“Our life is frittered away by detail… simplify, simplify.”
Henry David Thoreau
This very simple James Beard recipe for macaroni and cheese caught my eye on a day when I was craving the quintessential American dish.
Sometimes a simple recipe reminds us that a dish is best unadorned.
Don’t get me wrong. I love macaroni and cheese in all its incarnations. Four cheese macaroni. Seventeen cheese macaroni. I’m there.
Nevertheless, this recipe, in all its elegant simplicity, was James Beard’s choice. You have to trust a recommendation from one of the cooking world’s giants.
Macaroni and Cheese
October 2, 2019
Ingredients
- 4 T. butter
- 4 T. flour
- 2 C. milk
- Dash of freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 t. Tabasco (or more to taste)
- 1/2 C. heavy cream
- 1/2 pound macaroni elbows
- 3/4 pound grated cheddar cheese
- Breadcrumbs
Directions
- Step 1 Boil macaroni in salted water until it is al dente. Drain. Cover with cold water and set aside.
- Step 2 Melt butter in a large saucepan and add flour. Stir with a wooden spoon for about three minutes. You are making a roux and you want it to be frothy when cooked and you want it to be cooked enough to eliminate any raw flour taste.
- Step 3 In a separate pan/bowl, warm the milk. (I did this in the microwave.) Gradually add the warmed milk to the roux and stir vigorously until the mixture is at the boiling point. Turn down the heat and let the mixture simmer for a frew minutes. Add pepper and Tabasco.
- Step 4 Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. As soon as the cheese has melted into your sauce add it to the prepared macaroni.
- Step 5 Pour the macaroni and cheese into a baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top of the dish. Sprinkle some breadcrumbs over the dish and bake for 30 minutes in a 350 degree F. oven.
You can buy Beard’s book here.
