Macaroni and cheese

From the movie [What’s Cooking?][wc]

Ingredients

* 8 oz package of macaroni
* 4 Tbsp butter, divided, plus more for casserole dish
* 1 c fresh bread crumbs
* 1 small onion, chopped
* 1 Tbsp flour
* 1 tsp salt
* 1/4 tsp dry mustard
* pepper to taste
* 1/2 Tbsp Tabasco sauce (optional)
* 1 1/2 c milk
* 3 c (~9 oz) shredded cheddar cheese

Pre-heat oven to 350°.

Cook macaroni according to package directions.

Melt half of the butter in a small saucepan.
Add the breadcrumbs and toss to coat.
Set aside.

Melt remaining butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
Add onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
Stir in flour, salt, mustard, pepper, and Tabasco sauce until blended.
*Slowly* stir in milk, stirring constantly, until smooth.
**Remove from heat** and stir in cheese until melted.

Use some more butter to grease a casserole dish.
Place drained macaroni in casserole.
Pour cheese mixture over macaroni.
Sprinkle breadcrumb mixture over top.

Bake 20 minutes or until bubbling.

[wc]: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0197096/ “IMDB entry for ‘What’s Cooking?'”

About Jim Vanderveen

I'm a bit of a Renaissance man, with far too many hobbies for my free time! But more important than any hobby is my family. My proudest accomplishment has been raising some great kids! And somehow convincing my wife to put up with me since 1988. ;)
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5 Responses to Macaroni and cheese

  1. Jim says:

    I made this with a medium onion, and it was too much. Find a small onion, or use half of a large one.

    Also, we added about a teaspoon of Tabasco sauce. It added a subtle kick, but I think we’ll add more next time.

  2. Jim says:

    I just made this dish again tonight, using the changes from the first comment. I also ended up with extra breadcrumbs, so I went ahead and used them. (It worked out to about 1 cup of breadcrumbs.) One more change: I cooked the onions much longer, almost caramelized. The consensus at the table tonight: fantastic!

  3. Jim says:

    I forgot the Tabasco tonight! Sob, sob, sob…

    Main article edited, added Tabasco to the ingredients and directions.

  4. Jim says:

    We’ve been making this with Petaluma Creamery’s cheddar, and it *really* makes a big improvement! This cheese is usually available at the Co-op in Sacramento, but sometimes they run out.

  5. Jim says:

    Made this again tonight. I’ve been trying to determine the perfect amount of cheese for this, and tonight I erred on the high side (4 cups). I used 12 oz (3/4 lb, about 350 g) of Petaluma cheddar. Next time I’ll try 9 oz (250 g), aiming for about 3 cups of shredded cheese.

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