Macaroni cheese chat

[GreenTuraco]

Food of the gods.
Had it for the first time in ages, gorgeous cheesy heaven.
Just posting here for macaroni cheese chat.
In my opinion, can't beat it made the traditional way, - saute chopped onion in butter, make into a roux then into a white sauce, add some mustard, salt and pepper and a shed load of extra mature cheddar. Block out all thoughts regarding calories, fat content or carb content.
Key principles of luscious macaroni cheese -

• use proper elbow macaroni
• cook it al dente
• use less pasta than you think you need
• make a traditional cheese sauce as above. Add more cheese than is decent. Make more sauce than you think you will need and make it runnier than you think it should be
• combine all and add yet more cheese on top. And sliced tomatoes if you like. Bake. Eat and sink into a lovely cheese and carb coma. Bliss.

See, elbow macaroni is vital, rather than any other pasta shape (which would make it just a pasta bake, in my view). Elbow macaroni gives a lovely texture and eating sensation. And when I say cook al dente, I mean boil the macaroni al dente before adding it to the sauce and baking in the oven. When you bake it the macaroni then completes cooking, but does not go soggy.

I can’t believe people are arguing against sliced tomatoes. That is the school
dinner macaroni cheese topping of nostalgia.

On onions, caramelised onions make a good topping. Proper crispy onions make a great topping, especially if combined with herby breadcrumbs.

Yes to lardons. Chorizo a topping also good. Tomatoes even better (and less school dinnery) if roasted first.

Vary the cheese depending on what you have in. Raclette is delicious.

I read a recipe that suggested evaporated milk was the way to go. I
suspect condensed milk may be too sweet.

I am in no way a macaroni cheese purist.

Someone asked about macaroni cheese in a can? Smells like vomit. As a ready meal it's fine but from a can? The worst smelling food ever.

Tinned macaroni cheese is an abomination and only suitable to be eaten by people with flu who can't cope with actual food.

I'm American but my parents are Mexican so Mac and Cheese (I'm allowed to call it that) was made with roasted Anaheim and Serrano chiles, roasted corn and roasted Mexican bulb onions. The top had crushed corn tortilla chips and baked.

All kinds are amazing 😋

My autistic DD who is one of the fussiest people ever with food is the only person I know who will eat tinned macaroni cheese.

However apparently it's not as good as microwave ones, my version, or any of the box versions. I'm not sure what order she puts them in but I don't really want to ask. But seems that even for DD tinned stuff is the bottom rung of macaroni cheese.

She also won't eat baked macaroni. Doesn't like the crust. Same for lasagne. So I take the crust and have double crust while she still eats her more boring dinner. Win win here.

Don't start a spaghetti bolognaise thread, those go mad

i always use rigatoni rather than macaroni and add cheddar, Gruyère and parmesan to the sauce (made with a roux, not bought). Food of the gods.

😂 only on Mumsnet.
I still literally laugh out loud remembering one of my favourite posts and posters of all time saying "ohhh the Mumsnet bolognaise, an old sock, half a jar of apricot jam, some roadkill you picked up and that jar of pickled gherkins left over from Christmas, get it all in!!"

I've taken to adding some garlic granules to the sauce along with Dijon mustard and it is utterly gorgeous.
Once, I made a macaroni with sauteed leek, black pudding and smoked haddock through. It was amazing but very rich.

Ain’t that the truth! I still twitch uncontrollably remembering some of the barbarism on a bolognese thread.

Having said which, this is a good recipe although possibly controversial, but since Nigella can do no wrong in my book it’s allowable: I just don’t think of it as ‘macaroni cheese’. Really nice, though
https://www.nigella.com/recipes/sweet-potato-macaroni-cheese

One of my favourites but my dc don't like it, wtf!

No onion, tomatoes or anything else, but lots of grated extra mature Cheddar and a good dollop of English mustard.

Also love macaroni pie - cheese, milk, pasta, eggs, S, P, mustard, plus eggs, baked in the oven, cuts into squares. V good for a buffet, esp. after 🎄.

The problem with all these fancy add ons (including onions) is that they just add too much flavour.

I am not a fan of bland macaroni cheese. I hated it as a child and learned as an adult that it was, in fact, possible to introduce flavour to it. 🤣

It's only bland if you use bland cheese. The cheese should be flavour enough.

Oh yes, liking the sound of a pinch of chilli flakes. I did actually put a tiny sprinkle of cayenne pepper on top of mine before putting it in the oven, very yum.

Also make it with some blue cheese, Worcester sauce !

Also a splash of honey mustard dressing once cooked cuts through the richness delicious.

Exactly. Anything else detracts from the cheese-y goodness.

Annoyingly, my children don't like cheese. I have to make Mac No Cheese (or MacaNOni Cheese) instead. With a mushroomy sauce. It has the right comforting texture of the cheesy variety but is definitely inferior. I don't know what I did wrong to end up with cheese hating children.

Still, at least the roux making skills I learnt at school many, many, years ago are being used!

Token green salad 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Absolutely

Lardons (or streaky bacon cut into bits). Good strong cheddar cheese in white sauce. Sliced tomatoes on top with layer of more cheese. Grill to finish off.
We love macaroni cheese in our house. Food of gods indeed!

Stir in a teaspoon of marmite. Food of the gods.

It’s my top food nightmare, even seeing it make me retch.

macaroni cheese last night last night with bacon and chipotle paste, it was delicious.