED MACARONI ALA THE JOY OF COOKING

Steps:

• Cook macaroni according to pkg directions; drain.
• Place half macaroni in 3-4 qt casserole or 9x13" pan; sprinkle w/ half grated cheddar.
• Top with remaining macaroni; sprinkle w/ remaining cheese.
• Mix remaining ingredients in small bowl til well blended; pour over macaroni and cheese.
• Sprinkle w/ stuffing mix (or bread crumbs of your choice); dot w/ butter; sprinkle w/ remaining cheddar.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes.

THE JOY OF MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• In microwave bowl melt butter, whisk in flour and once it is smooth gradually whisk in milk a bit at a time until mixture is smooth again. Microwave on high, stirring until smooth every minute, until mixture thickens into a white sauce, about 4-5 minutes in all.
• Stir in desired seasonings and 2/3rds of cheese until melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in macaroni.
• Pour 1/2 of the macaroni mixture into a greased 1 1/2 quart baking dish. I like to use a 9 x 11 to spread it out thin. Sprinkle with half the remaining cheese. Top with the other half of the macaroni and the rest of the cheese. It's ok to grate more cheese if you want and/or mix in other cheeses like mozzarella. I do!
• Melt butter in a pan and toss in fresh bread crumbs until browned for topping OR sprinkle macaroni with packaged bread crumbs and dot with butter.
• Bake at 350 for 30 mins, until breadcrumbs are lightly browned. Since I spread it out thin and the ingredients are already warm it usually doesn't take the full 30 mins to cook. You don't want to dry it out ether. Let rest for about 5 mins before serving.

BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE (JOY OF COOKING P. 217)

Steps:

• Boil 4 oz. (1 cup) macaroni (cavatapi) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Place layers of macaroni in buttered baking dish Sprinkle layers with 1 cup shredded cheese (chedder, friulano, havarti etc.) Beat until blended 1 or 2 eggs 2/3 cup milk 1/4 tsp salt 1/8 tsp paprika a few grains of cayenne (1 sliced pimiento) (1/4 cup choppde green peppers or 2 tblsp chopped parsley) (1 tblsp grated onion) Pour this mixture over macaroni Sprinkle top with Au gratin (bread crumbs and chedder cheese mixture) Bake macaroni for 40 minutes)