Recipe of the Day: "Mac and Cheese"

There is never a reason to eat the crap in the blue box...NEVER. I know of no cheese that is that color.

Making "mac and cheese" from scratch is surprisingly easy and offers a wide range of options to make it your own. Last night I added caramelized onion and sun dried tomatoes.

"Mac" and Cheese
1 lb pasta, preferable not long shapes (spaghetti) but almost anything will do
2 cups milk
2 Tbs flour
cheese, I used a mix of mozzarella, fresh mozzarella, Parm and goat cheese
bread crumbs
salt and pepper

Cook the pasta until almost done. Drain and toss with a little oil.




While the pasta is cooking, start the sauce. This is a variation on a Bechamel.
Heat 1 1/2 cups milk in a sauce pan until warm, mean while whisk the flour into the remaining milk.


Once the milk is warm, whisk the flour/milk mixture into this. Season with salt and pepper and heat over medium until this begins to thicken. Be careful not to burn the milk.
Grate or dice the cheese. (I have no idea how much I used, you can adjust to your own taste.)


Add the cheese to the sauce, lower heat and stir to combine. I added caramelized onion and sun dried tomato at this point. Season again with salt and pepper.


Once the mixture is smooth, add the pasta and turn to coat.


Pour the mixer into a baking dish, lightly coated with oil or spray to prevent sticking. Top with the bread crumbs.


Bake in a 400 deg oven for about 20 - 30 minutes until the top is slightly browned and pasta cooked through.
Let sit for a few minutes to cool before serving.


Some variations:
Add white beans
Add par cooked vegetables such as asparagus, artichokes or tomatoes
Add some tomato sauce with the white sauce
Use pepper jack, cheddar, or fontina
Add Italian seasoning to the sauce
Add hot peppers flakes or giardiniera