Beechers Worlds Best Mac Cheese Recipes

WORLD'S BEST MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter or oil an 8-inch baking dish; set aside.
• Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente, about 2 minutes less than package directions. Drain into a colander and rinse under cold water until cool, then drain again.
• Stir together pasta and cheese sauce until well combined. Pour into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with cheeses and chile powder. Bake, uncovered, until lightly browned in places, about 20 minutes. Let stand at least 5 minutes before serving.

"WORLD'S BEST" MACARONI & CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350; F. Set a large pot of water on high heat.
• Meanwhile, begin the sauce by making a roux: in a medium saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour. Continue to stir this roux over medium heat for two to three minutes.
• The roux should be cooked and free of the flour flavor but still light in color.
• Gradually add milk, whisking briskly to maintain a smooth sauce.
• Cook the sauce for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid scorching.
• When sauce thickens, add cheeses, salt and spices to the sauce, and stir until all the cheese has melted. I make my sauces in the microwave; turns out great and never scorches.
• Somewhere during this sauce-cooking process, your pasta water has started boiling. The original is made with Penne noodles. Add a generous amount of salt to the water and cook the pasta until almost but not quite al dente (two minutes before the package directions indicate). You want barely undercooked pasta so that it can finish in the oven later. Halt the cooking by draining the pasta and rinsing with cold water. Return pasta to pot.
• Pour sauce over pasta and stir until completely incorporated. The combination should be fairly saucy, almost soupy.
• Dish the mixture into a buttered 9-13 pan and sprinkle with extra grated cheeses and cayenne. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes, until you have beautiful, browned edges. Those edges will be a welcome and flavorful addition to each serving.
• Let the dish sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. I divided this in 2 containers and froze one.

BEECHER'S "WORLD'S BEST" MAC & CHEESE

Steps:

• To prepare sauce, melt butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat and whisk in the flour. Continue whisking and cook for 2 minutes. Slowly add milk, whisking constantly. Cook until sauce thickens, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Add cheeses, salt, chili powder and garlic powder. Stir until cheese is melted and all ingredients are incorporated, about 3 minutes. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350°F Butter or oil an 8-inch baking dish. Cook penne 2 minutes less than package directions. (It will finish cooking in the oven.) Rinse pasta in cold water and drain well.
• Combine pasta and sauce in a medium bowl; mix carefully but thoroughly. Scrape the pasta into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle top with cheeses and then the chili powder.
• Bake, uncovered, 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

"WORLD'S BEST" MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Butter or oil an 8-inch baking dish.
• Cook the penne 2 minutes less than package directions. (It will finish cooking in the oven.) Rinse the pasta in cold water and set aside.
• Combine the cooked pasta and the sauce in a medium bowl and mix carefully but thoroughly. Scrape the pasta into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the top with the cheeses and then the chili powder.
• Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Let the mac and cheese sit for 5 minutes before serving.
• Beecher's Flagship Cheese Sauce
• Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat and whisk in the flour. Continue whisking and cooking for 2 minutes.
• Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly. Cook until the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat.
• Add the cheeses, salt, chili powder, and garlic powder. Stir until the cheese is melted and all ingredients are incorporated, about 3 minutes. Use immediately, or refrigerate for up to 3 days.
• This sauce reheats nicely on the stove in a saucepan over low heat. Stir frequently so the sauce doesn't scorch.
• Make Ahead
• This recipe can be assembled before baking and frozen for up to 3 months-just be sure to use a freezer-to-oven pan and increase the baking time to 50 minutes.
• notes
• One-half teaspoon of chipotle chili powder makes a spicy mac, so make sure your family and friends can handle it!
• The proportion of pasta to cheese sauce is crucial to the success of the dish. It will look like a lot of sauce for the pasta, but some of the liquid will be absorbed.