Deluxe Macaroni and Cheese

There is something to be said for comfort food.

And there's a particular nostalgic element to macaroni and cheese - both within our American culture and on an individual level.

Macaroni and cheese has a long culinary history. According to James L. Matterer of Godecookery.com, a cheese and pasta casserole known as Makerouns was recorded in an English cookbook in the 14th century. It was an upper-class dish in Italy up until the 18th century. And Thomas Jefferson served it at the White House.

Much to our detriment, we have taken the noble macaroni and cheese and relegated it to packaged versions that are hollow echoes of the real cheesy goodness of homemade. But there is hope. Homemade macaroni and cheese is easy. Really. And oh so much better than the boxed stuff.

To completely misquote Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, "Macaroni without real cheese is like a beautiful woman with only one eye."


Deluxe Macaroni and Cheese

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup unsifted flour
1 tsp powdered mustard
2 1/2 cups milk (room temperature)
3 cups coarsely grated sharp Cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp white pepper
1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbs finely grated yellow onion
1/2 lbs elbow macaroni, cooked and drained

Preheat your oven to 350° F.

The first step in making delicious homemade cheese sauce is to prepare a roux. This is the thickening agent and despite the fancy French name is very simple. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Blend in the flour and mustard until you have a well-mixed paste-like consistency. It will have a light, golden colour. Now slowly add the milk, stirring constantly. You want the butter/flour mix to complete dissolve into the milk to get a smooth, homogeneous blend. Cook, stirring constantly until the roux has thickened and bubbles.

Now mix in 2 cups of the grated cheese, the salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and onion.

Taste for salt and add more if needed. Cook and stir until the cheese completely melts and you have a smooth sauce.

Remove from heat and mix in macaroni.

Turn this cheesy mixture into a buttered casserole dish. With the variety of shapes and sizes of baking dishes, there is really no perfect dish for this. My family really enjoys the crusty, golden top and so I usually use a large, shallow pan to get as much surface area as possible. But any dish 2-quart or above will work.

Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Bake, uncovered, about 1/2 hour until bubbly and lightly browned.

And...tada! You have deluxe macaroni and cheese! No box required!

This is a great dish to serve with steamed green vegetables. It is hearty and filling and, in the great tradition of comfort food, it will elevate your mood and make you feel happy.

This will comfortably serve six as part of a complete meal or four as a stand-alone dish.

Enjoy!