The combination of ketchup, onion, and mustard made it taste kind of like a cheeseburger casserole, and the scotch bonnet pepper sauce gave it the perfect hit of heat. I'll admit, I was skeptical of this recipe - but it was actually pretty darn good.
#The best mac n cheese recipe mac
It's loaded with all kinds of cheese (five whole cups!), is insanely decadent, and certainly not for calorie counters - but isn't that what makes mac 'n' cheese taste so good? Get the recipe. This was a great, classic mac 'n' cheese recipe. It tasted like something you would get at a nice restaurant - the fancy cheeses gave it a ton of flavor - and I'll certainly be making it again. The cauliflower was a surprisingly delicious addition that actually worked. And a little finishing crunch is always welcome Conley and Smith mix Parmesan with bread crumbs to sprinkle on top before baking.Īs to why the dish isn't actually called "mac and chees es," well, you've got us there.This mac was flavorful, rich, and had the perfect ratio of crispy and creamy textures. The big "don't" here is to not overcook the pasta when boiling it (drain it just before it's al dente), since it will continue to cook once you've added it to the cheese and bake it. For the mac, the best shapes are medium-sized ones that hold sauce well, such as penne, elbows, mezze rigatoni or shells. If a mix of the right cheeses accounts for 90 percent of an incredible mac and cheese, the other 10 percent is made up of a few other important factors. And just a note of a caution if you're using a really robust-tasting cheese, says Conley: "Remember: If the cheese is a strong one, reduce the proportion so one cheese doesn't dominate." Conley says she and Cowgirl co-founder Peggy Smith also always put a little blue (such as Gorgonzola or Roquefort) in their mac and cheese they like its pleasant bite. In general, Conley recommends grating two, three or four cheeses together using at least one from each of the following categories: a good melting cheese (e.g., Gruyère, provolone), a tangy cheese (cheddar, cantal) and a soft cheese (Tallegio, Caerphilly). This quartet makes for a dish that's got some kick to it, but still oozes with familiar comfort.
Sue Conley, co-founder of Cowgirl Creamery, a company in California known for its artisan cheeses, models her mac on an Italian dish known as Quattro Formaggi ("four cheeses"), using Parmesan, Gorgonzola dolce, provolone and fontina. Play your cheeses right, and you'll end up with a dish that's silky, smooth and richly flavored. Others-think Parmesan, smoked Gouda and any kind of cheddar, whether white or orange, sharp or aged-have deep flavor. Some-such as Gruyère, Emmental and Comté-are known for their superior meltability. The thinking behind the double (or triple, or quadruple) dose is based on the fact that different cheeses have different strengths.
The common thread among some of the most beloved mac and cheese recipes out there is a combination of at least two different types of cheese-and as many as four. No surprise, probably: It's in the cheese-or, more accurately, chees es. There's one element, though, that will make or break a from-scratch version. There are as many ways to make mac and cheese as there are opinions on homemade versus boxed (our take: there's a time and a place for both!).