Macaroni and Cheese: Picking favorites

When I was a child, if you asked me what my favorite food was, I definitely would have said macaroni and cheese. I loved the Kraft Macaroni and Cheese from the blue box that came with the powdered cheese beyond all reason, and nothing else would satisfy my cravings. As I grew older and my palate broadened, I reached the point where I ate too many things to really pick favorites, and then there came the point where something in my brain decided powdered cheese was unnatural, and thus macaroni and cheese fell out of favor with me. But, deep in my mind, there always has been that idealized notion of great mac and cheese.

At any rate, there have been experiments through my life on trying to recreate that great macaroni and cheese, and they invariably have met failure. The results were usually too dry, or not strong enough, or just an entirely different breed of dish that was good, but not… hearty macaroni and cheese. Anyway, last fall I finally nailed it. Using a few really solid ideas and a bit of my own experimentation in process, I managed to cook really good macaroni and cheese, and while it’s not my favorite dish in the whole world again, it makes me happy. Which is good, when it’s finals week and I’m getting over a cold (like tonight).

At any rate, the long evolution of this dish is a confusing process, so I’ll hit the important points in a bulleted timeline.

• Some time back in high school: I get the American Classics Cook’s Illustrated Collection cookbook, and read the recipe on macaroni and cheese. I note the extreme amount of empirical experimentation that went into making this, and file away the concept.
• Early last spring: A battle of the chefs with the local college cafeterias brings some really great meals to the local cafeteria. One of the greats of this is a smoked Gouda shells and cheese.
• Last Fall: The cookbook, a wedge of smoked Gouda, and myself are all in the same place. I run the recipe with everything except the evaporated milk and it’s a success.
• A few weeks later: I try other cheeses, not nearly as good (though not bad enough to be called a major failure)
• Last winter: I finally have the evaporated milk for the recipe, and I introduce my parents to it. Huge success, and at this point the procedure is stable – stovetop cooking and baking produce the results I want.

So, there it is. That’s how I got the my absolute favorite smoked Gouda macaroni and cheese.

Ingredients

12oz / 3/4 lb smoked Gouda

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter

1/2 lb pasta (elbows are traditional, but any would probably work)

2 eggs

1 12oz can evaporated milk/ 1 cup milk (Evaporated milk has a better texture)

1 dash tabasco

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 cup breadcrumbs (or crumbled crackers, or whatever.)

Instructions

First, begin cooking the macaroni in a large pot in lightly salted water on the stove. When it is mostly done (still very firm), drain it, and then return it to the pan with the butter with the burner on low heat. While the macaroni is cooking, the other steps can be completed.

Combine in a bowl the milk, eggs, mustard, pepper, and tabasco. Mix them well. Grate the cheese. Then, wait for the butter to be completely melted into the macaroni.

When the butter is mixed with the macaroni, add in the milk and eggs mixture. Then, add all but a large handful of cheese. Stir this in, raising the heat to medium low. Once all the ingredients are smoothly blended, pour the mixture into a baking dish.

In the baking dish, cover the top with the remaining cheese and the breadcrumbs (I like old cornbread breadcrumbs best for this, but anything works). Then, add this to the oven and bake at 350 F for as long as necessary. As long as necessary can be anywhere from 5 or 10 minutes to an hour, maybe more (I haven’t tried longer).

Before removing the dish from the oven, turn the oven to broil and broil it for 5 minutes to create a crunchy top. Now, remove and let cool for a few minutes before enjoying.