What is mac and cheese to you?

[amkirkland]

No recipes please, just brief descriptions. Does it include bechamel? Oven or stove? Crusted? what cheese? Elbow? yada yada yada

For me it was elbow mac and velveeta on the stove, nothing more, but NEVER from a box. Often with sloppy joe on the side, mixing at one's own discretion.

[RealMenJulienne]

Whenever I make mac and cheese, no matter how fancy I get, I am always comparing it to the stuff served by my high school cafeteria. Elbow macaroni, in some sort of smooth white cheddar sauce. Spiced with salt and black pepper, and I think that was it. No ham, bell pepper or baked topping.

It was worth it to skip lunch for three days in a row, to save lunch money for three meals on mac and cheese day (and dozing through English class afterward). I don't know if it was lovingly crafted by lunch lady Doris or if it came out of some Gordon Foodservice industrial spigot, but man oh man I still think about it.

[laliz]

I strongly prefer elbows.
Bechamel made w/evaporated milk.
Don't want onions or tomatoes or ham.
Don't need "topping" (although it's lovely if someone wants to fuss)
Grew up on Kraft (K-R-A-F-T)
My kids always told me that Dad made it better than I did. WTH???? Its' Kraft Mac n Cheese and he doesn't know how to cook.

About a year ago, I figured it out. He puts the MILK in first, before adding butter and powder packet. I had always put the butter in first. I was doing it wrong according to my kids. sigh.

Another good recipe is Ronald Reagan's favorite Macaroni and Cheese.

[BobB]

Lots of different things. Sometimes I'll do a quick & easy stovetop version (bechamel, cheddar, gruyere, mustard, cayenne, pinch of nutmeg), sometimes an elaborate oven-baked panko-crusted one (recipe from Gourmet magazine cookbook - which I highly recommend!), sometimes I throw chunks of ham in, sometimes not. Sometimes I'm in the mood for creamy, sometimes baked and more crunchy. Sometimes I use traditional elbows, sometimes rotini or fusilli. Mac & cheese is more of a food group than a single dish around here!

[Texans361]

My favorite Mac n Cheese growing up was served at Luby's Cafeteria(Fellow Texans know about this dish). For some reason their Mac n Cheese was always a cut above every other version I tried as a kid. Velveeta Shells and Cheese 2nd Fav and Kraft 3rd.

[CrazyOne]

Definitely oven, with multiple cheeses. Elbows mainly but sometimes other shapes. Small ones though, not penne. Ever since starting with Patti LaBelle's recipe bechamel does not figure into it; we continue on with that recipe's use of two beaten eggs, 2 cups half and half and a stick of butter (melted) all just poured into the mac before baking. We have varied a bit though. That recipe also calls for 8oz of Velveeta in addition to the 2 cups of real cheeses, but we don't always use it instead putting more real cheese. It comes out creamier with the Velveeta, of course.

Growing up I would have much preferred the original Kraft Dinner stuff with the powder, although the typical in our household was Kraft Deluxe, with the can of cheese sauce. The Deluxe had a sharper taste I didn't care for as much then. Now I wouldn't typically touch either when I can make a more serious variety.

[PurpleTeeth]

Elbow Pasta, Jar of Alfredo Sauce, 3 various cheeses from the fridge, sauted onions w/ a splash of conagc. Baked in the oven topped with breadcrumbs and sliced tomatoes. Add chopped honey baked ham if you have it. Heaven

[PattiCakes]

oh, I had forgotten about the M & C at the automat. In those individual baking dishes, all bubbly & brown.....One of my very very favorite childhood memories.

Other than the H&H Automat version:
elbow
bechemel w/nutmeg (currently made with mix of butter & bacon drippings)
VERY sharp cheese
buttered breadcrumbs
baked, with fights at the table for the crispy edges
served with stewed tomatoes (or sloppy Joes or pulled BBQ pork) & mixed up on the plate until it looks like something out of a horror movie.

As shown above, I've recently added crumbled bacon & finely diced onion (sauteed in the bacon fat). Hey, if I'm going to do it, I'm going to DO IT!

I have also "Mexicanized" it, with peppers, jack cheese, choizo & served with salsa.

I like the idea or gruyere or maybe a little gouda. Also like the suggestion of panko & paprika. So many versions, so little time........

[roro1831]

Luxury Brand #7 noodles, thicker than spaghetti and hollow.
Take a can of tomatoes, cook down in a pan until they are nice and thick
Grated cheddar.
Pasta, tom, cheese, and repeat another layer

That's it, no sauce, just cheese pasta and tomato, and of course some butter. baked in the oven until all the cheese in nice and melted and there are some crunchy brown bits on the top.

[Deenso]

Kraft Mac & Cheese in the blue box - powdered 'cheese product' only. I'm always disappointed by any other, no matter how high-end, four-cheese, baked with bubblling brown edges. To me, that's something else - acceptable by any other name - but not Mac & Cheese.

[amethiste]

I use my great aunt's secret family recipe. It starts on the stove and ends in the oven and contains spaghetti.

However, when I was in college and living in a dorm, I did make Velveeta Shells and Cheese in my illegal hot pot.

[kchurchill5]

A girlfriend uses spaghetti, never had but have definitely heard of it. Hey cheese and pasta ... what can taste bad :)

[Ruth Lafler]

Right. I'll use different kinds of tubular pasta (elbows, penne, rigatoni), but unless it's tubular it's not mac 'n cheese -- it's pasta with cheese sauce.

[kchurchill5]

I love the small penne with lobster and mac and cheese. Decadent I know. It is an indulgence but wow what a treat. A few fresh bread crumbs with fresh herbs and baked. OMG, heaven.

But yes, tubes!! so all that gooey cheese gets in, the spaghetti thing I just don't get.

[kchurchill5]

Elbows, I make a bechemel with usually a sharp and mild cheddar, sometimes a gruyere added in, a little nutmeg, cook in the oven with a little cracker topping

[HillJ]

http://dunkincookingthesemi-homemadew...

Cheese Bacon Mac & Cheese to die for!

[ddelicious]

Well its certainly not what i got from the cafeteria for lunch. processed cheese sauce topped with processed cheese. even ketchup couldn't save it. bleck.

[andlulu]

elbows w/ gouda mac -n- cheese w/ fresh ground pepper.

[QueenB]

Elbows or spirals.
Bechamel with nutmeg.
Cheddar.
Buttered breadcrumbs.
Baked.

[claire de lunacy]

I tried the frozen Stouffers once, on a dare, and it was terrible. THe box is better, if you must use a box. BUT i love making it with cheddar and gruyere, roasted garlic, lardons, then baking til you get that most lovely crust. yummmmm.

[mamaciita]

Kraft Extra Creamy, with 1 T curry powder, 1/2 t ground red pepper and 2 T honey added.

(Courtesy my good friends at SCAD)

[wonderwoman]

for me, mac-and-cheese has evolved over the years

growing up, stouffers was the gold standard -- would pay a lot of money to be able to replicate THAT recipe.

my mother's recipe was a egg and milk cheesey baked custard.

now, stovetop, evaporated milk, egg, cheese, hot sauce, dried mustard topped with bread crumbs, grated parm, hazelnut meal crust.

[chef chicklet]

Elbow mac and cheddar cheese creamy bechamel sauce and maybe an egg and bread crumbs toasted. But I Have to eat it with hot pico pico sauce or red pepper flakes.
My fave.

[Narcissus]

Kraft. And I have to make it. They say boil the pasta for 7-9 minutes (I think) - I do 4.5. Drain VERY well. Use slightly less milk than they call for. And for milk I use 1/2 Skim, 1/2 Half and Half (these are the only milks that I ever buy). Oh, and it has to be the powdered cheese kind.

[Pegmeister]

Start with a good basic white sauce, a blend of colby and montery jack, bowtie pasta topped with buttered and cubed fresh bread, baked so that the butter in the crumbs blends with the cheese and the bread turns to crispy croutons!

[chocolatetartguy]

I'm lazy. Just elbow macaroni and a good sharp cheddar (Black Diamond white of late). Cook the mac, shred the cheese, mix the cheese into the hot mac with a pair of chopsticks and eat it. I do add some milk, dried mustard and more cheese to make a makeshift sauce when I heat it up the next day.

[Davwud]

I usually have some sort of protien in mine as well. I usually take some Tennessee Pride sausage, break it up, add flour and milk, like I would for sausage gravy. Then add about a lb of cheese to make a cheese sauce. Add it to elbow mac and let it cool. Then I take about another lb of grated cheddar and mix it into the M&C so that you get nice pockets or ooey gooey cheddar.
Bake in the over and voila. Meaty Mac and Cheese.

DT

[browniebaker]

I love any mac and cheese except from a box. Reconsituted powdered cheese just does not tempt me.

But the mac and cheese I love most and always make is a stovetop mac and cheese. Elbow macaroni is boiled until well-done and stirred into a sauce cooked with eggs, evaporated milk, grated cheddar, mustard powder, cayenne, black pepper, and salt. I let sit for one hour. Sprinkle with more grated cheddar and broil. Brown and bubbly on top, creamy and silky underneath. Mmmmm.

[amyzan]

This sounds like the recipe from Cook's Illustrated? LOVE that recipe when put in a greased casserole, topped with buttered crumbs and reheated. Fabulous.

[browniebaker]

Yes, my recipe derives from both John Thorne and Cook's Illustrated. Like John Thorne, I use more cheese than CI, liking it it very cheesy. I use half the eggs that CI uses. I don't stir the macaroni around in the sauce much, because I don't want the sauce to pick up much starch from the noodles. Letting it sit one hour is my trick, giving the sauce time to set up just right. I agree with you that the buttered crumbs can be fabulous; sometimes I do buttered crumbs for a change from the grilled cheese topping.

[amyzan]

Mmmm, I'll try more cheese next time.

[Grubbjunkie]

I grew up eating Kraft and another one that I can't remember right now (maybe Prince?), and must admit that every now and then my girl and I make a box as sort of a goof.

My preference is for a baked version with lots of bechamel, cheddar, gruyere, and a little parm, maybe a little thyme, bread crumbs. I'll take it with elbows, penne, rigatoni, or pretty much any short pasta tubes. Crushed red pepper or cayenne from time to time. If it's a main course I'll sometimes add pancetta and/or mushrooms, if a side I'll skip the additions. You're gonna have to fight me for the crispy corners.

But I'm with some others here and will eat pretty much any mac n' cheese.

[Peter Cherches]

I grew up thinking it was a main course until I learned that in the south it's a side dish. Much more civilized.

I thought Horn & Hardardt had good mac & cheese when I was a kid.

I recently had Oprah's favorite mac & cheese at Delilah's at the Reading Terminal Market in Philly. It had a fluffy, eggy, almost souffle-like cheese mixed in with slightly too mushy macaroni, and a nice black pepper accent.

http://petercherches.blogspot.com

[mshpook]

I LOVED the mac n cheese at the automat. It was my after bowling treat on Saturdays! If you didn't mention it, I was going to after reading all the posts.

[KevinB]

Back in university, KD was the thing, only we added extra protein (growing boys, eh?). KD and cut up hot dogs, KD and tuna, KD and left over turkey..

Nowadays, our nanny makes a great version: scratch cheddar cheese sauce over elbow macaroni, baked until crusty on top, and then served with a homemade salsa of tomato, cilantro, onion, and vinegar. The salsa gives it a sharpness which plays nicely in counterpoint to the mellow richness of the mac & cheese.

[mainja]

mmmm. KD and cut up hotdogs. i think i feel a craving coming on...

[Covert Ops]

Velveeta Shells and Cheese (with the sauce, not a packet).

My parents went to Disney and brought back mac n cheese for the little one -- with high-quality pasta (Mickey shaped of course) and Vermont white cheddar (albeit made from a powder). Of course, since it was white, she wouldn't touch it. DH and I enjoyed it immensely. :-P

I tried a bechamel once and failed miserably. Maybe when I'm brave, and move into a house with a normal kitchen (where I can, maybe, buy and store flour??) I'll try it again.

[ericalloyd]

elbow macaroni baked with milk, butter, smoked mozz and sun dried tomatoes.

[HillJ]

Elbow mac def.
Same on cheddar
Has anyone mentioned adding grated parm cheese to plain breadcrumbs and a generous tablespoon of paprika?
...that's how we do mac :)

[GVDub]

Growing up, it was elbows, baked, extra sharp Vermont Cheddar (which my folks bought from a food co-op by the wheel) in a bechamel with dry mustard, salt and pepper, and a buttered crumb topping. When I discovered hot sauce, it became completely irresistible.

Yum!

[himbeer]

Something I have never had. It is just one of those foods, like bread pudding, that i'm pretty darn sure I won't like.

[amkirkland]

Bread pudding can be worse than rubber or incredible. I hope you find a good one to try someday.

[Candy]

Bread Pudding steamed in a pressure cooker is sheer delight. Not heavy and stodgy but it comes out fluffy and cloud like.

[DonShirer]

Never met a mac-n-cheese I didn't like. Even "the cheesiest".

[nosey]

Milk, American cheese, elbow mac and panko crumbs with a bit o' butter on top. Everyone seems to love it!

[bropaul]

I was suprised that only Mila's version has the Worcestershire and dried mustard. I think I got my first recipe from "The Campus Survival Cookbook" in the early 70's and those ingredients were in it.

[prunefeet]

Wait, so did mine. And onion. I want credit.

[Will Owen]

My answer is Yes!

I love the old straight-noodle fluorescent-cheese stuff that was called Kraft Dinner when I was a kid. I love the kind made with a bechamel-based cheese sauce. I love the "School Cafeteria" kind from the Sterns' book "Square Meals", made very much like Kraft Dinner only with lots of REAL cheese, and butter instead of margarine. I like it with or without ham, with or without sliced tomatoes, with cheese or panko crumbs or potato chip crumbs or nothing on top. I love it with a souffle-like consistency, I love it heavy and goopy, I love it kinda dry and reheated. And now that I can get the Dreamfields low-GI pasta in elbows format, I'll be able to keep on making it and loving it forever. Yay!

[prunefeet]

Don't forget cold, it's good cold too! Sliced like a loaf, right out of the fridge, eaten with fingers.

[nicoleberry83]

Take your "slice" of the mac and cheese loaf, dip it in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs or panko, then fry in a couple inches of oil. Whoa.

[Spoony Bard]

I'm with ya, Will! Now what about with canned tuna and peas?

[gudpal]

Mmmm. A pound of elbows cooked, a pound of Velveeta coarsely grated, mixed together in a Pyrex casserole dish with a little salt and pepper then topped with crushed Saltines. Baked at 375 until bubbly and gloopy throughout and slightly crisped and browned on top. Mom's macaroni-and-cheese. Sigh.

[NicoleFriedman]

This may sound odd to some but I make a bechamel, flavor it with lots of nutmeg and cayenne...and NO CHEESE. (I am a notorious cheese hater) However, my friends who love cheese themselves had tried it with trepidation...and really enjoyed it...don't knock it till you try it! :}

[Griller]

I still steal back to a box of Kraft every now, and then. A guilty pleasure and so simple...

But, I've been serving my family a three cheese mac dish for a number of years: al dente elbows mixed with heavy cream, mozarella cheese, Romano cheese and topped with Extra Sharp Cheddar. Then finished in the oven.

I throw a great bread at them, with butter, no one's ever complained.

[xica14]

Baked and crusty with sharp cheddar cheese and elbow macaroni

[Ruth Lafler]

Elbow macaroni is a must -- otherwise it isn't "macaroni" and cheese, it's just pasta and cheese.

I like both baked and stovetop versions -- especially since my fellow Home Cookers pointed me to the Alton Brown stovetop version, which is just as quick as Kraft (okay, I too confess a secret nostalgic fondness for it) and a whole lot better. When I have a little extra time, I spoon some into a ramekin, top it with some buttered breadcrumbs and put it in the toaster oven for a few minutes. Voila! Baked mac-and-cheese!

If someone can make a good version without the bechamel then more power to them, but honestly, I think the cheese melts and melds with the macaroni much better when it's mixed with something. Sometimes when I make baked mac-and-cheese I add some sauteed onions and bits of ham or bacon. Yummy!

[Dommy]

SUPER creamy (Grainy or rubbery!) with a crunchy breadcrumb (Or panko!) crust on top... Yummmm...

--Dommy!

[ellaj]

I can't add much to this other than to say that along with sharp cheddar I add a bit of blue to the white sauce.
Elbows, onion, sometimes diced green pepper, topped with bread crumbs or croutons. Baked in the oven. So good.

[Jana33]

I know homemade is probably better, but I usually have Kraft mac and cheese.

I like it with green beans on the side. My husband thinks I'm nuts, but I really like it. Sometimes I'll have that with fish cakes too.

I also like sloppy joes with mac and cheese.

That's about it.

[Mila]

Mmmmm, mac and cheese.
Made with bechamel with loads of sharp cheddar baked in Le Crueset so it get really crusty.

Always add Grandma's secret ingredients, splash of worcheshire and a teaspoon of dried mustard powder which totally enhances the cheese flavour.

But for a hangover, Kraft Dinner, extra creamy, with loads of fresh cracked pepper.

[prunefeet]

Wow, my recipe has worcestershire, dried mustard AND a little grated onion. I got it from I forget what cookbook, in the seventies...really good! With bechamel and lots of sharp cheddar, baked usually with crumbs on top...tho I will try panko next time...this is what I grew up with, but also loved Kraft, but they are just apples and oranges.

[DGresh]

Ours is very non-traditional. Rigatoni noodles in a glass baking dish, with sliced sharp cheddar arranged on top, a half cup or so of milk poured around the noodles, salt and pepper. Bake about an hour till the top is hard and crusty. We can't eat it any other way. Everybody wants "the crunchy part".

[LindaWhit]

It must have elbow noodles, and the cheese sauce made extra-sharp cheddar (Cabot's Hunter is excellent), and maybe another cheese if I feel like it, such as fontina or Monterey Jack - milk, dry mustard and salt/pepper for seasoning. And it's gotta have ham cubes in it. I always get a single thick slice of deli ham. Ask for it to be cut about 3/4" thick, which you can then cut into cubes. Finally, topped with panko crumbs and oven baked.

Absolute heaven.

[jenniebnyc]

Whatever recipe that's in my late grandmas Good Housekeeping Cookbook. Its baked, but no breadcrumbs.

My mom made it last year for Thanksgiving. We girls sit around the kitchen over the holidays and go through all of grandmas old cookbooks b/c she wrote lots of notes, revisions to recipes and even some of the her own recipes. It is nice to remember her in that way. I will have to remind mom to add this to the list for this year as well.

[SarahEats]

Elbow macaroni (although I'm thinking of branching out into penne) tossed with bechemel made with tons of cheddar cheese and a smidge of Swiss, toasted breadcrumbs on top, baked until bubbly.

[bitsubeats]

elbow macaroni tossed into a baking dish w/bechemal and different cheeses: cheddar, gruyere, fontina, monterey jack...which ever tickles my fancy.

bake in an oven til golden brown. I dont' really top it with bread crumbs

[FlavoursGal]

I grew up on Kraft Dinner (aka Kraft Macaroni and Cheese in the U.S.). My mother never made macaroni and cheese from scratch, so when I do taste the home-made mac 'n cheese, it's yummy, but still sort of foreign-tasting.

By the way, I still love Kraft Dinner.

[jenhen2]

First it was Kraft, until I got out of college. Then it was bechamel with cheddar made on the stove top (NOT baked! NO breadcrumbs!). Now, it's cottage cheese, milk, eggs and seasonings blended and then poored over uncooked macaroni and shredded cheddar and baked until bubby and pasta is tender. YUM!

[Kagey]

Just out of curiosity, would you share that current recipe?

[prunefeet]

Yeah, that actually sounds kind of good!

[julesrules]

I'd like the recipe too, it sounds nice and easy.

[operagirl]

I am :guessing: (correct me if I'm wrong, jenhen2) that she is talking about the NYT's "Creamy Macaroni and Cheese" recipe from a few years ago. It is out of this world -- I make it for an elderly man who I cook and housekeep for, and he asks for it more often than anything else I make.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/04/din...

[Louise]

Martha Stewart's recipe, in the square yellow 1000-page book, is pretty good.

It's elbow macaroni, bechamel, two kinds of cheese, cheddar and gruyere, and homemade challah croutons. You have to add extra macaroni, and it makes enough for several armies, but boy oh boy is it good.

[jamsy]

Kraft Dinner. I still can't bring myself to order mac and cheese when I'm out.

[FlavoursGal]

jamsy, I knew you were Canadian (I'm a fellow Torontonian) as soon as I read "Kraft Dinner" in your post. Only us Canucks call it that. It's Kraft Macaroni and Cheese in the U.S.

[Candy]

In northern New York state we called it Kraft Dinner too. I would not touch the stuff. My mother had spoiled me with the real stuff before KD became available.

The real stuff to me is made with rich sharp cheddar in a bechamel. Ideally the baking dish would have been buttered and coated with freshly grated parm. Mid-sied elbows and buttered freshly sauteed in butter bread crumbs on top which browned and became crunchy.

[Kagey]

I know there were two Krafts--one with the powder and one with the can of "cheese sauce." The latter is my Platonic ideal of Mac & Cheese. I'm not sure if it was called something other than "Dinner" or "Macaroni and Cheese."

[Davwud]

"Gotta be KD"

DT

[auberginegal]

another KD consumer here. even though i have since tried much better mac and cheese (e.g. with real cheese(s)), KD is still the ultimate comfort food, and i never think to make any other version at home.

[masha bousha]

I knew it too...cause that's what Barenaked Ladies say in their song $1,000,000.

[Fog City Kid]

I second Kraft. I agree with you jamsy, when you're raised on Kraft, there is no other...

[julesrules]

It was KD for most of my life, but I've happily switched to Presidents choice White Cheddar. No scary ingredients, made with olive oil instead of butter I can even convince myself it is healhy. Ish.

[mainja]

I have actually lately become a fan of the PC mini- chef's stuff, i haven't thought of trying olive oil instead of butter.

[SnackHappy]

Kraft Dinner for me also. Mac & Cheese is not a dish a Quebec mom would make, so the only exposure I had to it until recently was as Kraft Dinner or Stouffer's.

[LindaWhit]

I'm just so amazed at the KD fans - I had it ONCE at a friend's house (after growing up on homemade), and only had a few bites of it. The bright orange color is partly what turned me off of it.

[piccola]

I know exactly what you mean. My mom never used boxed foods for anything else. I don't think it occurred to her that you could make mac 'n cheese from scratch.

[Davwud]

It's a food you have to have as a kid. You can't start eating it as an adult.

DT

[mainja]

i don't know, have you ever had the "mac and cheese" at the senator on victoria? just think of it as pasta with a really cheesy sauce. but mostly i'm with you on the KD front.

[JenBoes]

Penne pasta, panko, cheddar and Asiago cheeses. Oven. Love it, love it. I ate half a pan once by myself. That's why I try not to make it too much.

[Hungry Celeste]

The baked kind...elbows mixed with grated cheese, eggs, sprinkled with breadcrumbs, cayenne, black pepper, and more cheese. Baked until bubbly.