Classic Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Aaah Mac and Cheese, say yes, please! It’s a classic for a reason.

This is the old fashioned version that my mother in law had cut off the back of Mueller’s macaroni noodles and I only changed it a tad, I promise! But it’s so darned good and the ultimate comfort food that I really mostly stuck to the recipe. It’s not difficult but it’s worth not cheating and making the proper cheese sauce and the breadcrumb topping and baking. It just ain’t the same if you don’t bake it in the oven since that’s what gives it that classic crunchy topping that makes it rise above the unbaked version and no worries, it’s creamy and delish beneath the surface.

So I went with the proper version of cheddar cheese which can be found here but ya gotta shred it yourself. It’s no big just know a block of cheddar (they’re small here, 200 grams) is the exact amount needed for the sauce and the topping. Convenient, no?

So , preheat your oven to 350 F/180 C and then boil your macaroni till barely al dente, even cutting off about 2 minutes of the regular cooking time since the macaroni will continue to bake in the oven.

A note about the amount of macaroni used in this dish. I figured out that you are not using a whole package of noodles and to make your life easier, actually weighed the 8 ounces called for and it comes to 2 full cups (US) of macaroni, which when cooked yields 4 cups of cooked macaroni. This amount is appropriate to the 2 quart casserole you will be using. This will feed 4 people nicely or 2 people (like me and DH) for 2 dinners/lunch. If you wish to use a larger amount, pour it into a cup to see how much you are using so that you can adjust the recipe proportionately.

So get your water salted and bring to a hysterical boil and cook the noodles

and stir to fluff it up so to speak – removing from heat and pouring into a colander to drain about 2 minutes before fully al dente according to the package directions.

While the macaroni drains, I found for ease of prep best to shred the cheese (of course if you have shredded cheese you skip this) and separate it into two little piles. One and a half cups for the cheese sauce and half a cup for the topping.

Now gather the sauce ingredients together.

This simplifies your life since you can immediately add the ingredients as needed with no fumbling since you are cooking and thickening the sauce and must add everything in a timely fashion. Don’t worry about it, it’s easy but when it’s organized it comes out properly.

Onward! You prepare your casserole dish as well, this way you can pour the coated macaroni right in when ready.

So when you are ready to melt the butter for the sauce, add an additional tablespoon of butter and once melted, pour the tablespoon into the 2 quart casserole dish and using a paper towel, coat the dish all about.

Back to our sauce.

Now take the flour and whisk together with the butter till combined and cook for a minute and add the dry mustard, salt and pepper, whisk briefly and slowly add the milk, whisking all the time and continue to whisk as it thickens up.

As you can see above, the mixture is thickened. Now when you add the milk in a controlled drizzle, keep up the whisking and don’t give up. It takes a good few minutes to thicken the sauce, about five minutes on medium heat so be patient and it’ll happen. This is your white sauce. Remember the 1 1/2 cups of grated cheese (don’t use the bit for the topping!)? Now’s the time and you can add it all in one go like so:

Note the bubbles around the edges of the pan, it’s thickened and the cheese adds a bit of thickening to the sauce as well. This is not a stand up your spoon in the sauce thick, rather coat the back of a spoon well, thick. So now take your drained macaroni that’s been patiently waiting and add to the cheese sauce and stir well to coat.

Now pour the coated macaroni into the greased casserole dish.

I especially want you to see the amount of sauce here since you may worry you have too much. Nope, uh uh, this is correct. It gets mostly (but not completely) absorbed by the macaroni, the additional sauce stays for that creamy component. K. Now you take the last 1/2 cup of cheese and toss with the breadcrumbs in a bowl.

After tossing (I used my fingers to get it combined well) sprinkle evenly on top of the coated macaroni in the casserole as a topping.

Don’t skip this part, it gives a wonderful contrast of crisp and creamy. Now pop in the hot oven and bake for about 25-30 minutes or till topping is golden brown and macaroni beneath is bubbling. Serve to deliriously happy eaters and a nice green leafy salad goes well with this.

Classic Baked Macaroni and Cheese

2 cups dry uncooked macaroni or 8 ounces or approximately 240 grams
about 8 cups water and a tablespoon salt for boiling noodles

For Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter + 1 more tablespoon to grease casserole dish
4 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
pinch of black pepper
2 1/2 cups (591 ml) of milk
2 cups (200 grams) of grated cheddar cheese divided – 1 1/2 cups for the sauce
Topping:
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese for topping
4 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C.

Bring the water and salt to a rolling boil and add the macaroni, stirring from time to time and cook for 2 minutes less than package calls for. Drain in colander and set aside.

Make the topping by tossing the breadcrumbs and the 1/2 cup cheese together in a bowl and set aside. (This way you also won’t by accident add it to the sauce!).

Take a pot and melt the butter, pouring off a tablespoon for a 2 quart casserole dish and greasing it. Set casserole dish aside. In same pot with rest of melted butter add flour and whisk till combined and let cook a bit about a minute or so then add the salt, dry mustard, pepper and cook and slowly pour in the milk, stirring and whisking all the while till it begins to thicken up and bubbles form around edge of pot and you will see the sauce thickening. Add all at once the grated cheese and whisk smooth. Take the cooked noodles and add to the pot of sauce, stirring till completely coated with sauce. Don’t worry if there seems to be a lot of sauce, it should look saucy, it will get partially absorbed by the macaroni (hence undercooking it a bit) and the rest forms a creamy sauce. Pour this into the greased casserole dish. Now take the topping (breadcrumbs and cheese) and sprinkle evenly on top of macaroni mixture. Place in the hot oven and bake about 25-30 minutes or till top is crispy and golden brown and noodles are bubbling. If some of the cheese sauce escapes and bubbles to the surface it’s all good.