Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese (with bacon!)


This. Was. Amazing.

The recipe looked a bit daunting, but honestly it wasn't that bad as long as you prepped and didn't try to do things half way through. Also, I'm insane about what ingredients I use. The recipe called for whole cream, but the store didn't have any so I had to settle for half and half. But I only use Tillamook sweet cream butter. Period, end of story. If you can't get it in your area, well I'll pray for you. I also generally only use Tillamook Cheese, preferably sharp cheddar.

As I said before, this recipe psyched me out a bit. Not to mention it's from the 1920's and they had a different view then on what was 'easy' cooking. But I made sure to have everything measured out and ready before I started, and it was actually a breeze.

The result was amazingly creamy, but not too rich. I added some ground mustard to the flour mix and a clove of minced garlic to the melted butter, but otherwise followed it to the tee. I added some bacon (because bacon makes everything better!) but forgot to add before throwing it in the oven, so I just plopped it on top, no harm no foul.

This macaroni is really really worth the extra effort, and it fills a 9x13 pan so it'll be good for either a large group, or I'd suggest cutting it down a bit. The Boy and I both ate a fair share, and I gave a large bowl to David and May also.

I'll throw the recipe up in the comments!

5 comments:

  1. Ingredients

    * 1 (8 ounce) package macaroni
    * 4 tablespoons butter
    * 4 tablespoons flour
    * 1 cup milk
    * 1 cup cream
    * 1/2 teaspoon salt
    * fresh ground black pepper, to taste
    * 2 cups good quality shredded cheddar cheese
    * 1/2 cup buttered breadcrumbs

    Directions

    1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
    2. Cook and drain macaroni according to package directions; set aside.
    3. In a large saucepan melt butter.
    4. Add flour mixed with salt and pepper, using a whisk to stir until well blended.
    5. Pour milk and cream in gradually; stirring constantly.
    6. Bring to boiling point and boil 2 minutes (stirring constantly).
    7. Reduce heat and cook (stirring constantly) 10 minutes.
    8. Add shredded cheddar little by little and simmer an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese melts.
    9. Turn off flame.
    10. Add macaroni to the saucepan and toss to coat with the cheese sauce.
    11. Transfer macaroni to a buttered baking dish.
    12. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
    13. Bake 20 minutes until the top is golden brown.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nice. Seems like a great dinner.

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  3. there is no way you can go wrong with butter, cream and bacon - perfection :)

    cant wait to try this - thanks!

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  4. OMG that looks fantastic. I'm guessing about 1/4lb bacon?

    Pearls: You left out number 4 in the Four Horsemen of Cholesterol - CHEESE!

    ReplyDelete
  5. TOM, I actually used more like a pound of bacon (!!!) because I had (2) 1 lb packages, and I knew if I didn't fry it up I'd forget it and it'd go to waste. That being said, I'm sure 1/4 lb would be plenty.

    ReplyDelete

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