Author Notes
Macaroni and cheese is easy to find but hard to perfect. My quest began with Kraft Macaroni and Cheese with the rest of my student team on Fridays during my third year surgery rotation (we looked forward to it all week, which tells you something about the hospital cafeteria). Now my favorite mac and cheese comes from the City Bakery. My favorite recipe comes from David Page and Barbara Shinn's Home Cookbook, with slight tweaks. It's grown up tasting and my vegetarian main dish for my niece Vanessa on Thanksgiving. —luvcookbooks
Ingredients
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4 tablespoons
butter
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1
onion, diced
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1 tablespoon
garlic, minced
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3 tablespoons
flour
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4 cups
milk
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1 teaspoon
sweet smoked paprika
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1/2 teaspoon
nutmeg, grated
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2 teaspoons
kosher salt
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1 teaspoon
pepper
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2 cups
sharp Cheddar, grated
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1 pound
small pasta shape, cooked and drained
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sweet or hot smoked paprika
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1/2 cup
homemade bread crumbs
Directions
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Preheat oven to 400 F.
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Melt butter, add onions and garlic and cook until soft over low heat. Stir in flour little by little and cook, stirring constantly, until a pale toast brown, takes several minutes. Whisk in milk, little by little, keeping the mixture smooth. Stir in paprika, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the sauce is thickened. Can take 5-10 minutes, keep heat adjusted so that the bottom does not stick or scorch.
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Stir in the cheese until melted.
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Stir in the cooked pasta.
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Butter a 9 x 12 baking dish and pour the mac and cheese into the baking dish. Dust the macaroni and cheese with the smoked paprika and cover with bread crumbs.
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Bake until mac and cheese is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Enjoy!
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