Sep 26, 2020. Sharp Cheddar. The king of all cheeses when it comes to coating your noodles. With a fairly low. Oct 01, 2019. Dec 04, 2018. This recipe is basically stove top mac and cheese that I bake just for a few minutes to get the top a bit crunchy. You can serve it straight from the pot, though. Regardless, macaroni and cheese tends to get dry in the refrigerator and congeal into a solid mass of noodle and cheese.

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This Mac and Cheese Masterclass is the latest installment in my Cooking 101 Series! As a thank you for being an awesomesauce Life As A Strawberry reader, I also want to give you a TOTALLY FREE cheatsheet with my Perfect Mac and Cheese Formula!JUST CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD.

Taste as you go. The first time I added blue cheese to a mac and cheese sauce, I dumped in a verrrrrry generous handful of the stuff. And it tasted horrible. (Fortunately, I figured out the ratio and ended up with a pretty awesome Black and Blue Mac and Cheese, PHEW). If you're experimenting with new cheese combinations, start small, especially if you're using a cheese like smoked gouda or pepper jack that has a strong flavor to it. Stir a little bit of cheese into the sauce, then taste it to see how the flavors are developing. You can always add more cheese!

Balance strong flavors with mild ones. I love the strong flavors of smoked gouda, pepper jack, blue cheese, and gruyere, but it's easy to go overboard and end up overpowering the distinct flavor you're going for. For the perfect flavor combination, choose a cheese you want to highlight and complement it with mild flavors that lend depth and creaminess to your sauce without obscuring the cheese on display. Cheeses like white cheddar, havarti, and fontina are great mild cheeses to use alongside those stronger flavors. Some of my favorite combinations include Gruyere + Fontina + White Cheddar, Smoked Gouda + Sharp Cheddar, Goat Cheese + Havarti, and Pepper Jack + White Cheddar.

Don't be afraid to keep it simple. It's a lot of fun to mix up new cheese combinations, but sometimes a single-cheese sauce is just what the mac-doctor ordered. I tend to use a single cheese in my sauce when I'm adding layers of flavor in other ways - such as proteins, vegetables, or mix-ins like pesto and squash puree. Just like you don't want one cheese flavor to overwhelm another, you don't want too many cheeses to compete with the other components of your macaroni and cheese. In recipes like Havarti Spinach Mac and Cheese or Roasted Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese, for example, a single cheese addition means the other flavors can shine through.

STEP 3: MASTER THE CHEESE SAUCE.

When people ask me about macaroni and cheese, the sauce is often their biggest concern. But fear not! We're about to demystify this whole mac sauce situation.

Macaroni and Cheese sauce is really just a cheesed-up version of béchamel, one of the five French Mother Sauces. Béchamel is made by first making a roux - a paste made of melted butter and flour, whisked together and cooked until you've 'cooked out' the taste of raw flour - and adding milk. (Totally Rad Roux Tip: You can tell the roux is done when it smells like toasted almonds).

The cooked roux then acts as a thickening agent when whisked into milk - it's what helps the béchamel achieve a thick, creamy consistency. Basic béchamel is used as a base for all kinds of sauces (but personally, I think a rich macaroni and cheese sauce is the best of all béchamel spinoffs).

To make a great cheese sauce: Melt butter over medium heat, then whisk in some flour. I like to use a 1:1 ratio of butter to flour (so, if you use 3 tablespoons of butter, you would also use 3 tablespoons of flour). Cook for a minute or two until roux has thickened and is fragrant, then whisk constantly as you slowly add in the liquid. (See the video at the end of this post for a demo!)

Don't let the roux cook too long - as it cooks, it will darken considerably, and a too-dark roux can mean you end up with dark brown flecks in your sauce.

Customize the flavor of your sauce by substituting 2/3 cup or so of beer (my personal favorite ??), chicken stock, or even coconut milk for part of the milk in your béchamel recipe.

Season the sauce with a pinch of salt and pepper, then simmer over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until milk has thickened to just about the consistency you want for your cheese sauce. This generally takes 5-10 minutes. Turn off the heat, then add your shredded cheese and stir until cheese has melted and you have a smooth sauce.

Before you add the pasta or any mix-ins, take stock of your sauce and make sure it's behaving itself. If something looks off, never fear! Here are some easy fixes to the most common problems:

Sauce too thick? Stir in a splash of milk and mix until the sauce has loosened up. (This is also a great trick for reheating mac and cheese - if you're microwaving leftovers and the sauce seems to have dried up, stir a splash of milk or half-and-half into the pasta to bring the sauce back to life!)

Sauce too thin? Add another handful of cheese! You can also return the sauce to the heat and let it simmer until it thickens, but this can cause the cheese to separate. Fortunately, there's a trick to fix that, too! ⬇

Grainy or separated sauce? It happens to the best of us. Sometimes the cheese and the milk just don't want to be friends, and your sauce turns out a little..gloopy. Remove the sauce from the heat and give it a zap with an immersion blender (or blend it in batches with a regular blender) to smooth it out and bring it back to the proper creamy consistency.

When you're happy with your sauce, stir in the cooked pasta along with any veggies or protein you like.

BOOM! You = MAC AND CHEESE CHAMPION.

STEP 4: VEGETABLE ADD-INS.

I guess we'll talk about vegetables (plus the ever-annoying fruit-tomato, which yes I still included in the veggie graphic) for a second here, because 'health food' or whatever.

I actually really love mixing vegetables (and fruit-tomatoes) into macaroni and cheese. It's a simple, easy way to elevate a quick dinner. Also, nutrients (if you're into that sort of thing), which means you can eat more of the cheese-covered-carbs. Yes?

Stir these mix-ins right into the sauce at the same time you add the pasta, top each serving with a spoonful of your chosen accoutrement, or build a DIY-mac-and-cheese-bar with veggies (and protein, below) to let guests customize their own mac and cheeseperiences.

Some of my favorite veggie-tastic additions:

Blanched veggies. Blanch some broccoli florets, peas, cauliflower, or corn in boiling water for a minute or two (I actually like to add these veggies in with the pasta when it has about 2 minutes of cook time left!)

Roasted peppers. Roast a poblano, jalapeno, or bell pepper at 400 degrees F until the skin has charred. Put hot pepper (carefully! With tongs!) into a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap until it's cool enough to handle. Peel the skin off, remove the seeds, and dice it up.

Chopped things. Roughly chop some arugula, spinach, basil, parsley, or cilantro and stir it into your cheese sauce. Other favorites: diced tomato, diced red bell pepper (non-roasted).

Caramelized mushrooms and onions. A lil' bit of butter. Some sliced onions. A few sliced mushrooms. Maybe a garlic clove. Salt and pepper. Sauté it all in a hot skillet until onions have caramelized and put a big scoop on top of your mac and cheese.

STEP 5: ADDING PROTEIN.

Meatzzzz!

Adding a bit of protein to your regular ol' macaroni and cheese can round out your mac and give it the hearty bump it needs to move to 'main dish' status.

My favorite ways to add a bit of protein:

Slice up a few chorizo or chicken sausages for a no-muss-no-fuss addition.

Fry up a few bacon slices until crispy, let them cool, then crumble the bacon into your mac.

Stir in some leftover turkey or chicken.

Sauté shrimp (or lobster!) in a bit of butter, garlic, and red pepper flakes for a seafood twist. Lump crab with a bit of lemon juice is also a tasty topping for your everyday mac and cheese. (If you use seafood, be sure to source it sustainably!)

Cook some spicy Italian sausage or ground beef in a skillet, drain the fat, and stir it into your pasta.

BBQ Pork + mac and cheese = the besttttttt.

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STEP 6: UPGRADING YOUR MAC AND CHEESE SAUCE.

I love mixing various vegetables and proteins into mac and cheese, but there are times that I want all the flavor of another component without changing the texture of the dish. Blending new flavors into a cheese sauce can elevate the flavor and bring new depth to an old classic.

Some of my favorite blend-able saucy upgrades:

Whisk basil, kale, or arugula pesto into a white cheddar sauce to brighten up classic mac and cheese.

Add roasted butternut squash or pumpkin to your cheese sauce (I love using white cheddar or goat cheese here!) and puree with an immersion blender to work the squash smoothly into the sauce.

Blend sun-dried tomatoes into a sauce with an immersion blender (or blend in batches with a regular blender). I love adding goat cheese and fresh chopped basil to this version!

Avocado adds an amazing depth and creaminess to sauces. Blend half an avocado into a white cheddar sauce with an immersion blender for a silky smooth sauce.

STEP 7: THE PERFECT BREAD CRUMB TOPPING.

One thing I've learned in my mac and cheese travels is that people have very strong opinions about whether mac and cheese should or should not be baked. For my part, I tend to fall in the stovetop mac and cheese camp, but I still occasionally crave the crispy, buttery, bread-crumb-y goodness of baked mac and cheese.

The trick to a perfectly golden brown baked mac and cheese is to toast the bread crumbs before you actually put it all in the oven. Melt a tablespoon or so of butter in a skillet over medium heat and add 1/2 cup of panko bread crumbs (panko bread crumbs > regular bread crumbs. By a LOT).

Toast bread crumbs, stirring frequently, until they've turned a light golden brown. Fill an oven safe dish (I ❤ enamel-coated bakeware like this Le Creuset dish - more info. in the equipment section below!) with your mac and cheese and top with your toasted breadcrumbs. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20-30 minutes until bread crumbs are a deep golden brown and pasta has crisped up around the edges.

If you want to speed the bread crumb process along, you can turn on the broiler to crisp up the top of the macaroni and cheese - just watch it very carefully to make sure it doesn't burn.

STEP 8: USE THE RIGHT TOOLS.

Congratulations - you're ready to make the world's greatest macaroni and cheese! ? The best thing about homemade mac and cheese - aside from the mac & cheese itself - is how easy and uncomplicated it is to throw together. And while you definitely don't need any fancy equipment, I've found a couple (awesome! affordable!) products that I swear by when making mac and cheese at home.

Anolon Hard Anodized Nonstick Quart Pot // I have no idea how I lived without this pot for so long. You guys - it is the PERFECT macaroni and cheese vessel. It's nonstick but still safe for metal utensils, which means you can use your favorite whisk without damaging the pot AND have an easy, breezy cleanup no matter how thick and cheesy your sauce is. See the pot in action in the mac and cheese how-to video below! PS - it's got an average 4.8/5 stars from Amazon reviewers!

Cuisinart 14-Cup Food Processor // The slicing disc on this food processor has revolutionized the way I make mac and cheese. I love to buy cheese in bulk and shred it myself (see our cheese section above!) but shredding a ton of cheese by hand gets tedious and annoying. With the food processor attachment, I can shred a huge block of cheese in less than a minute. I like to buy a few big cheese blocks, shred them all with the food processor when I get home from the store, and store shredded cheese in the freezer until I'm ready to use it. If you don't need a food-processor-level of bulk-cheese-shredding capabilities, a good ol' box grater will also do the trick. Average Amazon rating: 4.4/5 stars from 1,000 reviewers!

Le Creuset Stoneware Dish // Cheese sauce is the best, but it can be hard to clean, especially after you've baked your mac and cheese to crispy, toasty perfection. I love to use baking dishes with an enamel finish - the smooth coating makes it RIDICULOUSLY EASY to clean, even if you're dealing with a baked-on cheese sauce situation. This Le Creuset dish is one of my favorites - it comes in a few different sizes and colors, has handles to help pull it in and out of the oven, and it's dishwasher safe! There are a bunch of great enameled or ceramic casserole dishes out there - when I'm not using a Le Creuset, I love my Denby dish and a few Crate and Barrel pieces. Average Amazon rating: 4/5 stars.

I made you a video! ?

Kraft is releasing a limited edition Pumpkin Spice Macaroni and Cheese flavor this fall.
1,000 lucky winners will get to try a box, which comes with a coffee cup and a special pumpkin-spice flavor packet.
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

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As the leaves turn orange, flannel-wearers everywhere anticipate the arrival of the classic drink: The Pumpkin Spice Latte. But this year, there's another seasonal treat to look forward to: Pumpkin Spice Mac & Cheese.

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On Tuesday, Kraft Canada announced that they would be raffling off 1,000 boxes come October, and directed people to an online waitlist to enter for a chance to win. 30,000 Canadians signed up for the waitlist in 48 hours, according to Today. On Friday, Kraft announced that Americans have the chance to taste the special edition mac and cheese too.

'While Pumpkin Spice KD may be trolling the classic 'PSL', this spicy cheesy treat is very real and will come in a signature white cup with cinnamon spice topping,' Kraft said in a press release.

The pasta dish is made with Kraft's traditional cheese powder and has a fall twist: cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger. A box of Pumpkin Spice Mac & Cheese also comes with a coffee cup 'with your name written on it (spelled wrong of course),' in a nod to the classic PSL — a not-so-subtle reference to Starbucks.

'After seeing the huge response Pumpkin Spice Mac & Cheese received north of the border, and even hearing some heated debates about it down here, we had to bring it to the U.S. for Americans to try,' said Martina Davis, brand manager for Kraft Macaroni and Cheese said, according to Today.

Pumpkin Spice Mac & Cheese follows other unusual announcements from the classic brand. In August, Kraft released a Cheetos mac and cheese, complete with a Flamin' Hot flavor, and a special breakfast edition mac and cheese. In a press release titled, 'It's Official: Kraft Mac & Cheese Is Approved for Breakfast,' the company said that 56% of parents served their children mac and cheese for breakfast more often since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Curious cooks have until September 29 to enter the sweepstakes to win Pumpkin Spice Macaroni and Cheese. Only 1,000 lucky winners will be able to taste the experimental new dish.

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