Homeroom's Ultimate Macaroni And Cheese Recipe
Macaroni and cheese has been around for a good long while, but back in the day, it seemed to be something that people mostly ate at home. In the 20-teens, however, it became super-trendy to the point where there were even restaurants dedicated to the stuff.
- 4 cups whole milk
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- Kosher salt
- 1 pound elbow macaroni
- 8 ounces shredded 2-year aged sharp cheddar cheese (about 3 cups)
- 3 ounces grated Pecorino Romano cheese (about 1 cup)
- Heat the milk in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until it just comes to a simmer. Turn off the heat and set aside.
- In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
- Add the flour and whisk constantly until the mixture turns light brown in color, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- While whisking constantly, slowly add the hot milk to the flour mixture until evenly combined and smooth. It will get very thick when you first add the milk, then thin out.
- Return the saucepan to medium-high heat and while whisking constantly, cook until the sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Stir in 1 tablespoon of the salt, taste, and season with additional salt if desired. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until it's almost al dente (just on the edge of being undercooked).
- Drain and rinse pasta with cold water; set aside.
- Place the reserved saucepan of béchamel over medium heat and stir in both cheeses just until melted and smooth.
- Add the pasta and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is heated through and steaming, about 2 to 4 minutes.
- If baking, transfer to a 5-quart baking dish, sprinkle with the panko, and bake on the middle rack of an oven preheated to 400 F until bubbling and brown on top, about 25 to 30 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
“Béchamel may sound like something fancy and difficult to prepare, but it's actually a pretty basic white sauce, and the one in this recipe, Rosenhouse says,”
Béchamel may sound like something fancy and difficult to prepare, but it's actually a pretty basic white sauce, and the one in this recipe, Rosenhouse says, "came together quickly for a creamy, cheesy mac and cheese rich in flavor and texture." She raves about the mixture of cheeses as well, saying that these make the dish "creamy and indulgent, but with more depth of flavor than your typical mac and cheese." This dish is even pretty versatile in that it can be prepared in two ways: either entirely on the stovetop or finished off in the oven. Rosenhouse opts for the latter method here in order to get the full experience of the baked version in all its crunchy-topped goodness.
Gather the ingredients to make Homeroom's macaroni and cheese
Homeroom's macaroni and cheese is made using elbow macaroni, as is the case with many such recipes. It also includes other typical ingredients like milk, butter, flour, salt, and cheddar, plus it adds Pecorino Romano cheese for extra flavor. If you're making the baked version, you'll also need panko breadcrumbs for the topping.
