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?'”
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.
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!
I forgot the Tabasco tonight! Sob, sob, sob…
Main article edited, added Tabasco to the ingredients and directions.
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.
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.