Recipes and food from a Hapa household

depending on my mood, i have a few mac n cheese recipes that i use.  the real simple one is to cook the macaroni, drain it, add the cheese until it melts and serve.  when i want to be super fancy, i cook this mac n cheese recipe from the Cook’s Illustrated magazine (may & june 2004).

serves 6-8 as main course, 10-12 as side dish

1 lb elbow macaroni
salt
5 tbsp unsalted butter
6 tbsp flour
5 C milk
8 oz monterey jack cheese, shredded
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 C bread crumbs
1/4 C grated parmesan cheese

1. grease a 9X13 glass pan.
2. combine bread crumbs and parmesan cheese and set aside.
3. in a large pot or dutch oven, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil.  when it reaches a boil, add a generous amount of salt (1 tbsp) and cook the macaroni until tender.  drain the macaroni and return pot to the stove.
4. adjust the rack to oven to lower-middle position.  turn on broiler.
5. turn the stove to medium-high heat.  melt the butter in the pan until it is foaming.  add the flour, stir (or whisk) to combine.  let this mixture cook for a minute.
6. stir (or whisk) in milk.  stir (or whisk) constantly until mixture comes to a boil.  when it does, the sauce should thicken to the consistency of cream.  reduce heat to low and add the cheese until it melts.  season with salt.
7. add the macaroni into the sauce and stir until well combined.  pour macaroni and cheese into greased glass pan.*  spread bread crumb topping evenly on top.  put it in the oven and broil it until top is a deep golden brown (about 3-5 minutes).

*  the sauce may appear runny after you combine the macaroni, but it will not be as runny once you broil the mac n cheese.