There’s a time and a place for serious mad scientist mac and cheese, but sometimes you just want a no-brainer method for making the stuff without giving it too much thought.
Enter Food52’s method. With this method, demonstrated by Food52 founders Merrill Stubbs and Amanda Hesser, you can customize mac and cheese using whatever short pasta you like, your favorite cheese (or cheeses…in my case, ALL OF THEM,) desired meat and vegetable mix-ins, and toppings.
The play-by-play goes something like this:
- Boil macaroni or short pasta of your choice in salted water.
- Make a roux with equal parts butter and flour, plus eight times the amount of hot milk. (In this case, they use a stick of butter and half a cup of flour.) Whisk until roux is smooth, barely simmering, and coats the back of a spoon.
- Season roux with salt and any other flavorings (nutmeg, mustard, paprika, etc.) and add grated cheese to your liking.
- Add any other meat or vegetables at this point (greens, shredded meat, other vegetables, etc.)
- It’s ready to eat. Or, for a baked style, transfer to a casserole dish, top with desired bread topping (bread chunks, panko, Italian breadcrumbs, etc.), and bake at 375F for 30 minutes until browned on top.
Catch the video for more detailed explanations and some flavor ideas and inspiration. Buffalo chicken mac and cheese, anyone?
Making Mac and Cheese Without a Recipe | The New York Times With Food52
Photo by Food52.
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Make Any Type of Mac and Cheese with This Simple Formula