Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients

• 1 lb cavatappi pasta454 g
• 6 Tablespoons butter85 g
• 6 Tablespoons all purpose flour45 g
• 4 cups whole milk (warmed up in the microwave)976 g
• 1 cup diced yellow onions (optional)160 g
• 16 oz gruyere cheese (shredded)454 g
• 8 oz white cheddar cheese (shredded)227 g
• salt and pepper to taste
• 5 Tablespooons butter
• 2 cups breadcrumbs (use panko bread crumbs for a flakier crust)216 g
• ½ teaspoon cayenne powder (add more or less depending preference)1 g
• 2 teaspoons truffle oil9 g

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degress F.
2. Boil the cavatappi pasta according to the directions but take it out and drain 1 - 2 minutes early. The pasta will further cook when it's baking in the oven so we do this to avoid overcooking the pasta.
3. Make the roux: Melt the butter in a pot over medium heat. Once it's melted, add in the flour and stir quickly using a flat spatula. Make sure to scrape the bottom and sides and continue stirring for 3 minutes. Make sure the roux doesn't get dark and stays a pale yellow color.
4. Make the bechamel sauce: Slowly drizzle in the warm milk into the pot while stirring vigorously with a whisk. Add in the diced onions at this time. Stir continuously for about 5 - 7 minutes until the roux and milk have combined and the sauce has thickened. Make sure to scrape the bottom and sides. The bechamel should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
5. Add the cheese: Turn off the heat and add ¾ of the gruyere and cheddar cheese to the pot. The rest will be used on top of the mac and cheese. Stir the sauce and cheese together until the cheese has fully melted. At this time, you can taste for salt and pepper. You may not need any depending on the saltiness of your cheese. Add in cayenne powder if you prefer a little spice.
6. Add your cooked pasta to a baking dish and pour the sauce over the pasta. Mix it well until the pasta is completely covered. Top with the remaining ¼ shredded cheese.
7. Melt the butter in a pan and then add the breadcrumbs and toss together until the breadcrumbs are evenly coated. Add in the optional truffle oil at this time.
8. Spread the breadcrumbs evenly on top of the shredded cheese.
9. Bake the mac and cheese on the center rack in the oven for 30 - 35 minutes. If the breadcrumbs start to get too dark, cover the mac and cheese with foil and turn down the heat to 350.

Watch out for: The roux's price is flavor muting: taste before assembly, and fix blandness with dry mustard or sharper cheese, not more salt.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces elbow macaroni (uncooked)227 g
• 2 Tablespoons salted butter28 g
• 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour15 g
• ½ teaspoon sea salt3 g
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder (optional but recommended)1 g
• 1 cup whole milk244 g
• ¼ cup sour cream (or Greek yogurt)58 g
• 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese (2 cups)227 g

Method

1. Cook elbow macaroni according to package instructions. Be sure to add ¼ tsp salt to the water used to boil the noodles. Drain, and set aside.
2. Mix flour, sea salt, and garlic powder together in a small bowl. Set aside.
3. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter.
4. Add flour mixture and whisk to combine.
5. Cook for 1 minute until mixture is slightly brown.
6. Add 1 cup milk and whisk until the mixture is smooth.
7. Add sour cream (or Greek yogurt) and whisk until smooth.
8. Cook on medium-high heat until the mixture is thickened (about 3-5 minutes). Do not let it boil.
9. Once mixture is thick (sticks to the back of the spatula), reduce heat to low and add cheese. Whisk until cheese is melted and mixture is smooth. Taste and add more salt/seasoning if desired.
10. Add cooked pasta to the pot of cheese sauce and stir until the sauce is evenly distributed.
11. Let the mac and cheese cool for 3-5 minutes or until the cheese sauce has thickened a little bit and sticks to the noodles. Serve warm!

Watch out for: Plain milk with no stabilizer seizes into a stringy mess every time — the control experiment has been run for you. Do not skip the starch because the sauce 'looks fine' warm.

Ingredients

• Dry pasta (1.0 lb)450 g
• Cheese675 g
• Milk or cream (about 2.1 cups)495 g
• Butter58 g
• Sodium citrate (about 11 g — 4 tsp)

Method

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook 1 lb of elbow macaroni to just under the package time, about 1 minute short. Drain, but keep a mug of the pasta water.
2. Grate 1 lb 8 oz (675 g) of cheese off a block — extra-sharp cheddar works, and so does anything you would not normally dare to melt. Do not use bagged shredded cheese; the starch coating fights the citrate.
3. In a wide pan over low heat, warm 2 cups (495 g) of milk or water with 4 tsp (about 11 g) of sodium citrate. Whisk until the citrate has fully dissolved. It will look like nothing is happening. That is correct.
4. Add the cheese a large handful at a time, whisking constantly and waiting until each addition has disappeared before adding the next. Keep the heat low — you are aiming to stay under about 150°F, and the sauce should never bubble.
5. The sauce will turn glossy and pourable, like a thick custard. If it ever looks oily or grainy, take it off the heat and hit it with an immersion blender; it will come straight back.
6. Stir in 4 tbsp (58 g) of butter, then the drained pasta. Loosen with the reserved pasta water a splash at a time until it flows the way you want it on the plate — it tightens as it cools.
7. Taste and season. Serve straight away. This one does not bake and does not want a crust; if you want browning, this is the wrong destination.

Watch out for: Do not serve this to someone expecting grandma's baked custard style — it is a different dish at the texture level, and only 5 cooks in everything we read have tried it; this one leans on the cooking literature.

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (divided)85 g
• 1/2 cup heavy cream119 g
• 2 cups half-and-half484 g
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper1 g
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes1 g
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg1 g
• 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard1 g
• 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour5 g
• 3 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (about 1 pound)454 g
• 1 cup shredded manchego cheese (about 1/4 pound)113 g
• 1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese (about 1/4 pound)113 g
• 8 cups water1893 g
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt6 g
• 1 pound elbow macaroni454 g
• 2 large eggs (beaten)100 g
• 1/2- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional)2 g

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a 9x13-inch baking dish with 2 tablespoons butter.
2. In a heavy saucepan, whisk in cream, half-and-half and 4 tablespoons butter over medium-low heat. Add black pepper, red pepper flakes, nutmeg, and mustard, and whisk in flour. Cook the mixture about 2 minutes, until there are no more flour lumps. The mixture should not be bubbling. If so, reduce heat.
3. Whisk in the cheddar, manchego, and Gruyere. Keep cheese sauce on low heat until ready for the baking dish.
4. Using a stockpot or Dutch oven, bring 8 cups of water to a boil. Sprinkle in salt. Put in the pasta and cook for about 8 minutes. The macaroni should not be mushy. Drain and transfer to prepared baking dish.
5. Mix the eggs well into the pasta. Next, pour cheese sauce over macaroni and stir well. Sprinkle paprika on top if desirable.
6. Bake for 40 minutes, until you have a golden crust.
7. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Watch out for: Custard cuts the reheat forgiveness — set egg protein does not re-melt. Portion sizes over leftovers.

Ingredients

• 16 oz box dried elbow macaroni pasta454 g
• 3 Tbsp olive oil40 g
• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter (cut into small cubes)43 g
• 2 (12 oz each) cans evaporated milk680 g
• 2 cups whole milk488 g
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt6 g
• 1/2 tsp dried mustard powder2 g
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika1 g
• 1/4 tsp black pepper1 g
• few dashes hot sauce (optional but recommended - doesn't make it spicy)
• 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese (for best results, shred your own)452 g
• 16 oz block Velveeta (cut into small cubes)454 g

Method

1. Cook elbow macaroni for 4 minutes, then drain. This will likely be less time than the box says to cook it for, but we want to undercook it.
2. Lightly spray the insert of a 6 quart or larger slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray, and add cooked pasta.
3. Top with olive oil and butter, stirring to combine well.
4. Add all remaining ingredients and stir.
5. Cover and cook on LOW for 2 hours, stirring after one hour. After one hour, the pasta may be slightly stuck, just give it a good stir and it'll loosen up.
6. When the second hour is up, give the mac and cheese a good, solid stir and you'll see the cheesy sauce come together. Taste, adjust seasoning if necessary and enjoy!

Watch out for: The one contested doubling claim (16 oz cheese 'for extra creaminess', 2 for and 10 against) is the cooks telling you: double the cheese to about 4 cups, not beyond.