Foodie Friday: Grandmother’s Proper Macaroni and Cheese

For me there is only one proper way to make macaroni and cheese, the way my grandmother made it. This has nothing to do with a box mix, or powdered cheese.  It starts with real ingredients and finishes with a long bake in a moderate oven that results in something cheesy, crusty and firm. 

The box mix Mac and cheese started as a way to try to use up a massive surplus of dehydrated cheese. During World War II, the department of defense placed huge orders for dehydrated cheese. It was light weight and had a very long shelf life.  At the end of the war, Kraft had millions of pounds of it ready to ship, and the market ended.  The "food scientists" created box mac and cheese mix, a cheap and easy "food" to try to get rid of the powdered cheese.  It should have been discontinued when the war surplus was exhausted. Even better, the government should have bought up the dehydrated cheese and used it as livestock feed (pigs love it.)  

Ingredients: 

8 ounces dried macaroni 

12-16 ounces well aged cheddar cheese (better cheese makes better Mac and cheese)

4 ounces smoked cheese 

1.5 cups milk

2 ounces of butter

2 ounces of flour 

salt

1 teaspoon ground mustard 

Method: 

Pre-heat oven to 375(f)

Grate the cheeses. 

Boil the macaroni in lightly salted water per package directions.  Drain and set aside. 

Make a basic white sauce or bechamel. Start by melting equal weights of butter and flour over medium heat in a 2 quart sauce pan.  Allow the butter to melt and the flour to cook in. Add milk, some recommend preheating the milk.  Whisk over medium or medium high heat, until it starts to thicken.  Add about 3/4 of the cheese, whisking to melt the cheese into a smooth sauce. 

Fully mix the macaroni with the cheese sauce. 

Put into a lightly greased casserole dish, I used a glass loaf pan, and cooking spray. Top with remaining grated cheese (not bread crumbs.) 

Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, until bubbly and lightly browned on the top.  The sides and bottom should have a nice cheesy crust when done.  

Cool slightly and serve.  Refrigerate leftovers. When chilled you should be able to slice it with a knife. 

Most Mac and Cheese fails on two  levels.  Most of it is made with raw cheese mixed in with the cooked macaroni, giving it a spotty texture with lumps of cheese and spots of starchy macaroni stuck together with insufficient cheese. And most Mac and cheese is under baked, many are merely warmed through in an oven - not baked.  This should be baked as a casserole.  This develops the crust on the bottom, sides and top. That cheese crust adds massively to the flavor complexity.