Grown Up Mac 'N Cheese

From the early years of our lives, most of us have certain foods that stick in our minds as comfort foods because of how we connect them to our childhood. Macaroni and cheese is an obvious choice for many of us here in North America. And although it's easy and cheap to go out and buy a box of prepared KD, let's face it, it's no match for homemade.

My husband grew up in a household with parents that immigrated from europe. Macaroni and cheese wasn't really a dish they ate. When I introduced him to the boxed version early in our dating life, he thought it was... yucky lol. It took many years for me to get him to try home made mac 'n cheese after that (I guess it soured his tastes towards it), but once I managed, he realized it was definately not the same thing. It's more flavourful for those mature tastebuds and the texture far superior. After all, if your going to down a giant bowl of pasta and cheese, it should damn well taste better then what comes in a box!

Ingredients & Method


Onions
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
4-5 medium vidalia onions, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
pinch of salt and fresh cracked pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter with the olive oil, add in onions, garlic, bay leaves, salt and pepper and allow to cook down while stirring occasionally, until onions appear see through and have caramelized, about 30 minutes.
2. Deglaze the pan with the white wine, then add the chicken stock. Stir it all up then lower heat so it just stays warm.


Pasta
1 lb pasta noodles, I use Scoobi Doo pasta, but penne, rotini, fusilli or even good ole macaroni will all work well.

In the meantime... get your pasta cooking in salted water with a touch of oil in it (helps keep it from sticking to itself). Cook according to package directions
Cheese Sauce
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp all purpose flour
2 cups milk
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp paprika
2 tsp dry thyme
2 cups grated old cheddar (or a blend of cheese, I did half old cheddar, half creamy havarti)
1/2 - 3/4 cup dry breadcrumbs (optional)

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter then add the flour, whisking until it resembles wet sand (this is called a roux). Allow it to cook for a minute or two, whisking the entire time so that it does not burn. It should darken a bit in colour as well.
2. While continuing to whisk the roux, pour in the milk a bit at a time so that they combine smoothly.
3. Add nutmeg, dry mustard, paprika and thyme.
4. Remove from heat and immediately stir in cheese until it has completely melted.

Add cheese sauce and sauteed onions to cooked and drained pasta, stirring to thoroughly combine. Stir in breadcrumbs if desired and serve.

Make this more like french onion macaroni and cheese by using beef stock instead of chicken. Veggie stock would also work nicely but naturally would give a very different taste. You can easily adjust this to suit your family's tastes by using the cheese you prefer.

Sometimes, I sneak finely grated carrot into the onion mixture to give it a veggie boost. Pureed cauliflower is also easy to sneak into the cheese sauce. And if your family doesn't mind veggies, then just add a few broccoli trees to your pasta while it's cooking during the last few minutes, mix it in and let it show in all it's glory *wink*.

Enjoy!