{"id":143,"date":"2011-09-11T00:36:23","date_gmt":"2011-09-11T00:36:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/platelunch.net\/?p=143"},"modified":"2011-09-11T00:39:39","modified_gmt":"2011-09-11T00:39:39","slug":"my-favorite-mac-n-cheese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/platelunch.net\/?p=143","title":{"rendered":"My Favorite Mac-n-Cheese"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_144\" style=\"width: 234px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/platelunch.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/IMG_0600.jpg\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-144\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-144\" src=\"http:\/\/platelunch.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/IMG_0600-224x300.jpg\" alt=\"Favorite Mac-n-Cheese\" width=\"224\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/platelunch.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/IMG_0600-224x300.jpg 224w, https:\/\/platelunch.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/IMG_0600-764x1024.jpg 764w, https:\/\/platelunch.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/IMG_0600.jpg 1936w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 224px) 100vw, 224px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-144\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Favorite Mac-n-Cheese<\/p><\/div>\n<p>This recipe is essentially Martha Stewart\u2019s \u201cPerfect Macaroni and Cheese\u201d. I have made a few alterations based on my own taste. The thing I really like about Martha\u2019s recipe is that the proportions of ingredients seem to be just right. If you have ever made a mac-n-cheese that was like a dense brick of macaroni OR macaroni swimming in white sauce (less likely) then you know what I mean. I have made this probably 6 or 7 times and it comes out the same every time.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Favorite Mac-n-Cheese\" href=\"http:\/\/platelunch.net\/recipes\/mac_n_cheese.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Download PDF version<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ingredients<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Liberally buttered 9 X 13 glass baking dish (use metal if you want more crunchy edges)<\/li>\n<li>7 slices of fresh white bread with the crusts removed<\/li>\n<li>8 tablespoons (1 block) of unsalted butter<\/li>\n<li>5 \u00bd cups whole milk<\/li>\n<li>3 cloves garlic<\/li>\n<li>1 pound elbow macaroni<\/li>\n<li>\u00bd cup all-purpose flour<\/li>\n<li>2 teaspoons salt<\/li>\n<li>\u00bc teaspoon grated nutmeg (if fresh, about 4 or 5 swipes of the nut across a grater)<\/li>\n<li>\u00bc fresh ground black pepper<\/li>\n<li>\u00bd teaspoon cayenne pepper (Martha\u2019s recipe calls for \u00bc teaspoon cayenne pepper. Just not enough for me. I suggest \u00bd or more. Make it once with \u00bd and see what you think then adjust to your own taste.)<\/li>\n<li>4 \u00bd cups (about 18 ounces) grated sharp white cheddar ( you may, of course, substitute some other cheese but the salt content and the tanginess of sharp white cheddar is really ideal)<\/li>\n<li>2 \u00bd cups (about 16 ounces) grated Gruyere (Martha suggest you can substitute 1 \u00bc cups\u2014or 5 ounces\u2014grated pecorino. I think it\u2019s too salty. I would stick with the Gruyere.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Method<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Heat the oven to 375 degrees.<\/li>\n<li>Remove the crusts from the bread and tear roughly into \u00bc to \u00bd inch pieces. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and toss the bread with the melted butter to give it a little coating. Don\u2019t add more\u2014trust me this is plenty.<\/li>\n<li>Peel and crush the garlic roughly. Put into a pot\u2014uncovered\u2014with the milk on medium heat. You want the garlic to steep and for the milk to get hot\u2014not boiling. If it looks like it is about to boil turn it down to low.<\/li>\n<li>Boil the macaroni <strong>for 2 minutes less time than the instructions recommend<\/strong>. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Set aside to drain.<\/li>\n<li>In a large deep pan, melt the remaining 6 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat. When the butter is melted and foamy add the flour and whisk. Cook, while whisking, for 1 minute.<\/li>\n<li>Pour the hot milk into the pan through a strainer to remove the garlic pieces. Continue to whisk until the mixture is thick and smooth. This will take about 5 minutes.<\/li>\n<li>Remove from heat and add salt, pepper, nutmeg and cayenne. Whisk to incorporate completely.<\/li>\n<li>Add 3 cups of the grated cheddar and 1 \u00bd cups of the grated Gruyere cheese and stir until it is completely melted and incorporated.<\/li>\n<li>Put the drained and cooled macaroni into the cheese sauce and stir and fold until all the noodles are evenly covered.<\/li>\n<li>Dump the mixture into the baking dish and smooth it out (don\u2019t press it down).<\/li>\n<li>Spread the rest of both cheeses evenly across the mixture.<\/li>\n<li>Spread the bread over the mixture.<\/li>\n<li>Place in the middle of the oven, uncovered, for 30 minutes.<\/li>\n<li>Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This recipe is essentially Martha Stewart\u2019s \u201cPerfect Macaroni and Cheese\u201d. I have made a few alterations based on my own taste. The thing I really like about Martha\u2019s recipe is that the proportions of ingredients seem to be just right. &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/platelunch.net\/?p=143\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/platelunch.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/platelunch.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/platelunch.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platelunch.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platelunch.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=143"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/platelunch.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":153,"href":"https:\/\/platelunch.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143\/revisions\/153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/platelunch.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platelunch.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platelunch.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}