Make Macaroni and Cheese with All the Crunchy Edges

We've paired up with McCormick Gourmet to show how a freshly-stocked spice cabinet makes on-the-fly cooking and holiday meal planning easier (and more flavorful). 

Today: Amanda shows you why you should ditch the dish and grab a baking sheet for a macaroni and cheese with all the crunch.  

The best part of macaroni and cheese is the edges—the crunchy pieces that cling to the corners of the baking dish, sticking to the sides; the top layer of noodles, blistered from the oven and rife with golden brown bits. And while a regular macaroni and cheese recipe is great, it doesn't deliver maximum crisp. "I've always thought macaroni and cheese's 20 percent crunch to 80 percent soft ratio was all wrong," Amanda Hesser explains. The ratio should be more like 50:50."

Lucky for you, and us, Amanda already solved this problem with the be-all and end-all of baked pasta recipes. Watch as Amanda shows you how to make her Baking Sheet Macaroni and Cheese—a kind of mash-up technique inspired by Melissa Clark's kugel, baked pasta from Cucina Simpatica, and Vogue's Jeffery Steingarten's potato gratin. There's cayenne, smoked paprika, and two kinds of cheddar involved. It's golden. It's crisp. It's, dare we say it, the perfect ratio.

Video by Kyle Orosz

We've paired up with McCormick Gourmet to share everyday dishes (and snacks) that will look just as good on your holiday table. See all of their herbs and spices here.