Macaroni and Cheese - Not from the box

For JEL - who loves this so much she actually takes it home when I offer it.

My daughters have had the neon orange mac and cheese a couple of times in their life - and they LOVE the stuff. I've never prepared it for them directly, but here and there they've sampled it and they love it. Truthfully, they prefer that one to this mac and cheese, but I am not of that opinion. This mac and cheese is creamy, sophisticated, and truly delicious, and it's not hard to make. It is HARDER than the mac and cheese from a box of course, but not so monumentally hard that you couldn't make this as a special treat for your family.

I found my recipe on marthastewart.com and she offers many tips on how to perfect your macaroni and cheese. My problem up to this point has been finding a mac and cheese that doesn't come out grainy - and there are two pointers which I found most helpful.

1. Rinse well the macaroni after partial cooking - the extra starch in the pasta will only make the sauce grainy and not smooth, so a good rinse of the extra starch is important.
2. Sharp white cheddar provides the best texture. DO not be tempted to buy pre shredded cheese as they all have cornstarch in them, and again the extra starch makes the sauce grainy. I cheat a bit by using tillamook SLICED cheddar from costco, but it's not white cheddar and I wonder if I wouldn't get an even smoother sauce from trying the white cheddar, freshly grated by me.

I made slight alterations to the topping as I am in love with panko and I think it makes a tremendous crust on many baked casseroles. Martha asks for white bread shredded - I just didn't want to do that.

Macaroni and Cheese

Serves 12
1 cup panko breadcrumbs (or you can just use regular.)
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for dish (this will be split - 2 tablespoons for your breadcrumbs, 6 tablespoons for the cheese sauce - I made the mistake of dumping a whole stick of butter into my sauce)
5 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 1/2 cups (about 18 ounces) grated sharp white cheddar
2 cups (about 8 ounces) grated Gruyere (found mine at costco and used a box grater to grate it.)
1 pound elbow macaroni

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish; set aside. Place panko breadcrumbs in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Pour butter into the bowl with bread, and toss. Set the breadcrumbs aside. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, heat milk. Melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. When butter bubbles, add flour. Cook, stirring, 1 minute.

2. Slowly pour hot milk into flour-butter mixture while whisking. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick.
3. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar, and 1 1/2 cups Gruyere. Set cheese sauce aside.

4. Fill a large saucepan with water. Bring to a boil. Add macaroni; cook 2 to 3 fewer minutes than manufacturer's directions, until outside of pasta is cooked and inside is underdone. (Different brands of macaroni cook at different rates; be sure to read the instructions.) Transfer the macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well. Stir macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce.

5. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining 1 1/2 cups cheddar and 1/2 cup Gruyere or 1/4 cup pecorino Romano; scatter breadcrumbs over the top. Bake until browned on top, about 30 minutes. Transfer dish to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes; serve.

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