As I finish off the leftovers of our dinner last night, I wonder if anybody is in need of a good, quick, stovetop mac & cheese recipe. I wouldn’t call this gourmet, since it doesn’t include chopped apples and wine or some such. But the addition of Dijon and use of a good quality block cheese pretty much raises this to the standard of side dish for a nice dinner, in my opinion. I am still a novice cook so I have hardly any truly original recipes. For this I combined a few different recipes and tested it with different cheeses to determine our favorite. The recipe comes with a 100% satisfaction guarantee: if you don’t like it, you win an all-expenses-paid trip to my house, where I will show you how to make the recipe properly, since you obviously didn’t do it right on your own. ;)
Edit: I’ve made this again and have downgraded the serving sizes. It really only serves 3 if the third person is a small child.
Stovetop Macaroni & Cheese
Serves 2 generously as an entree; 4-6 as a side
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 tsp. Frank’s hot sauce
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp. salt plus more to taste
1/2 lb. elbow macaroni
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
8 oz. extra sharp white cheddar, preferably Cabot, shredded
1. Bring 2 qts of water to boil in a Dutch oven. Add the salt and pasta, and cook til al dente. Drain and return to pot over low heat; add the butter and stir til melted.
2. Meanwhile, whisk together the evaporated milk, Frank’s, Dijon, pepper, and a pinch of salt to taste.
3. Add the milk mixture to the pasta; let come to a simmer. Slowly add in the cheese, one large handful at a time, stirring until it is all melted. Taste and season if necessary. Serve. (I don’t think the texture suffers when it’s served leftover the way some stovetop recipes turn hard and dry.)
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June 30, 2010 at 1:18 am
virginiasusan
Laura,
It sounds yummy! I might try it. I like Cabot cheddar cheese a lot. I often make macaroni and cheese for lunch on Sundays after church for a quick meal. Your recipe is very similar to mine but I just use plain milk. Yours is richer with the evaporated milk and is more buttery. I mix together flour and butter then add milk to it to make a sauce then add cheese and pour it over the hot macaroni. The mustard and hot pepper in yours would make it a lot more flavorful too.
June 30, 2010 at 2:59 am
Laura
I have really been spoiled by Cabot. Every variety of their cheese that I’ve tried has been divine. I’ve made a baked recipe before that did what you do with the roux. I couldn’t really tell a difference in the finished product, except the leftovers were much starchier. I like just dumping everything in at once, too.
June 30, 2010 at 12:40 pm
cabotcoop
Wow! I love seeing Cabot fans! Personally, I think the hot sauce is a great addition. Sometimes, I make mine with Cabot Habanero Cheddar. So thanks for posting and for using Cabot (our farmer owners are grateful!)! I’m posting a link on our Facebook page to share the yum… Thanks! http://www.facebook.com/cabot
See you online!
~Wendy
June 30, 2010 at 4:09 pm
mamastephf
This looks amazing! I look forward to trying it. Cabot cheese and pasta make it a must-eat! lol
I just added you to my blogroll. :)
June 30, 2010 at 4:20 pm
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