Macaroni & Cheese
Macaroni in a pot, that’s some…awesome mac ‘n’ cheese in the making! Where did you think I was going with this? *tsk tsk*
Aright folks, this is the ultimate American comfort food! There are so many variations of Mac and Cheese out there. This is the @TheSpiceOdyssey version which includes an insane combination of cheese — not one, not two, but SIX different types of cheese! Our recipe is outrageously cheesy, extra creamy, topped with a crunchy panko-parmesan and baked to perfection. As the weather is getting colder, this is perfect for a cozy weeknight dinner or even better, as a great holiday side dish. Thanksgiving is right around the corner y’all!
American History
The earliest version of macaroni and cheese is a cheese and pasta casserole known as “makerouns”, recorded in a 14th century medieval English cookbook called The Forme of Cury. It was made with fresh, hand-cut pasta which was sandwiched between a mixture of melted butter and cheese. The first modern recipe for macaroni and cheese was included in Elizabeth Raffald's 1770 book, The Experienced English Housekeeper. Raffald's recipe called for a Béchamel sauce with cheddar cheese, also known as a Mornay sauce. In traditional French cooking mornay sauce usually has shredded or grated Gruyere cheese instead of cheddar cheese. I say why not both?!
Macaroni came to America with the English, who served it baked with cheese and cream, as was also popular in the north of Italy, and in France. Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States and James Hemings, his chef and slave, encountered macaroni in Paris and brought the recipe back to Monticello, his plantation in Virginia. Jefferson drew a sketch of the pasta and wrote detailed notes on the extrusion process. He loved macaroni and cheese so much that he even served “a pie called macaroni” at the state dinner of 1802. Although from my research and understanding, it wasn’t exactly as well received.
Popularity + Proliferation
Macaroni and cheese, like many other dishes that the English brought to the colonies, can be considered an old American dish. Initially, it was primarily reserved for the upper classes until the Industrial Revolution made pasta production easier. As it became accessible to a broader section of society, it lost its upper class appeal. By the mid-1880s, cookbooks all over USA included recipes for macaroni and cheese casseroles. These cookbooks of the period indicate that the common way to serve it was cooked until soft—usually at least half an hour—and baked with cheese and cream. Although factory production of the main ingredients made the dish affordable, and recipes made it accessible, it was still not notably popular.
The nationwide proliferation and popularity of macaroni and cheese can be attributed to Kraft Foods when they introduced the boxed version in 1937. This was when America was in the throes of the Great Depression. The product could serve four for 19 cents, and the company sold 8 million boxes of its quick-and-easy macaroni and cheese in a year. With rationing in effect during World War II, the boxed mix continued to gain in popularity; while staples such as fresh meat and dairy were in short supply. Fast forward to modern times, it is now the standard incarnation of the dish, and along with ramen noodles, the Kraft Dinner (as it's known in Canada) is a mainstay of college student cuisine. Speaking of Canada, apparently it is said that Canadians eat more macaroni and cheese than anywhere else in the world. All this time I assumed Americans love macaroni and cheese the most, but as it turns out the Canadians beat them to it.
Personal Note
I am not going to beat around the bush and act like mac and cheese is my favorite. It is certainly not something I crave. But I am married to someone who does and boy did he have a lot to say! The first time Arafat asked me to make mac and cheese, I actually made hamburger helper because that’s the only way I ate macaroni growing up. He looked at me like “Did I buy a lemon? Is the return policy still valid?”.
Lol all silly jokes aside, my hamburger helper is really good, so good that my dad and my brother often requested me to make it. Someday I will share that recipe as well. As for Arafat, that little spoiled brat very much enjoyed eating it but to him it wasn’t the mac and cheese he was craving! Hey, at least it was made from scratch and not the box kind.
Anyway, back to mac and cheese — I have clearly come a long way. I am not joking when I say this recipe took a solid 4 years in R&D. There have been quite a few test runs and each time it was “more cheese?”, but “it’s not gooey enough” or “where is the tang?” and of course “it needs more flavor honey”.
I am certainly not a Karen to make a bland mac and cheese (RIP Chadwick Boseman) and if it’s my recipe, you can bet there is going to be a pleasant spicy and tangy note in the back palate. As a food blogger and chef, it’s so important to have a partner who is also my taste-tester with a great palate and pushes me in the right direction. Although he does get a stink eye or two time to time, I do appreciate when he tells me ways in which I can improve a dish.
And so after rigorous trials and tribulations that spanned over 4 years, my husband finally said “mmm Cheesus Christ! Honey this is the best mac and cheese I have had in my life!!!”. So this Thanksgiving week, I am sharing with you my signature recipe! If there is one good thing to go viral in 2020, let it be this macaroni and cheese loved by all of our friends and family, and most importantly my dearest husband who deserves partial credit for pushing me to perfect this dish.
Recipe — Mac ‘n’ Cheese
Serves: 16-20
Traditional macaroni and cheese is a casserole baked in the oven; however, it may be prepared in a saucepan on stovetop. I like to have the best of both worlds because I am a high functioning overachiever (sometimes) so I do both - first stove top then baked to perfection! *chefs kiss*
- Disclaimer -
Before you attempt this recipe, pay attention to the serving size. The recipe I am posting yields 16-20 very generous servings. When I made this, it went to 5 different households, meaning I made a huge batch to share it with our friends and family. I am going to assume that you will have a smaller Thanksgiving this year so if you are making it for 8-10 people, scale down this recipe by half, as in divide all the ingredients by two. If your Thanksgiving is even smaller this year, just your own household (as it has been recommended by the CDC), between 2-4 people, scale down the recipe by quarter, as in divide it by 4. Alright now time for the recipe!
Prepping for the Mac ‘n’ Cheese
• Onion-Spice Paste
Onion - 1/4 of an onion , diced
Garlic Salt - 1 tsp
Garlic Powder - 1 tsp
Cayenne - 1 tsp
Paprika - 1 tsp
Black Pepper - 1 tsp
Ground White Pepper - 1 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
In a food processor or blender, blend all of the above ingredients and set aside.
• Milk Mixture
Canned Evaporated Milk - 2 cans (12 oz each)
Eggs - 4
Franks Red Hot Sauce - 4 generous tsp
Ground Mustard - 3 tsp
Whisk together the evaporated milk, eggs, hot sauce, and mustard in a bowl until homogeneous. Set aside.
• Cheese Mixture
Extra Sharp Cheddar - 3 cups (24 oz), grated
Gruyere - 1 cup (8 oz) grated
Monterey Jack - ½ cup (4 oz), grated
American Cheese - 8 oz, grated
Velveeta - 8 oz, grated
Corn Starch - 2 Tbsp
Toss the cheeses with the cornstarch in a large bowl until thoroughly combined. Set aside.
Note: I was about to lose an arm from grating THAT much cheese. If you do the math, in total I grated about 4.5 lbs of cheese for this mac ‘n’ cheese recipe. *dead*
Cooking the Mac ‘n’ Cheese
Elbow Macaroni - 2 lbs
Salt - 2 tbsp
Water - 8 quart // 32 cups
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the elbow macaroni and cook according to the package directions until al dente. Do not overcook the macaroni as it will soften when baked. Drain well. Reserve some of the pasta water to loosen the cheese sauce for later.
Butter - 1/2 stick (2 oz)
Return the hot macaroni to the pot (or another large dish) and add half a stick of butter. Using a rubber spatula, carefully mix the pasta with the butter until it is melted and well incorporated. Set aside.
Butter - 1 + 1/2 stick (6 oz)
Bayleaf - 3
Onion-Spice Paste
Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Be careful not to let the butter brown or burn. As it starts foaming, add the bayleaves and let it bloom, about 30 seconds. Whisk in the onion-spice paste and sauté until the the smell/taste of raw onion has completely dissipated, about 10-15 minutes.
Take your time with this step. No, really I mean it. Take your time to cook down the onion spice paste. The water should completely evaporate and the oil should come up and the onion-spice paste should go from a light yellow-red color to a more pronounced fiery orange-red. The idea is to completely cook off all the raw ingredients. This is very, very important! Raw flavors of onion is absolutely not tolerated. It will make or break my recipe.
Milk Mixture
Cheese Mixture
Reduce the heat to low. Add the milk mixture and cheese mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until the cheese is completely melted and the mixture is hot and creamy. Add the macaroni. Scrape the cheese sauce into the pasta and mix until everything is evenly coated. Season to taste with salt and more hot sauce. If you find the cheese sauce is a little too thick, you may add a little bit of the reserved pasta water or cold milk to loosen the sauce.
You can stop right here and serve it as is, if you prefer to have a very a gooey and cheesy macaroni. Or, if you prefer a baked mac and’ cheese with a crunchy melty topping, follow the next steps.
Baking the Mac ‘n’ Cheese
Panko Crumbs - 2 cups, toasted to light brown
Parmesan - 2 cups, grated
Thyme - 6-8 small sprigs
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the macaroni into a 9- by 13-inch baking dish and smooth surface into an even layer. Scatter panko, parmesan and thyme sprigs all over the surface of mac and cheese in an even layer. Bake until the sauce is bubbling around the edges and the topping is golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes.
Serve hot. 🔥
Common Questions
Why is my mac and cheese grainy?
You are overcooking the mac and cheese. If it becomes grainy and clumpy as it cools down or after you’ve baked it, that means you have thickened the sauce way too much. Once you have added the macaroni to the pot, the second the cheese sauce stirs in a figure-eight, you should turn off your stove and remove the pot from heat immediately. The sauce should be runny because as it cools the cheese will coagulate and thicken. On top if you are baking it, the cheese sauce will thicken even further. Now if you are finding that your cheese sauce is very thick to begin with, you can loosen it by adding some reserved pasta water from when you boiled the macaroni or cold milk.
Why is my mac and cheese oily?
That’s because you overcooked it or overbaked it to the point, the cheese curdled or even broke down and started releasing oil. Don’t do that. When it comes to mac and cheese always cook it in low and bake in low heat. Do not blast it in the oven trying to get a crispy topping. You can bake it slow and then broil the top for 1-2 minutes if you want a classic crispy top.
How do I reheat mac and cheese?
Try not to microwave it unless necessary, like it’s a very small amount, you are in a rush or you are at work eating leftovers. Because when you microwave it for too long, it will break down the cheese and release oil. Not that I’ve had a lot of leftovers whenever I make this dish, trust me, it disappears real quick. But if you do happen to have a huge amount of leftovers, throw it back in a pot over low heat and add a little bit of cold milk. Continue stirring until the hardened cheese and the milk is homogenous in texture. You can add more milk to get the sauce to the right consistency.
Macaroni and cheese is definitely a traditional Thanksgiving side dish. It may seem like there are a lot of steps involved but it’s actually very quick to make. It took me about an hour and that too on a workday. I woke up early, prepped all the ingredients—including grating all 4.5 lbs of cheese, cooked and baked the mac and cheese, we shot pictures and then I cleaned up, got ready and left for work like the badass that I am lol! In all honesty though, to say I was exhausted is an understatement so do give yourself a little more time, and maybe not make it on a regular workday. Or maybe prep all the ingredients (sans the milk mixture) the night before and store it in the fridge.
That’s it folks! Enjoy your mac and cheese, alone, or as a side of smoked brisket, fried chicken or thanksgiving turkey. Happy Thanksgiving!
If you do recreate our recipe
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