A Big Little Recipe has the smallest-possible ingredient list and big everything else: flavor, creativity, wow factor. Psst—we don't count water, salt, black pepper, and certain fats (specifically, 1/2 cup or less of olive oil, vegetable oil, and butter), since we're guessing you have those covered. Today, we're meeting two spices that will change your mac-and-cheese game forever.
When I was growing up, my mom cooked just about everything from scratch: matzo ball soup, braised brisket, latke chicken, penne puttanesca, eggplant spread, and Tollhouse cookies. But never mac and cheese.
For my oldest friend, Liza, who was at my family’s home if I wasn’t at hers, we kept an ample stock of Kraft boxes. But for me, it had to be Annie’s. This jived with my mom because, like the chocolate hazelnut spread she bought for my afterschool snacks, Annie’s was “organic.” And I thought that the brand’s mascot, a cartoon bunny, was cute.
Annie's was my go-to well into college, when I finally made mac and cheese another way. Thanks to our Genius column, I learned about Martha Stewart’s recipe, with homemade Mornay (aka, cheese sauce) and a crunchy bread crumb topping. I’d make a batch on the weekend, then freeze it in blocks for emergencies.
Then another Genius mac and cheese caught my eye: Melissa Clark’s. Like the dump-and-stir mac and cheese of my childhood, this recipe is all stovetop, and comes together in a snap. It’s so straightforward, even a sorta-supervised child could make it.
And it’s only four ingredients: elbow noodles, cheddar, heavy cream, and nutmeg (plus salt and black pepper).
Now, you’re probably expecting me to say something like, And I’m going to cut it down to two! But I’m not. The pasta and cheese get to stay because, hello, it’s called macaroni and cheese. The cream, which turns that cheese into an ooey, gooey sauce, isn’t going anywhere either. The only up-for-grabs element is that nutmeg—and, yes, we are going to cut it.
But we’re also going to add two other spices in its place.
If you read enough mac and cheese recipes, you’ll see the same spice suggestions again and again. Black pepper, nutmeg, cayenne, and mustard are all usual suspects. None of which I’m interested in here.
Instead, we’re using garlic powder and white pepper. Deeply savory and a little funky, these are the standout ingredients behind my favorite Annie’s variety (if you ever see someone in a supermarket reading product label after product label, it’s probably me). Barely a pinch of each makes all the difference. (You can even apply this trick toward baked mac and cheese recipes, like Martha's. I know I will.)
Now that I’m an adult, I love to eat my mac and cheese with a bracing, bitter-greens salad alongside. A glass of wine doesn't hurt, either.
| 8 | ounces elbow pasta |
| Kosher salt, for the pasta water, plus more to taste | |
| 2/3 | cup heavy cream |
| 6 | ounces cheddar, grated (preferably a younger, not super-aged variety) |
| 3/8 | teaspoon garlic powder |
| 1/8 | teaspoon white pepper |
| 8 | ounces elbow pasta |
| Kosher salt, for the pasta water, plus more to taste | |
| 2/3 | cup heavy cream |
| 6 | ounces cheddar, grated (preferably a younger, not super-aged variety) |
| 3/8 | teaspoon garlic powder |
| 1/8 | teaspoon white pepper |
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Written by: Emma Laperruque
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