Mac and Cheese Recipe

Mac and cheese is hearty, cheesy and hits all the right spot. But damn, if it isn’t just too cloying to eat a full portion by myself. Like most food in life, mac and cheese tastes better when shared.

Another thing that makes mac and cheese tastes better is (You guessed it!) being served that a 6.5-inch Lodge cast iron pan.

This winning recipe asks for three types of cheeses: Grana Padano, Jarlsberg and white cheddar. The steps are simple enough to follow, and when I made it recently in my trip to Boston, the taste blew everybody away. This mac and cheese recipe is simply as good as they come.  

The hardest part about this recipe is finding all those cheeses the recipe calls for, and maybe paying for it (wow look at the prices!) at the cashier afterwards. When in Singapore, I had some trouble collecting those specific cheeses, but it's usually available at grocery stores with a larger selection of cheeses. 

What I liked about this recipe was the amalgram of the macaroni's creaminess with the layer of blistered melted cheese. Sure, the specific blend of cheeses give it a particular nuttiness and sharpness, but when I had trouble finding these cheeses, I pretty much used whatever substitute that I could get my hands on, which I found didn't really affect the texture of the final dish. Because of a happy accident with online grocery shopping, I wound up with an excess of Parmagiano-Reggiano, so I had used that instead of Grana Padano. In a separate attempt, a wedge of Prästost bought from IKEA (a Swedish cheese translating to 'Priest cheese') ended up in my dish too. Mac and cheese is a comfort food. It's a no-fuss kitchen staple that families make from whatever they could get, whether if it's from a Kraft box or from Velveeta or government cheese (which are surplus cheeses made by American farmers and sold to the US government to prop up their dairy industry. The surplus cheeses were stored underground, and at one point, they had 1.4 billion pounds of cheeses in stock). So, really, there's no need to stress over what cheeses you can get. 

Mac and Cheese 

Original Recipe by Ashley Christensen in Pooles: Recipes and Stories From a Modern Diner

Makes enough to fill 2 6.5-inch cast-iron pans. Any oven-safe vessels such as gratin dishes, pie pans or ramekins would do nicely too. 

From my numerous attempts with this recipe, heavy cream leads to the best results: the macaroni is rich, smooth and luscious. Using half-and-half will cause to a grainier, slightly broken cheese sauce. I've tried using all milk before, but the cheese sauce became much too runny and grainy. If I'm cooking for myself as a regular home-cooked meal, half-and-half is good enough. If I have company over, I'll reach for the heavy cream.     

INGREDIENTS

170g (6 ounces) dry elbow macaroni

Fine sea salt

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

50g (2 ounces) Grana Padano*, shredded

50g (2 ounces) Jarlsberg**, shredded

170g (6 ounces) white cheddar, shredded

480ml (2 cups) heavy cream

STEPS

1. In medium-sized saucepan, add elbow macaroni and fill the pan up with boiling water just until the macaroni is fully covered. Add sea salt. Cook until barely al dente (about 1 minute less than the suggested cooking time on the macaroni package), then drain the macaroni. 

2. Combine the macaroni with vegetable oil to prevent sticking and spread the macaroni out on a baking tray so it cools fast to prevent overcooking. 

3. Combine the shredded cheeses, and set aside.

4. In a large saucepan, combine cream and 1 teaspoon sea salt. Heat over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Turn down the heat and let simmer for 2 minutes before adding the cooled macaroni. Cook for 90 seconds while cream begins to thicken. 

5. Add 40% of cheese into the macaroni mixture in small handfuls. Allow each batch of cheese to melt before adding the next handful. Remove pan from the heat and transfer the macaroni mixture into a baking dish of your choice. Place the remaining 60% of cheese over the top. 

6. Set a rack in the oven about 4 inches from the top and then on the broiler. Let the oven heat up for about 3-5 minutes. 

7. Place the baking dish on a oven tray (to catch the invariable spill) just before you put it in the oven under the broiler. Broil for about 3 to 5 minutes, until the cheese melts and develops a golden-brown crust. Rotate the dish to ensure even browning. A butane torch would work too, for those ovens without a broiler function.  

8. Remove from oven, let rest for 5 minutes, then serve.