I grew up with dueling recipes for macaroni and cheese. My father's mother, who would frequently say that her philosophy was to "eat to
live", not "live to eat", made homemade mac and cheese by using a can of
Campbell's cheddar cheese
soup for the sauce. It was basic and did the job, but did not hold a candle to the mac and cheese that my mother's mother
made.
Gram's mac and cheese sauce consisted of a white sauce mixed with cheddar cheese, Parmesan, and - her secret ingredient - one small grated
onion. She used shells for the pasta, as they held the cheese sauce perfectly.
An interesting side note is that after my eldest daughter was born my mother's younger sister visited and made her version of mac and cheese - which consisted of nothing more than ziti baked
with cubes of Velveeta. I never asked her why she didn't use her mother's recipe - perhaps she decided the simplicity of Velveeta was more her style?
up with dueling recipes for macaroni and cheese. My fa
Anyway to make Gram's macaroni and cheese, you'll need one pound of shells, and...
I use the microwave for the white sauce, but you can make it on the stove as well. For the microwave method, I use an 8 cup Pyrex measuring cup, and melt the butter and flour together for 1 minute, then whisk in the milk. I cook on high until it starts to thicken, stopping to whisk every 2 minutes to check and see if it's done. It usually takes
about 6 minutes. If you use the stove, you'll melt the butter and flour in a saucepan, then add the milk, stirring constantly until it starts to bubble and thicken.
After your white sauce is thickened, remove from heat, add the cheese and onion, stir until melted, and season with salt and pepper as
desired.
Pour over 1 lb cooked al dente pasta (large or medium shells) and bake in a 9x13 casserole dish for 30 minutes at 375 until it starts to get brown and crispy and the sauce is bubbling around the edges.
