The thing about this recipe is that it could quite possibly really be the word's best mac and cheese. We made this for dinner last week and let me tell you, it is fab-u-lous! My parents were in town for a couple of days and I heated up the leftovers for them to try. Both of them loved it and they're making it for dinner tomorrow night at their house. This is comfort food at its finest, my friends.
There are two recipes in one today. The first is for the mac and cheese dish as a whole and the second is for the cheese sauce that goes in the dish. This dish makes an 8x8 pan and calls for 2 cups of the sauce. The recipe for the sauce makes 4 cups. If you want to make enough mac and cheese to go in a 9x13 pan you'll want to double the mac and cheese recipe and then you'll use all of the sauce.
World's Best Mac and Cheese
from Kurt Beecher Dammeier's "Pure Flavor" cookbook
main image via marthastewart.com
serves 4
Ingredients
- Butter or vegetable oil, for baking dish
- 6 oz. penne pasta (I bought a standard size box of penne pasta and used half the pasta, about 8 oz., and it was perfect. Just use the whole box if you're doubling it!)
- 2 c. Beecher's Flagship Cheese Sauce (recipe below)
- 1 oz. cheddar cheese, grated (1/4 cup)
- 1 oz. Gruyere cheese, grated (1/4 cup) - Swiss cheese is a replacement if you can't find Gruyere. If you don't want to buy a separate brick of cheese just for 1/4 c. you can just use some of the leftover Monterey Jack you'll need for the sauce.
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. chipotle chile powder (optional) - We've tried this dish with and without the chile powder and we like it a little better without it. Shhh don't tell Kurt! :)
makes 4 cups
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
- 1/3 c. flour
- 3 c. milk
- 14 oz. cheddar cheese, grated (about 3 1/2 cups)
- 2 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup)
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. chipotle chile powder
- 1/8 tsp. garlic powder
First you're going to make the sauce. To make things MUCH easier on yourself, get the ingredients all pre-measured and all ready to throw into the pan when needed.
Let's begin!Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
Then whisk in the flour. Whisk constantly for 2 minutes to cook it.
Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly. Cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce has thickened (about 10 minutes).
While the sauce is doing its thing, get out an 8x8 baking dish and butter it. I like to use a paper towel to do this. Just put the butter on the towel and go! You can also oil it with cooking spray.This is also a good time to put the pasta in a pot and get it cooking. Cook it for 2 minutes less than what the package directions say. Rinse the pasta in cold water and set it aside till you need it.
After 10 minutes of frequent stirring, remove the sauce from the heat. Add cheeses, salt, chile powder, and garlic powder. Stir until the cheese is melted and all the ingredients are well incorporated (about 3 minutes).Measure out 2 cups to use in the dish and put the rest in an airtight container and put it in the fridge. If you're doubling it just set the pan aside for now.
(To reheat the rest of the sauce for later if you're only using 2 cups for now, put it in a saucepan and heat over low heat, stirring frequently, till heated through. The sauce is good for up to 3 days.)
In a medium bowl, mix together cooked pasta and sauce gently but thoroughly.
Pour pasta into the prepared baking dish.
Sprinkle with chile powder...
...then the cheese.
Bake uncovered for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Let it stand for 5 minutes before serving.
Bake uncovered for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Let it stand for 5 minutes before serving.
