mac and cheese

[noveldevice]

radiatore pasta (boil in salted water as usual etc)

bechamel until it is enough
about a cup of shredded cheddar
a good lump of bleu cheese, crumbled
salt and pepper

Stir the two together in an oven safe bowl with a cover, top with breadcrumbs and dabs of butter like a crumble, cover, bake at 350 for 20 minutes, then uncover and bake for as long as it takes to wash the dishes by hand. Remove from oven and nom.

For next time: more kinds of cheese, a little dab of mustard, possibly some cayenne pepper, and hopefully washing the dishes in the dishwasher (our dishwasher is supposed to be fixed early next week!).

Comments

[randomdreams.livejournal.com]

I *love* making suicide M&C with whatever's in the fridge and needs used up. I think it's superb. manintheboat violently disagrees. She wants *one* kind of cheese, and strongly prefers that be something at least moderately normal.
I think it's the best when it has havarti with dill, gorgonzola, and feta in there.

Just replaced dishwasher. What a lousy job. Hope yours goes quickly and in a suitably desiccated manner. Few things more frustrating than a slow leak somewhere invisible under the dishwasher, that only shows up later when the floor starts to mold.

[noveldevice.livejournal.com]

The cheddar was good, but I think it needs some more strongly-flavoured cheeses, or else something that's just cheese on crack like edam. Possibly some jack or something. The cheddar gave it a lovely colour though. Maybe also pine nuts in the bread crumbs, finely chopped.

I am getting the hang of bechamels and really proud of myself for it. I made my first bechamel perfectly and then consistently broke them and had to rescue them for the next six years. Quite suddenly about a month ago I found the knack.

Our building repair guy will worry about that; luckily we're on what is euphemistically called the "garden" level so our floors are concrete, and the nearest carpeting is a good six feet away in any direction. The daniel is having trouble with his dishwasher lately too; 'tis the season, I suppose.

[randomdreams.livejournal.com]

So, what, do you think, is the knack to bechamel?

[noveldevice.livejournal.com]

I think it's the timing. I'm getting a feel for when to put the flour in, when to add the milk and how much milk to add at a time...I think that's most of it, to be honest. I believe my bechamels usually broke because I put the flour in too late, when all the water from the butter had already boiled away, and then when I added the milk I did it too tentatively and scalded it, and between the milk flash-boiling away and the roux being more like half-burnt wallpaper paste, when I finally grew a pair and added enough milk that it didn't just instantly boil away, the roux would break and the sauce that resulted after I'd managed to rescue it would be grainy.

Comfort food is comforting.

[hugh-mannity.livejournal.com]

Mmmm.. I put mustard powder (Coleman's) into the roux for the bechamel. Sometimes I'll toss in some cayenne then too. I think it develops the flavour better that way.

Our family recipe uses shredded cheddar and parmesan cheese on the top instead of breadcrumbs.

A friend of mine places a layer of sliced tomato in the bottom of the dish she bakes her M&C in. Another friend adds diced bacon to hers.

I'm a purist: Mac. Cheese. Done! However, as long as it's got those lovely little bits of caramelised cheese round the edges, I'll forgive most people their variations.

[noveldevice.livejournal.com]

I'm like that about lasagna. I don't actually care what people put in it as long as I get an edge piece with all the singed bits of pasta and cheese. :)

[pixel39.livejournal.com]

One can cheat by whisking the flour into the hot milk and skipping the roux step.

A dash of horseradish is also tasty.

[noveldevice.livejournal.com]

I don't mind the roux step, actually.

[pixel39.livejournal.com]

I am phenomenally lazy sometimes and just don't want to bother with the roux. It depends on my mood.

My personal favorite mix for M&C is still asiago, jack, and fontina cheeses with teeny cubes of sauteed stick pepperoni, green and red bell peppers, and onions (yeah, I know) and garlic.

[noveldevice.livejournal.com]

I feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment when I manage to make a real sauce. It's worth the extra trouble. :)