I've had perfect Mac n Cheese 3 times in my life. Once at a friend's highschool graduation party. Again at my sorority house in college (thank you Chef Craig) and then again at an event at the Georgia Aquarium.
For me, the perfect mac & cheese goes heavy on the cheese and has a gooey rather than creamy consistency. Like it sticks together a bit.
I've been trying to recreate this elusive perfect mac n cheese for over a year now and this is as close as I've gotten so I'm sharing it now and if I make any further breakthroughs I will keep this recipe updated!
Time: 20 min
Serves: 2 people
You'll need:
6 oz dried pasta (shells, radiatori, something that holds sauce well)
water
1 cup freshly grated white cheddar
1 cup freshly grated sharp yellow cheddar
1/4 cup heavy cream
salt + pepper to taste
Instructions:
Add your pasta into a pot with a drizzle of oil or butter. Add enough water to just cover the pasta. Add a generous pinch of salt and turn the heat to high so the water boils. When the pasta starts to outgrow the water, add enough to cover the pasta again, just one time. Now let the pasta soak up the rest of the water.
Once the pasta is done cooking, continue on high heat until the water has almost fully evaporated (this way all the starch stays in the pasta) - pay attention & stir frequently so the pasta doesn't start sticking to the bottom.
Turn the heat to low then add in the heavy cream and cheese and stir until melted. Season with pepper to taste. Continue cooking on low heat until the sauce thickens up and gets sticky - like when you stir there will be cheese pull style strings.
Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes:
This is a great base mac n cheese recipe. You can doctor it up by adding pesto or peas or sriracha or bacon, have fun with it! Or just stick with the original recipe because it is pretty great.