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.

Right, I'm doing macaroni cheese tonight after this!
I don't add onion/leeks or bloody tomatoes 🤮
Whole grain mustard and a pinch of nutmeg here, sometimes lardons, definitely Panko breadcrumbs mixed with (dried) crispy fried onions - ikea do a pot which I love.
Served with something green, usually broccoli as kid doesn't eat salad.
Mmmmmmm!

I have found my people .......

Whispers... I've never had macaroni and cheese (runs to hide)...

Strange, I was planning to do macaroni cheese for lunch.

I am a purist (boring) and just do a cheese roux, mix with cooked macaroni, then bake with sliced tomatoes and ground pepper on top

I agree with sautéed onion in the base, although I think leek instead of onion can be better.

Definitely proper macaroni pasta, no other shape gives the same effect.

Extra mature, vintage cheddar in the sauce for the best flavour plus grated mozzarella for the stringiness when melted.

Panko breadcrumb topping mixed with parmesan, sage and thyme.

No other additions. No blue cheese, bacon, tomatoes, token side salad or anything else superfluous. It's all just a distraction. You just need the above to be baked and serve yourself a huge bowl of cheesy goodness.

Had to stop reading this thread due to all the nightmare things being added.

Please understand the difference between macaroni cheese AND Mac n’ cheese. Two entirely different things! The latter you can fuck about with if you wish by adding onion, lobster, breadcrumbs, bacon etc.

macaroni cheese has no onion in it. It doesn’t need bacon or broccoli or fancy cheeses or herbs. It has to be made using elbow macaroni. For those of you suggesting other pasta types, that means it’s not Mac-anything but a different dish.

a cheese sauce doesn’t need a roux. You can throw in at the same time as per Delia, flour, butter, milk and whisk till smooth then add cheddar.

Onion?!?! That's def not traditional I've never heard of that before, yuck

Haven't read the full thread and this may have been addressed, but I served some Canadian visitors macaroni cheese years ago and they LOVED it and said it was completely different to "mac and cheese" that they were used to (and found boring). I got the idea that the N American version is just pasta and, er, cheese - no sauce (no wonder they were dubious when I told them what we were having for dinner).

I’ve only known Delia use the all in one method for her “How to Cook” books, a roux is better when you don’t have the need or time to measure and weigh the ingredients, cooks tend to use a roux as it gives more control as to the consistency and texture without the faff of measuring out.
It doesn’t matter what you call it, just as long as it tastes delicious. I have to admit that a truffled cheese, mustard and a bit of nutmeg are my limits to this dish. Not getting into the semantics!

You can throw in at the same time as per Delia, flour, butter, milk and whisk till smooth then add cheddar.

You can do a lot of things. It doesn’t mean you should.

Serve with a token green salad.

It's interesting to me as an American, that many of the posts on this thread obviously consider the dish a main course. In my neck of the woods (Southern US), mac and cheese is always a side dish. It's traditionally part of Thanksgiving dinner in the South, especially with African American families.

I prefer my macaroni cheese fairly plain and havent added too many ingredients but I had a Gousto French onion Mac n Cheese made with marmite and clotted cream and it was divine!

The ‘Mac ‘n Cheese Dinner’ I’ve encountered across the pond, came in a packet with very orange cheese, just add milk and butter. I made it for a young niece - DSis couldn’t face doing it because the mere sight of milk and butter makes her 🤮.
It looked pretty gross to me, but niece enjoyed it - a rare ‘junk food’ treat!

If I finish my macaroni cheese off under the grill, with extra grated cheese and breadcrumbs, I just whack a slice of bread in the blender, 2 minutes, done. Does everybody else buy packets of Panko now? 🤔

Delia’s method of making a white sauce - chuck it all in and whisk - works absolutely fine. I say that as someone who for far too many years made it the old way - with no better results.

My peri menopause brain changed the thread title to macaroni cheese hat and I got excited….

This was one thing my mother actually made well. I make mine from scratch but fry a whole pack of bacon chopped up into fairly small pieces and add that to the sauce,

Inspired by this thread I just made it last night following a three ingredient recipe and the kids loved it.

Evaporated milk
Block cheddar
Macaroni
(Salt)

^^ no more stirring and simmering and baking for me

My mum used to put tomatoes and breadcrumbs on top, I always picked off the tomatoes but would probably like them now. And underneath it perfect cheesy blandness.

I make it when I want comfort food and there's no one else in the house. And it's cheesy white sauce with English mustard, macaroni and breadcrumbs.

Anything else is moving into pasta bake territory, equally good but not macaroni cheese.

Usually a nutmeg and mustard kinda gal, BUT Tescos have started doing a chilli cheese mix and I used that last weekend in my Mac and cheese and it twas magical.

Ah but what mustard? English, dijon or mustard powder which is a bastard to find

I make it with leeks and bacon. Yum yum!!

Jalapeño goes well with it.cuts through the richness

You're going to have a fit at what I put in mine then - leftover roast gammon and pineapple!!

Not sure if it's a Northern Ireland thing (we do have form for weird combinations - see also sultanas in curry and carrots in jelly) or just a my family thing, but that's the way my mum always made it so I do too.

Never use fresh pineapple though, always tinned - the enzymes do something funny to the milk.

Does anyone else also make a macaroni/cauliflower cheese combo? Extra cheese and breadcrumbs on top, whack under the grill. Cauliflower cooked very much al dente, as always.
A favourite in this house.

I do the macaroni and cauliflower at opposite ends to keep everyone happy. Sometimes broccoli as well.