Mac And cheese help please

Do a search on "Sweetie Pie's Man and Cheese." Basically, the bomb. You can vary the cheese. The evaporated milk keeps the cheese oils from separating,  so no greasy stuff. Works well in the oven, or in DO on the Egg.

Search crack and cheese 

I make a roux with 2 tbsp. flour + 2 tbsp. butter.  Cook that a few minutes, then add about a 1/2 cup of beer.  Stir fast to boil, then add a can of 2% fat evaporated milk.  Add some mustard powder and cayenne.  Let that heat up, then add about a 1/2 cup of milk with about a one tsp of corn starch (adjust amount of milk for thickness.)  Let it boil, then off heat add shredded cheddar.  I usually put a little provel in to stabilize it and keep it from breaking (provel = St. Louis processed cheese that's kind of a combo of American, swiss, and provolone.)  You can add egg yolks at the end, but it's rich enough.

This can also be used as a welsh rarebit cheese sauce.  I put it over sliced turkey and asparagus, then put under the broiler.

+1 on what stlcharcoal said in starting with a roux. Best I've made is a barefoot contessa recipe with English cheddar and Gruyere.  Omit the tomato topping in the recipe and this will get rave reviews.  Oven recipe that works even better on the egg. 

If you live near a Costco buy their take and bake stuff.  It's off the hook

HERE is the one I make. It has a béchamel sauce and four different cheeses: Gruyère, Fontina, Sharp Cheddar, and Parmigiano-Reggiano. So fattening... so good!

I found this recipe a couple of years ago in the Houston Chronicle during the Hatch Chili Pepper season.

It is the best Mac&Cheese I have ever tasted.

Outside of the Hatch Chili Season, I use 5 Anaheim + 3 Poblano peppers as a substitute for the Hatch peppers.

And if you don’t want to mess around with tomatillos, I have substituted 1 Cup of Salsa Verde and it tastes about the same.

 

Hatch Chile Verde Skillet Mac and Cheese

1 pound elbow macaroni

2 tablespoons butter

¾ cup chicken broth

8 tomatillos, husked and chopped

8 Hatch chiles, peeled, seeded and chopped

1 medium white onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup cilantro leaves, loosely packed

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1½ cups half-and-half

4 ounces cream cheese, cubed

4 cups Monterey Jack cheese, grated (divided)

1 cup white cheddar cheese, grated

¾ cup tortilla chips, crushed

 

Instructions: Cook pasta in a pot of boiling water until al dente, drain and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 12-inch cast iron skillet.

Heat broth in a pan with tomatillos and cook for 10 minutes.

Transfer to blender.

Add green chiles, pulse to blend. Add onion, garlic, cilantro and salt. Blend.

In a large pot heat oil.

Add tomatillo mixture and cook over medium heat for six minutes.

Add half-and-half, cream cheese and cook through.

Remove from heat.

Add 2 cups Jack cheese, cheddar and stir to make smooth sauce. Stir in pasta.

Pour into skillet and top with tortilla chips and 2 cups Jack.

Place in oven and cook about 20 minutes until cheese has melted.

Turn on broiler for last several minutes until top is golden brown.

northGAcock said:

Zmokin said:

My family loves this stuff.

I hear they are changing the recipe (formula not your instructions to follow). Always been a favorite of mine as well. Curious what changes they make.

Probably minor changes in the unpronounceable ingredient list so they can call it "New & Improved". 

Sometimes I make it ASIS, other times I add a little meat, cubed ham, or sliced hot dog wiener.  When I have leftovers, I re-heat in the microwave with a little added butter, a little added milk, and a slice of good ol' American cheese.

Zmokin said:

northGAcock said:

Zmokin said:

My family loves this stuff.

I hear they are changing the recipe (formula not your instructions to follow). Always been a favorite of mine as well. Curious what changes they make.

Probably minor changes in the unpronounceable ingredient list so they can call it "New & Improved". 

Sometimes I make it ASIS, other times I add a little meat, cubed ham, or sliced hot dog wiener.  When I have leftovers, I re-heat in the microwave with a little added butter, a little added milk, and a slice of good ol' American cheese.

I think they are just taking the coloring out of the cheese. I could be wrong though.