Last night I was trying to decide what to do for my next entry into CollegeMealIdeas, when a sudden craving for mac and cheese hit me. Loosing all sense of reality, I ran to Safeway in a self-induced, cheese deprived state and bought a 32 ounce block of sharp cheddar (22.1 cents an ounce!), enough elbow noodles to feed a 3rd grade class, and some box mac and cheese to top it all off. Arriving home, I realized that I can't do this every time I have a food urge (I'll go broke), but with my new cheese surplus, might as well make enough mac and cheese for my roommates and I to indulge in.
The image that was flitting through my mind last night, courtesy of Google images
This is a simple recipe, though not as simple as my jazzed up box mac and cheese (future post coming), that is great for making large quantities of cheesy, delectable noodles. Be warned though, making this and leaving your apartment door open is a sure way to meet your dorm neighbors (good or bad?). Enough talk though, here is the recipe!
Mac and Cheese with Sage
Prep time - 15-30 minutes
Cook time - 15 minutes
Serves 4-6
Main Ingredients:
- 1 lb elbow noodles (box)
- 1 3/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 1/4 cups milk (I use 1%, but skim to whole milk works. Whole milk will taste the best)
- 1/4 cup white flour (bread or all-purpose)
- 3-4 cloves of crushed garlic
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
Optional Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 tsp sage (less if ground sage)*
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs (future post on how to make breadcrumbs here)
Note - Regarding the sauce, for those savvy in the kitchen, you're basically making a simple white sauce, which cheese is then added to.
Set oven to 375 degrees. Boil noodles, cook al dente (more on this in the future), and drain once done. While noodles are boiling, in a separate sauce pan (with high sides, Teflon not recommended**), melt your butter on medium heat. Once butter is heated, add your crushed garlic and stir until slightly golden brown. Incorporate half the flour into the butter-garlic sauce, and then add the rest.
At this point, many recipes ask you to cook the butter flour mixture for a few minutes to lessen the flour taste, but if using good flour, you'll actually remove the nice nutty flavor flour has.
Finished cheese sauce - It steamed up the camera lens!
Immediately add your milk, and using a whisk stir often until sauce begins to thicken (4-6 minutes). Once thickened, start mixing in your cheese, about 1/2 a cup at a time. Leave 1/4 cup on the side for later. Add your salt, pepper, and I always add sage (it's the secret ingredient!). Sauce will now be nice and thick, so take it off the heat, and in a large pot mix the noodles with the sauce.
Must...resist
Spread your mac and cheese into a well greased casserole dish, top with the rest of the cheese, and sprinkle bread crumbs on top. Place in oven, and try patiently waiting 15 minutes as it cooks to perfection!
Finished product - Not pulled from Google images!
One more for good measure
This recipe is killer, if I haven't made it apparent yet, and it will easily fill four starving college students, so make it with friends!
Enjoy your new found ability to induce food comas to those around you at will, takes just 35 minutes!
Until next time, and stay tuned in the next couple of days for a ripoff of a breakfast classic!
Stefan
* In my opinion adding the sage is required. It just blends and tastes great with the fatty favor and texture of mac and cheese.
** Teflon is not recommended because when metal comes in contact with it, like a whisk, microscopic amounts will flake off into your food, over time destroying the non-stick coating
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