Thanks Cathy!

Hi,

Settled on crusty macaroni and cheese adaptation by Gary of New York Times recipe:



I took out five portions, then my family had the rest for dinner. If you like crunchy textures, this is an easy method to accomplish it.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Settled on crusty macaroni and cheese adaptation by Gary of New York Times recipe:

Cathy,

Looks just about perfect, crusty, good structure, moist, makes me want to take a bite.

Since I posted the adaptation you refer to I've further refined to maximize crusty crunch by baking in a jelly roll pan.

Crunchy Crust Mac and Cheese

From "Low and Slow: Master the Art of Barbecue in 5 Easy Lessons"

The toasty, crunchy bits on the top and edges of baked macaroni and cheese are really the whole point of the dish--much like crispy chicken skin. The dilemma? There is usually not enough scrumptious browned surface to go around. This recipe, adapted from one that ran in the New York Times, offers a brilliant solution: baked in a shallow jelly-roll pan, the macaroni and cheese has more surface area exposed to the heat, and produces a higher ratio of cheesy, crusty to molten, cheesy interior.

Its the muffin top of macaroni and cheese. If you really want to gild the lily, sprinkle a teaspoon of truffle oil over the macaroni and cheese right when you take it out of the oven. (Careful: a little truffle oil goes a long way and can overpower the dish.)

SERVES 8

4 tablespoons butter, divided
1 pound elbow macaroni, cooked al dente in salted boiling water and drained
12 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar cheese, grated,

1 cup reserved
12 ounces mild Cheddar cheese, grated,
1 cup reserved
2 teaspoons Morton kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2/3 cup half-and-half
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon truffle oil (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Grease a 15-1/2 x 10-1/2 x 1-inch jelly-roll pan with 1 tablespoon of the butter.
Toss the cooked, cooled pasta, grated cheese (reserving 1 cup of each type), salt, and cayenne in a large bowl until the ingredients are evenly distributed.
Spread the pasta in an even layer in the greased jelly-roll pan.
Pour the half-and-half over the pasta.
Top with the reserved 2 cups of grated cheese and dot with the remaining 3 tablespoons butter.
Bake uncovered for 40 minutes.
Increase the heat to 400 F and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until the top is crunchy, crusty, and golden brown.

Season with salt and pepper.

"Its the muffin top of macaroni and cheese."

Brilliant! My Dad will welcome this method, because he is all about crust.

Thank you once more for highlighting this terrific recipe.

Regards,

It looks like the mac & cheese I grew up eating & the one I make in my own home now. Ours has an egg added to it.

Nice to see everyone last night and welcome to boudrealicious and dual food-exchanger lemoneater! I'm excited to dig into the different dishes! I did a quick write-up of our meal at Semiramis here.

Enjoyed meeting everyone--thanks for the warm welcome. Looking forward to next month at Spoon!!!