Alas, my grandchildren - all except the latest little nipper who doesn’t even have teeth yet - all like the stuff in a box.

And it takes a bit of time and effort to make a proper mac&cheese from scratch. A full dish is more than my wife and I can eat for one meal, and I mentioned my aversion to leftovers. We should just make a decent dish and serve it in an ‘eat it or don’t’ presentation. I think the older ones will try it, and maybe even the younger ones.

Last edited Tue Nov 21, 2023, 05:41 PM - Edit history (1)

Across the street kids for dinner, occasionally. Sometimes you do what needs be.

▢2 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni – about 1/2 cup
▢1 tablespoon salted butter
▢1 tablespoon all purpose flour
▢½ cup milk (use any percentage or almond milk)
▢½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
▢⅛ teaspoon dry mustard
▢⅛ teaspoon kosher salt

are many different recipes and cheese combinatiions. Sharp white cheddar, aged gouda, fontina and parmesan ( for the breadcrumb topping) is one of mine. Blocks of cheese, freshly grated (pre-grated is coated, which makes melting a bit of a problem. Add the cheeses to the bechamel SLOWLY.

One can, of course, add a chopped protein prior to baking, but I prefer them on the side, and for our vegetarian friends.

There is a pretty mean Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese that contains Gruyere:

https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/creamy-butternut-squash-mac-and-cheese-with-kale/ (Screw the kale part though.)

And on the other end of the spectrum, I do like Mac & Cheese made with Velveeta, butter, and milk.

I love it

freezer section this holiday season.

I see no harm in adding a small amount of ‘velveeta-type’ cheese to the melt. It contains lots of casein, an emulsifier that provides that ultra-smooth texture. You can use your favorite cheeses, add milk, flour, whatever, and the casein from the velveeta makes everything dreamily silky..

But when I have succumbed and gotten it at say the Whole Foods trough, it tastes like nothing. Just kind of a texture, not really a flavor at all.

I thought my tastes must’ve changed. I remember thinking it was the most delicious thing in the world growing up. But I dont see dedicating the time and money to making it from scratch to find out.

They called it "hot guck." That is what their baby sister called it, and they thought it was funny.

hilarious. This baby has potential.

Full on scratch with a ton of cheese, herbs, a little Sriracha. Fattening but 😋

Last edited Tue Nov 21, 2023, 03:57 PM - Edit history (1)

but I have a 'funny' story:

In my first year living in Chicago, which I did for 10 years, I made a few good friends who were African American, ( I am not,) and as they kindly invited me to join them for one Thanksgiving, they made the serious mistake of asking me to bring ''the Mac and Cheese.' It wasn't part of my family's tradition, so I did my 'best' bringing the stuff out of the box. They looked at me with 'wondering' eyes!!!

Did anyone eat it?

Dunno, but friendships remained, and thrived!

Next time, just bring Stouffers. It's not great, but it's better than the blue box.

I used to make the kind from the blue box as a teen. My mother didn’t like to cook and never made it at all So the blue box kind was all I ever knew for a long time. I have made it from scratch for my family many times but can never get it cheesy enough. It just keeps tasting bland. ☹️. And I do use sharp cheddar that I grate myself.

I'm still experimenting w/ different recipes, an easy one at that, so it doesn't have to have 10 ingredients, so it's an ongoing process. Who knows, maybe one day?!

Add a few drops of Tabasco sauce. This provides salt to intensify the flavor and adds a tiny spike of flavor that wakes up the sauce. I can always tell when someone omits the Tabasco from a Bechamel sauce (the Mother Sauce for the cheese sauce), it just seems flat. You can't taste it, but you can taste if it's not there. Just a few drops, more if the batch is larger.

My mac and cheese from scratch was famous among my sons' friends. Fresh out of the oven with a crust of panko bread crumbs.

Also; tossing in a slice of American cheese helps to keep the sauce from breaking, one of those Kraft singles type. It's almost all emulsifiers, so the sauce is almost guaranteed to be never break.

It is mozzarella and monterey jack cheese with jalapeno, habanero, and Carolina Reaper peppers. For the hell of it I made baked mac and cheese with it, and it wasn't bad. It has some legitimate heat though; I'd probably cut it with Swiss or cheddar next time.

I said what I said

Sod off

We have a place here in NE Ohio that only does Mac n Cheese. Love this place!
They aren't a chain, just a couple people with a good idea:

Check the menu:
https://machausohio.com/

On edit: I see they added some sandwiches. I gotta get over there.

In my mother's macaroni and cheese.

None of the boxed stuff.

Feed the kids


Holiday mac & cheese is different

pour it over cooked macaroni, with diagonally sliced hot dogs, and bake until bubbly and crispy. I hadn't made it for years, my oldest daughter used to make it for her family and then she made it for one of her friends who had a death in the family. They could not believe how good it was and asked her for the recipe. I got it from Betty Crocker's cookbook for two in the 1970's. I'm gluten free now, haven't been able to replicate the taste with gluten free pasta. I am not African American but mac and cheese from scratch was a part of my life growing up in California in the 1950's.

I have used many different cheeses but sharp cheddar definitely is flavorful and comfortably familiar. However I've made it with Gruyere, it was good and once with blue cheese this was good too, but both are a side dish, not the main dish that it should be.
Mac and Cheese is a blessing.

For cheese, try using a blend of several flavors like sharp cheddar, gruyere and gouda. Grating from a block of cheese is much tastier than the pre-shredded stuff in a bag, too. Sometimes browning the butter a bit before adding the flour creates more flavor.

Can't you just melt the blocks directly in the saucepan? I'm really not looking forward to that grating process. There will be blood.

I've done half white cheddar, half gruyere. Very good. Monterrey jack mixes in well too.

Mac & cheese is pretty forgiving, I've never made it and regretted my cheese decisions (nor felt the need to assert the superiority of one).

how and when Mac and cheese became a Thanksgiving food. I like it, but .....

Macaroni and cheese began to have new meanings and multiple identities in the Black community. Mac and cheese became “a celebratory dish, a convenient comfort food, and a meal stretcher for impoverished families.” We recognize this dish today as soul food!Aug 8, 2023
https://thesoulfoodpot.com › african...
African American History Of Macaroni And Cheese - The Soul Food Pot

When I was a kid I loved that stuff, but I now agree 100% that it should be made with sharp cheddar and baked in the oven.

... the seventies. It made the absolute best without any doubt Mac and cheese of all times.

Was one of the only edible things.

... I heard was delicious. Missed out on the butter somehow.

with VT extra sharp.

usually throw in some deli ham or cubed ham steak.....yum!

I think you meant "Panera"

MOZZARELLA along with the sharp cheddar! (His cholesterol is 191, so I'm like, whatever you say, bro!!)


Tastes mighty NOMS, actually!

in Minneapolis that is known for its Mac N' Cheese called Elsie's. It is called Buffalo Mac. Spicy and with chicken added. It is basically with 1-2 cooked and cubed chicken breast that is doused with a hot buffalo sauce, then rolled into a regular Mac recipe but with an added pkg of cream cheese and some sliced pepper and those long strip onions. So good. Now I need to make it again! If anyone needs an exact recipe lmk.I can drop it here.

Kraft makes something that doesn't even fit in the same category. It should have a different name.

That said, since there are only two of us (and my wife has developed a dairy sensitivity), a full casserole alone is bad for my type 2 diabetes. So a blue box (with slight improvements added) is my best option.

The same way Trader Joe's gnocchi is not as good as my grandmother's shiskelach recipe, but it's at least eight hours faster

I like mine with catsup on the side. Grilled cheese sandwiches are good with it as well.

Though I do agree with hot sauce.

When I was in college in the 70's, a box of kraft m&c was $0.25. On sale it was $0.10/box, but I think there was a limit.

Anyway, we pretty much lived on it.

In college, we took the blue box, added sour cream and canned mushrooms, and something green (I don't remember - maybe chives) and something else - maybe tuna. It was pretty good for college food.

If we had butter and non sour milk, we were doing well.

She always layered the macaroni and grated extra sharp cheddar cheese. Lots of cheese!
Then she would make a kind of quiche like mixture of milk, eggs, salt/pepper, dry mustard, a bit of Worcestershire sauce and maybe even some cayenne.
Then slowly pour it over and around the layered macaroni making sure not to displace the cheese and that the macaroni is covered enough not to Dry out. Top with more cheese.
Cook at about 350 for about an hour or until
Set.
It’s awesome!

actually I can eat many versions from yours to the box, velveeta, Stoufers, my Mom's casserole version with egg, and Trader Joe's frozen regular is pretty freaking good too! I just don't want vegetables or meats mixed in. can leave off crunchy toppings as well (other than the crunchy baked exposed tidbits of pasta and cheese against the dish)

not baking it next time. She likes it creamy and says the oven dries it out too much.

(I like it just the way she makes it now, but I'm sure I'll be ok with whatever she does.)