Mac n Cheese #2

Preheat oven to 375 F. Butter a casserole dish (I use a good old fashioned Pyrex).

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a big pinch of salt. Cook macaroni for 3 minutes LESS than directed on the package. Drain well in a colander and stir in a little butter to keep the pasta from sticking together.

In the same pot, make a BECHAMEL (can also be used in a Lasagne Bolognese - "recipe" for a future date). Melt 1/2 stick of butter, whisk in 5 T Flour. Pour in 5 C whole milk (I only had 2% milk so I enriched with 1 C of 1/2 and 1/2) all at once and whisk constantly until it starts to boil and thicken. Remove pan from heat, add seasonings (salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, nutmeg - any and all to taste).

Adding in 5 cups of grated cheese of choice (any combination of gruyere, cheddar, swiss, emmantaler, fontina, pecorino romano, parmigiano reggiano, gouda, mozzarella, etc.) turns the bechamel into a CHEESE SAUCE (can be used just like this to get your family to eat veggies - broccoli and cauliflower come to mind). Add in the pasta, stir to combine. Pour into the prepared casserole dish. Top with plain bread crumbs (store bought is fine - Progresso, Pioneer...I used panko.). Dot with butter. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving. Patience will be rewarded!

Repost from an earlier post with a few minor changes -

http://cookingfromthekor.blogspot.com/2010/03/mac-n-cheese.html