Cheese. Pasta. Crunchy breadcrumbs. Does life get any better than when these three ingredients meet in a hot oven? I hadn't actually ever attempted to make mac and cheese before but I know it's a favourite here in Australia and our friends over in America so I thought I'd give it a go and see how it turned out...check out my attempt below :)
Preparation and Cooking Instructions
Step One
Ingredients required:
- 2 types of cheese - I used Colby & Mozzarella (for that streeeeeeetchy goodness)
- flour
- butter
- panko breadcrumbs
- milk
- macaroni pasta
- onion, garlic and mustard powder
Step Two
Cook pasta as per packet directions (with one minute less as it will keep cooking in the oven) and return to the pot with a knob of butter - this prevents the pasta from getting all clumpy (technical term lol).
Step Three
Grab a cast iron skillet and melt butter.
Step Four
Add flour and continue mixing until you have a smooth roux
Step Five
Once you can sweep the back of a wooden spoon with your finger as shown below, the roux is ready for the cheese
Step Six
Add cheese
Step Seven
Oooooh yeah, cheesey goodness!!
Step Eight
Add the cheese sauce to the macaroni in the pot and stir quickly, then return back to the cast iron skillet.
Step Nine
Sprinkle on the breadcrumbs which I added a pinch of salt and butter to help brown.
Step Ten
Serve!
Closing Thoughts...
I think this is definitely a "sometimes" dish i.e not something you can comfortably eat every day and not feel guilty! I generally try to eat pretty healthy so this was a treat for me but hey you have to live a little right? The crunch of the breadcrumbs with the cheesey sauce was a match made in heaven. I had to get a small plate so I could restrict my portions and make sure I didn't eat the whole thing!
Let me know if you guys have any tips or steps you do differently when you make mac and cheese, or better yet, post on Steemit and share with all of us!
Until next time...I'll leave you with a tasty view.
All photos are mine and original, taken on a Sony RX100