Extra Sharp Cheddar Mac and Cheese

I did it again!! Mac and Cheese for mother's day dinner. Here is the link for the first time I made it with white cheddar for my aunt Nan. This time I used New York extra sharp orange cheddar. I tripled the original recipe from Family Kitchen to make enough for our Mother's Day family party and we barely touched the 2nd casserole dish. The ingredients below are for one batch.

Like I said this time I used orange cheddar. It kind of separated and was a little oilier than the white cheddar. I'm not sure if this is because of the orange coloring or what but it freaked me out for a minute when I was making the cheese sauce. When I tossed it with the pasta though, it came out fine.

Ingredients:

1 lb box macaroni
6 Tablespoons butter
2 T. flour
2/3 c. milk
1/4 c. shredded parmesan cheese
about 8 oz feta cheese
1 small 8 oz block New York extra sharp orange cheddar, grated

1/2 c. bread crumbs mixed with 4 T. parmesan cheese for the topping

Method:

Cook your pasta al dente and put it aside.
In a bowl grate all of your cheddar, crumble feta, and mix them with your parmesan so the cheese is all ready to go when you have melted the butter.
In a medium to large frying pan (depending on how much mac and cheese you are making) brown the butter over medium heat by melting it and continuing to stir it until it foams and then brown bits form in the pan and the butter smells really nutty. I really browned my butter this time and it came out better than last time.
Immediately add the flour and stir, it will get all foamy again.
Now add the milk and stir it in.
After a minute of stirring add all of your cheese and turn the burner to low, continuing to stir until the cheese is melted.
Pour the cheese over the pasta in a big bowl and mix to combine it.
At this point you may want to add more butter or cheese if you desire, I added more cheese and a couple more tablespoons of butter. Mix it all in so everything is evenly combined.
Pour the mac and cheese into a cake pan or casserole dish and sprinkle your breadcrumb mixture on top. Put it in the oven on BROIL until the top is brown and crispy.

Baked Mac n Cheese

This is the other dish I made my Aunt Nan while she visits for my graduation. I liked the brown butter aspect of it. The recipe comes from The Family Kitchen.

My picture shows the mac n cheese ready to go into the fridge to wait until tomorrow when it will get breadcrumbs on top and stuck in the broiler.

I changed the cheeses a little from the original recipe, I added feta, and I accidentally added too much flour so I had to add additional milk. But if you follow the directions you shouldn't have that problem.

Ingredients:

12 ounces macaroni
6 Tablespoons butter
2 T. flour
2/3 c. milk
1/4 c. shredded parmesan cheese
3/4 c. white cheddar, grated

1/2 c. butter crackers, crushed
3 Tablespoons butter, melted

Method:

In a large pot, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. While the pasta is cooking, prepare the cheese sauce: In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and whisk it constantly until it foams and then begins turning a light brown color. Immediately whisk in the flour until smooth, then add milk and whisk it over medium heat until smooth and slightly thickened. Whisk in cheeses and continue to stir over medium heat until the cheese is smooth and not at all clumpy. Pour over cooked macaroni, then transfer to a large baking dish. In a small bowl, stir together cracker crumbs and melted butter, then sprinkle over the top of the macaroni and cheese. Bake on the middle rack in an oven preheated to “BROIL,” just until the top of the crackers is slightly browned, about 5-8 minutes.