how to melt american cheese for macaroni and cheese

HOW TO MELT AMERICAN CHEESE FOR MACARONI AND CHEESE FULL
HOW TO MELT AMERICAN CHEESE FOR MACARONI AND CHEESE MAC

(A lesser Parmesan or a Grana Padano may have a higher salt content, which could make this dish too heavy, too salty, or both.) Buy a chunk rather than a container of grated cheese. Quality is crucial when you have such a simple recipe with so few ingredients, so we encourage you to use genuine Parmigiano Reggiano. We bake the dish briefly at high heat so the intense heat of the oven works to reduce the cream and thicken it slightly. As the thickener, we just let the cheese melt right into the cream.

HOW TO MELT AMERICAN CHEESE FOR MACARONI AND CHEESE MAC

We love American-style macaroni and cheese as much as anyone else, but whenever pasta is involved, our thoughts turn to Italy, so mac and cheese becomes ziti with Parmigiano Reggiano. Joanne Killeen and George Germon keep it simple with Parmesan and cream

To drink, I like rustic red wines-Syrah, Zinfandel, Grenache-or a full-flavored beer such as Pilsen or pale ale.

HOW TO MELT AMERICAN CHEESE FOR MACARONI AND CHEESE FULL

This casseroleis so full of flavor that all you’ll need to serve with it is roasted pork loin or roasted chicken, simply seasoned with salt and pepper. And when the dish starts to bake, the aromas build, and you know you’re in for something really good. Then when you pulse the chiles and cilantro together, you notice that the bright green color is pretty great. You smell the chiles as they char and think, oh, this is going to be good. I love the anticipation that builds when preparing this dish. Eggs that form a savory custard seemed a natural way to bind it all together. And then, I thought, what about corn tortillas? So, I chopped some up, along with the chiles and cilantro, for added texture and aroma. Comfort food in Texas means cheese and chiles and their creamy-zingy combination. With mac and cheese as the goal, I thought of comfort and nostalgia. It’s the antithesis of what I do during the week, which is to stand behind a line and cook under pressure. On my night off, I like “cocktail food”: not weiners on toothpicks, but food I can prepare and then let simmer or bake for 40 minutes or so-long enough to relax and have a cocktail before dinner. Robert Del Grande makes a savory custard with a Tex-Mex kick Sparkling wine or Champagne is the perfect drink to accompany the dish since it counters the richness. So, as a main course, I recommend serving it with an arugula salad tossed with a straightforward vinaigrette. There’s no question that this combination of classic béchamel and bold mix of cheeses creates an over-the-top mac and cheese. I start with the traditional binder for classic mac and cheese: béchamel, or white sauce-really just a mixture of butter and flour into which you whisk hot milk and cook slowly until thickened. I like to use Maytag Blue, Gruyère, Monterey Jack, and Parmigiano Reggiano-cheeses that might not be traditional for macaroni and cheese but that I love for their robust flavor. This mac and cheese, a luxurious version of a traditional southern accompaniment for ham, is equally good as a main course with a simple salad. Each chef gave me a deliciously different take: Not only are the flavors different, but each version is bound and thickened with a different method: with a white sauce, with a savory custard, and with cream.īen Barker brings it together with a classic white sauce I asked three chefs to create their own favorite version of macaroni and cheese.

I started fantasizing: Just how would a chef put his or her own special signature on this dish to make it deluxe? But the more I talked with chefs I know, the clearer it became that macaroni and cheese is exactly the kind of food that they like to cook for themselves, for family, and for friends on nights off. For a long time, I was reluctant (especially among my foodier friends) to admit how much I like to make macaroni and cheese.

How to melt american cheese for macaroni and cheese