Baked Mac And Cheese!

[melrobsings]

OK guys, a few weeks ago my best friend was over and I wanted mac and cheese BAD. I would kill for the crappy kraft blue box with the powered cheese...mmmm. WELL i found something that beats it!!!

The recipe sounds odd, i know but it's great! It's from Alton Brown on Food tv and I have to say he does a LOT of things that can easily be gluten-free! I throw in a dash of red pepper and extra peprika. I don't do the topping. I also let the cheese sit on the stove a tad longer then it says too and it's KILLER!!! I'm not going to put gluten-free on this recipe...it's sort of obvious that we are....well....all gluten-free! HA! LOL

1/2 pound elbow macaroni

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon powdered mustard

3 cups milk

1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 large egg

12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Fresh black pepper

Topping:

3 tablespoons butter

1 cup panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the bay leaf.

Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.

Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.

Remember to save leftovers for fried Macaroni and Cheese.

[blueeyedmanda]

I have been always wanting to make baked mac and cheese. Now I have this great recipe. Thanks!

[Rosebud710]

I thought panko bread crumbs is from wheat. I wanted to try them once and when I saw the ingredients, wheat flour was the first item.

[Sweetfudge]

mmm sounds good.

Rosebud - a good sub for breadcrumbs is to take a couple of van's waffles, crumble them up, throw in a pan with some butter. let them toast a bit, then throw them in the blender until they look like crumbs! then throw on top and bake! i have a pic of them on my blog (view my profile for link)atop tuna casserole.

i might just have to make this for lunch!