This recipe is adapted from America’s Test Kitchen, and makes an incredible rich cream mac and cheese. You can use a variety of cheeses – as long as one is semi-hard and full flavored like cheddar, and the other is soft like colby jack (I used Port Salut and it was delicious).
Ingredients
- 1 c bread crumbs
- 1 pound elbow macaroni (or any other type of small pasta)
- 6 T butter
- 1 clove garlic, pressed
- 1 t dry mustard
- 1/4 t cayenne pepper
- 6 T flour
- 1.75 c broth
- 3.5 c whole milk
- 8 oz colby jack cheese, shredded (about 5 1/3 cups)
- 8 oz extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (about 2 2/3 cups)
- ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, stir in 1T salt, and add macaroni.
- Cook until al dente according to the instructions on the box (it should be very chewy, as it will continue cooking in the oven). Drain and set aside.
- In the same pot (after you dry it), heat butter over medium heat until melted.
- Add garlic, mustard, and cayenne, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until golden, about 1 minute.
- Slowly whisk in the broth and milk – bring to a simmer and cook, whisking often, until the mixture is slightly thickened, 5 to 8 minutes.
- Remove from heat and whisk in the cheeses gradually until completely melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Combine cheese mixture and pasta, breaking up any clumps.
- Pour mixture into a 9 x 13″ baking dish and sprinkle with bread crumbs.
- Bake until golden brown and bubbling around the edges, approximately 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes before serving.