Any good mac n cheese ideas?

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Just a couple of things that I do to make my mac and cheese pop:
  • Get a good, aged cheddar. I like to never go younger than a year. The older the cheddar, the stronger the "cheesy" flavor.
  • Get some variety to compliment the cheddar. I've found that gouda, gruyere, and manchego are pretty great but don't be afraid to play around. Smoked cheeses also help add some new depth. If you aren't a bitch whose squeemish about the "moldy cheeses" then definitely add a little blue or gorgonzola. I love how much flavor just a little bit gives.
  • Spice that sauce! Black pepper, paprika, cayenne, dried mustard are all solid choices (though I usually just make mine with black pepper and paprika).
  • Chop up some fresh chives when serving. I like that over having onions (mostly because onions give me terrible indigestion).
  • Just to change it up from the people who suggested bread crumbs, try Cheez-Its.
There's a lot of different ways to go, but these are some basics that should help with making a standard mac and cheese.
 
I've found penne pasta makes a better cheese bake then your more traditional macaroni. My three cheeses for a super indulgent mac and cheese are cheddar, ricotta and cream cheese. Incorporate the cheddar and cream cheese into the sauce as normal. Here is where it gets autistic. Stuff the penne noodles with ricotta. Or coat them if you are lazy. Then cover with the cheese sauce and bake as normal. Add bacon bits and diced jalapeno if you want to spice it up.
 
Substitute any butter or oil you use with bacon grease in half of the original amount. The bacon flavor seeps into the dish when used as an earlier building block that makes the smokey flavor even out in a way that it otherwise wouldn't. It also avoids the awkward texture of bacon bits in an otherwise silky dish.
As others have said, it's a good idea to pretend that elbow macaroni doesn't exist and go straight for shells or penne, preferably with some bumps or ridge textures on the outside for better sauce coverage.
Ortega's mild taco sauce is inexplicably divine as a mac condiment.
 
Roast/grill some red peppers and blend them up with smoked paprika. Add to your cheese sauce. Butternut squash is also a good addition to a cheese sauce. Try mixing some nutritional yeast in the sauce as well.
 
I'll assume you use boxed Mac 'n Cheese, because sometimes that's what I have to work with and I have a couple tricks I do that the children in my life love.

-Grill butter and some shredded cheese on low-medium heat. I prefer shredded munster cheese but chedder is always the safe pick.
-Add milk or heavy cream just as the cheese starts to get gooey.
-Sour cream that shit. Stir it in while adding milk a little at a time with the cheese packet that comes in the box.
-In the end it should be slightly soup-y. On the side I usually fry some spam or beef bologna to put in the pasta.
-Add both cheese and meats into the cooked pasta and stir together. Top it off with just a couple pinches of shredded cheese to get that gooey cheese effect kids love so much.

Were I doing it from scratch (sans the pasta), I'd usually bake my Mac 'n Cheese with bacon, tomatoes, and breading but that doesn't happen very often.
 
Kraft Deluxe Macaroni and Cheese
Boil elbows, strain water.
Add half a stick of butter, 2-3 eggs, a splash of canned milk.
Chop up some mild or sharp cheddar(you know those block of cheeses you can buy).
Add cheese sauce + cheese slices. Put a layer slices on top.

bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
 
I usually make my own. I just make a Roux, pour in a little M1lk, melt some Shredded Cheddar and a little Cream Cheese into it, and melt it together. Toss in the noodles and boom. That's it. It's better than the boxed stuff just like that.

If I feel like switching it up, I'll dump it in a Pyrex pan, dump bread crumbs on top, and bake it until it browns a little.

I sometimes add other ingredients. Ground beef or Bacon work the best for me. You can even use Lobster if you want to get REALLY fancy.

Ketchup, Barbecue Sauce, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, and/or Hot Sauce are also good to add.
 
Última edición:
Boil jumbo ridged Macaroni until tender

Make a simple roux over medium-high heat using:
1 Vidalia Onion, diced
2-3 Cloves of Garlic, diced
1 Stick of Salted Butter
Black Pepper
Salt
Cumin
Paprika
Cayenne Powder

Cook until the onions are just translucent, reduce heat to medium-low, then add into the roux in this order:
1 cup of Heavy Whipping Cream and 16 oz of cubed Cheddar, wait until Cheddar is about half melted
16 oz of cubed Monterrey Jack and 16 oz of cubed American Cheese

Mix thoroughly until smooth, adding in more of the simple spice mixture listed above. Once all the cheese has melted and mixed thoroughly (~2-3 minutes), add in the recently strained macaroni and mix until well coated (if the sauce is too thick, use some of the left-over pasta water until desired consistency). Top with thoroughly crushed graham cracker (no more than 2 whole graham crackers), and into an oven at 350 for 4-5 minutes. Enjoy
 
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