Mac & cheese

[JoGee]

(This will be a series, from our local newspaper.)
Look up “comfort food” in the dictionary, and you’ll no doubt find “macaroni and cheese” under the definition.

There’s an undeniable allure to a big casserole dish filled to the top with fat elbow noodles and bubbling, slightly crisp-on-the-top yellow cheese.

Eat it with a big salad. Or with a side of ham. Or all by its lonesome.

No matter how it’s eaten, no matter your age, a dish of macaroni and cheese, most would agree, is what many of us turn to for solace and just plain good eatin’.

Why, it’s no wonder that Thomas Jefferson served the dish at a White House dinner in 1802 (some even credit him with coming up with the dish, but there are conflicting reports on that).

And it’s not at all surprising that so many people swear to have in their possession the best recipe. The absolute best.

Which is why it seemed perfectly reasonable when more than 50 readers rushed us their recipes, many passed down from generations, all family favorites they swear by. We’ve printed as many as possible, but we couldn’t print them all — some recipes came in past our deadline, some with incomplete ingredients, and some we just didn’t have the room for.

We tried a few and were impressed.

Mary See’s egg, ricotta and no-milk recipe was a custard-ish concoction with a fat layer of mozzarella cheese blanketing the top.

Diana Videtti uses 2 cups half-and-half in her recipe. It tastes so creamy you think you are drinking it right out of the carton.

And Merritt McGlothlin throws 8 tablespoons butter, 4 cups Cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup heavy cream into his recipe. Can you say rich?

“The first time I ever made it was when my wife was sick,” said McGlothlin, 63. “It just seemed to be what the doctor ordered.”

[JoGee]

Lucille Yates' Recipe
Serves 2

1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon flour
¼ teaspoon dry mustard
1.4 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
Pinch garlic powder
A sprinkle of cayenne
1 teaspoon dried parsley
¾ cup milk
¾ cup uncooked macaroni (cook according to package instructions and drain)
1 ½ cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

Melt butter in 1-quart saucepan. Add flour, mustard, salt, pepper, garlic powder, parsley and cayenne. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Cool slightly, then return to heat. Slowly pour the milk into this mixture. Stir until just boiling. Stir in 1 cup of Cheddar cheese until melted. Add cooked macaroni.

Transfer to 1-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and the remaining Cheddar. Broil 5 minutes.

Cook's tip: Serve it with a side dish of fruit salad with a tangy, poppy-seed dressing.

[JoGee]

Mary See's Elbow Mac 'n Cheese

Serves 4-6

8 ounces elbow macaroni, cooked according to package instructions and drained
16 ounces ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 eggs, beaten
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried parsley
½ teaspoon salt
1 pinch pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix ingredients in bowl; add to macaroni. Transfer mixture to oiled ovenproof casserole dish. Top with additional mozzarella cheese. Bake for about 45 minutes.

[JoGee]

Merritt McGlothlin's Mac and Cheese.
Serves 6

8 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
3¾ cups hot milk
4 cups grated Cheddar cheese
1 pound short macaroni, cooked according to package instructions and drained
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup fresh bread crumbs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt 6 tablespoons of the butter in a medium stainless-steel saucepan over low heat.

Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for about 4 minutes (flour mixture must foam as it cooks, or sauce will have a raw flour taste). Stir in cayenne and season to taste with salt and pepper. Whisk in hot milk, ½ cup at a time, and cook, stirring, until sauce thickens. Reduce heat to low and stir in 2 cups of the cheese.

Cook, stirring, until cheese melts, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Combine cooked macaroni and cooked cheese sauce in a large bowl and season with salt. Sprinkle ½ cup of the remaining grated cheese over the bottom of a buttered 10-by-12-inch baking dish. Place 1/3 of the pasta in the baking dish, top with ½ cup of grated cheese, then repeat, layering pasta and cheese, ending with cheese, making 3 layers in all.

Pour cream over assembled macaroni and cheese. Melt remaining butter in a skillet. Add bread crumbs; coat crumbs with melted butter and sprinkle over macaroni and cheese. Bake until crust is golden, about 30 minutes. Allow to rest for 15 minutes or so before serving.

Cook's tip: When making the white sauce, cook the flour in the butter over low heat, taking care it doesn't brown. Stir In the hot milk a bit at a time, adding more milk only when the sauce thickens. Never stop stirring. Use a whisk, which leaves little chance for lumps.

[Schmitty23]

My family loves Macaroni and Cheese ...but it has to be made the way my husband made it....my son Mike remembers the method best....and makes it for us at our Christmas Eve meatless meal...when we have the 12 meatless dishes.

[JoGee]

Sounds great, Schmitty. Feel free to share the recipe. I know there are many ways to make it. We love Mac & cheese, too. Our youngest daughter named her little dog Mac, then she adopted a yellow cat and named it Cheese. (She also has 2 ferrets, Pretzel and Mocha.) I told her I'd check to see if all the animals are safe before eating there.

[JoGee]

Diana Videtti's Mac and Cheese.
Serves 6

2 tablespoons softened butter
2 tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon salt
dash ground pepper
2 cups half-and-half (heated to help melt the cheeses)
1 ¼ cup diced Cheddar cheese (I prefer extra-sharp)
½ of a small onion, quartered (It’ll be chopped further in blender) ·
¾ cup shredded or grated Parmesan (good quality, not the canister stuff)
2 cups elbow macaroni, cooked according to package instructions, rinsed and drained
¾ cup unseasoned bread crumbs (making some from whole wheat sliced bread for the color and texture)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Put the butter, flour, salt, pepper and warmed half-and-half into blender, cover and blend thoroughly (15-20 seconds or so). Gradually add onion and cheeses until blended.

Mix with cooked macaroni and pour into a buttered 2- quart casserole. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and dot with more butter.

Bake approximately 30 minutes.

Cook's tips: This recipe has been with me since early 1970s, long before the low-fat police came into power. It is so rich and wonderful that even now, in my mid-50s, I throw dietary caution to the wind and seize the calories. Whatever blender or food processor is used must be heat-tolerant.

[JoGee]

"Shirley Garrepy's Four Cheese Macaroni"
Serves 8

1 1/3 cup flour
2 2/3 cups 1 percent milk
¾ cup shredded Swiss cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup shredded Cheddar cheese
3 ounces Velveeta cheese
6 cups cooked elbow macaroni, cooked according to package instructions and drained
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup cup crushed Melba toast or croutons
1 tablespoon soft margarine
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place flour in a large saucepan and gradually add milk, stirring over medium heat until thickened. Add cheeses, cook and stir until melted. Remove from heat and stir in macaroni and salt.

Spoon into large baking pan. Combine crushed crumbs and margarine in small bowl and sprinkle over macaroni. Bake until hot and bubbly, 20 to 25 minutes.

[JoGee]

Annette Barett's Mac & Cheese

Serves 6

1 ½ cups elbow macaroni, cooked according to package instructions and drained
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon salt
dash of pepper
2 cups milk
¼ cup chopped onion
8 ounces Cheddar cheese
1 tomato
Italian bread crumbs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a saucepan, melt butter; blend in flour, salt and the dash of pepper. Add milk; cook and stir until thick and bubbly. Add the onion and the cheese. Stir until melted. Mix the cheese sauce with the macaroni. Put into a 1 ½-quart casserole or an 8-by-10-inch baking pan.

Arrange the sliced tomato on top.

Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Cook's tip: This can be made ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to bake. Everyone goes back for seconds.

[JoGee]

Carol Lynne Chretien's Mac & Cheese

Serves 8-10

2 cups elbow macaroni, cooked according to package instructions and drained
2 cups mostaccioli (or other medium-size pasta)
1 ½ cups low-fat cottage cheese
1 ½ cups fat-free sour cream
2 eggs, beaten
24 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, coarsely shredded
salt and pepper to taste
½ cup dried bread crumbs for topping
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook pasta according to directions, al dente. Drain.

In large bowl, mix all other ingredients, except bread crumbs. Add cooked pasta and mix well. Transfer ingredients to an oiled 9-by-13-inch pan.

Sprinkle bread crumbs on top. Spray top lightly with cooking spray.

Bake for approximately 50 minutes, until golden and crusty.

Cook's tip: Optional add-ins include:

½ cup chopped onion
¼ cup chopped green pepper
¼ cup chopped red pepper

[JoGee]

Marty Hart's Mac & Cheese

Serves 4-6

2 cups macaroni, cooked according to package instructions and drained
4 teaspoons butter or margarine, plus 2 tablespoons
¾ cup soft bread crumbs (decrust slices of bread and cut in cubes)
4 teaspoons minced onions
1 tablespoon flour
¼ teaspoons dry mustard
¾ teaspoons salt
dash of pepper
2 cups milk
2 cups grated Cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Melt 4 teaspoons of the margarine or butter. Toss in bread crumbs and set aside on wax paper for topping later.

In the same pan, combine remaining butter, onion and next 4 ingredients; Stir in milk and cook until smooth. Add cheese, setting aside some for topping. Stir mixture until cheese is melted.

Combine macaroni and the cheese mixture in a 1 ½-quart baking dish. Top with cheese and buttered crumbs.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Cook's tip: This recipe was Marty Hart's mother's that has been passed down to her daughter. She makes this by habit. Hart uses lots of cheese and saves enough to spread over top under bread crumbs. Crumbs will brown, and cheese will make cover to casserole.

[Schmitty23]

You may not believe it....but I have never made my husband's mac n cheese....my son Mike usually takes over when we have it...he remembers every step my husband took. Do remember he always used Cheddar Cheese soup as an ingredient.....also plenty of shredded Cheddar Cheese... he was very particular about how he layered the casserole... using plenty of cheese over the top of the macaroni after he mixed in the cheddar soup with cheddar cheese mixed in.

[JoGee]

When I make Mac & Cheese, I like to use the Cheddar Cheese Soup in the macaroni, too. Often, it was just the two ingredients.

When I first started making it, I'd heat milk in a saucepan and stirred in Velveta cheese (cubed for easier melting). As much as it took to make the "right" consistency. And mix that into macaroni.

Plain and simple. Any leftover Velveta sauce was great poured over a slice of toast. My brother and I used to make that for snacks when we were kids.

On occasion I have added a cup of corn kernels in a batch. The grands really liked that.

I'm reading these recipes, and the addition of a little mustard or mustard powder just might be good. Another way to get that "zing" into the flavor might be to add a bit of green tobasco sauce (it's not as strong as the red stuff, and I like a milder zestiness).

[JoGee]

Agnes Pashun's Mac & Cheese

Serves 8-10

16-ounce box of elbow macaroni, cooked according to package instructions and drained
1 (1/4 pound) stick of butter, which will melt when added to the ot macaroni
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
½ teaspoon pepper or to taste
8 ounces grated mild Cheddar cheese
8 ounces grated sharp Velveeta cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1 can evaporated milk
Paprika, enough to sprinkle on top of macaroni and cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Add butter, salt and pepper to the hot cooked macaroni, then add the cheeses.

Beat eggs with a whisk and add milk. Stir the egg and milk mixture into the macaroni. Add salt and pepper to taste; sprinkle top with paprika.

Bake in a 9-by-12-inch oiled casserole dish for 25 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly.

Cook's tip: Try adding Mexican-flavor cheese.

[JoGee]

Mary Mohrman's Mac & Cheese

Serves 2-4

3 tablespoons margarine
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup 1 percent milk
Dash garlic powder
1 ounce Velveeta cheese, cubed
1 cup elbow macaroni, cooked according to package instructions and drained
2 ¾ cups grated Colby or Cheddar cheese for top
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In top of double boiler, melt margarine. Add flour and stir until reasonably smooth. Add milk slowly while stirring. Add the garlic powder. Cook this white sauce approximately 10 minutes, stirring often. Add Velveeta and macaroni to white sauce, stirring until Velveeta is almost melted. Pour into an oiled 1-quart casserole pan. Spread Colby or Cheddar cheese on top. Bake until cheese is melted and slightly brown.

Cook's tip: This mac and cheese can be eaten without baking or with different cheeses. I usually add 2 slices of finely chopped onion to my recipe.