The Mac + Cheese Cookbook by Allison Arevalo and Erin Wade - Recipes
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The Recipe ClubThe Mac + Cheese Cookbook by Allison Arevalo and Erin Wade - Recipes
Uploaded by
The Recipe ClubT
HEMAC+CHE
E
S
ECOOKBOOK
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction 1
Basics 5
American Classics
23
Recipes
Up With
You Grew
er
Only Bett
International Relations
41
Recip
es from Ar
ound the World
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Chemistry
Extra Credit 75
Side
Dishes
Finals
59
Experiments with
Unusual Ingredients
91
D e s s e r t
About the Authors 112
Measurement Conversion Charts 113
Index 114
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Mac Sauce
(Bchamel 101)
This simple, creamy, and delicious sauce is the base for all of our mac and cheese recipes.
The French call it bchamel. We call it Mac Sauce.
Were pretty certain this sauce will change your lifeit has certainly changed ours.
Once you learn this recipe, you can make countless varieties of mac and cheese just
by adding whatever tasty cheese you like, starting with little else than what you have in
your fridge. And the great news is that its really simplejust flour, butter, milk, and salt.
The secret is in the whiskonce youve added the milk, just keep stirring and before you
know it, your sauce will be thick, creamy, and the foundation of many awesome mac and
cheeses to come.
This recipe makes three cups of saucethe recipes call for two, but it is wise to make
a little extra in case someone wants their mac a bit saucier. It is also somewhat difficult
to make only two cups of sauce because you dont have much liquid to work withso
weve found that three is necessary for the easiest preparation. You can use Mac Sauce to
make amazing biscuits and gravy if you just fry up bacon and add the bacon grease and
chopped up bacon (use our biscuit recipe on page 82 as the base for this). You can also
make chicken la king if you add cooked chicken and peas, and serve it over rice. Mac
Sauce is also great as a base or thickener for soups like clam chowder or cream of potato.
A few other things to consider when you are making your Mac Sauceuse whole milk.
Dont cut corners and use low-fat or nonfat milk or it will end up tasting watery and gross,
resulting in a rather sad-tasting mac and cheese. Also, if you have one around, its best to
use a heavy-bottomed pot to cook the sauce because it will keep the milk from burning
and will allow it to cook evenly. One last thingpay attention to the type of salt you use
because it makes a difference (see A Word on Salt, page 16). Makes 3 cups
continued
Basics
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Mac Sauce, continued
Lesson Plan
3 cups whole milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt or
1 teaspoon table salt
Heat the milk in a pot over medium heat until it just
starts to bubble, but is not boiling, 3 to 4 minutes.
Remove from the heat.
Heat the butter over medium heat in a separate, heavybottomed pot. When the butter has just melted, add
the flour and whisk constantly until the mixture turns
light brown, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Slowly pour the warm milk, about 1 cup at a time, into
the butter-flour mixture, whisking constantly. It will get
very thick when you first add the milk, and thinner as
you slowly pour in the entire 3 cups. This is normal.
Once all the milk has been added, set the pot back over
medium-high heat, and continue to whisk constantly.
In the next 2 to 3 minutes the sauce should come
together and become silky and thick. Use the spoon test
to make sure its ready (see picture, opposite). To do this,
dip a metal spoon into the sauceif the sauce coats the
spoon and doesnt slide off like milk, youll know its
ready. You should be able to run your finger along the
spoon and have the impression remain. Add the salt.
The Mac Sauce is ready to use immediately and does
not need to cool. Store it in the fridge for a day or two
if you want to make it ahead of timeit will get a lot
thicker when put in the fridge, so it may need a little
milk to thin it out a bit when it comes time to melt in
the cheese. Try melting the cheese into the sauce first,
and if it is too thick then add milk as needed.
10
The Mac + Cheese Cookbook
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Roasted Carrots with
Citrus Vinaigrette (page 78)
American Classics
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Smoky Bacon Mac
Its true that you can add bacon to any of the macs in this book and the result will probably be delicious. But since we designed this mac around the salty, smoky taste of bacon,
we think its the best choice if youre craving a big dose of pork.
The intense flavor of smoky cheese goes a long way. Even the smallest shred of a
smoked Cheddar or Jack will impart a whole lot of flavor to your mac and cheese, so go
easy on it. This hearty mac makes a great dish for the winter holidays. (Cant you just see
it sitting pretty next to a big, plump turkey?) Serves 4
Lesson Plan
1/2 pound dried elbow pasta
1 pound sliced bacon
2 cups Mac Sauce (page 9)
1 cup grated smoked
Cheddar cheese
Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until a little less
than al dente. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain
the pasta again.
1 cup grated Jack cheese
Beer Pairing: Red Ale
Wine Pairing: Cabernet
Sauvignon
Cook the bacon in a frying pan over high heat until
crispy, about 8 minutes. Remove extra grease by patting
the strips with a paper towel, and then cut into bitesize pieces.
Add the sauce and both cheeses to a large, heavy-
bottomed pot and cook over medium heat. Stir until
the cheese is barely melted, about 3 minutes. Add the
bacon and stir to combine. Slowly add the cooked
pasta, stir, and continue cooking while stirring continuously until the dish is nice and hot, another 5 minutes.
Spoon into bowls and serve hot.
34
The Mac + Cheese Cookbook
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Copyright 2013 by Little Mac LLC
Photographs copyright 2013 by Sara Remington
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the
Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York
www.crownpublishing.com
www.tenspeed.com
Ten Speed Press and the Ten Speed Press colophon are registered
trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Arevalo, Allison, 1979
The mac + cheese cookbook : 50 simple recipes from homeroom,
Americas favorite mac and cheese restaurant / Allison Arevalo and
Erin Wade ; photography by Sara Remington.
pages cm
1. Cooking (Pasta) 2. Cooking (Cheese) 3. Casserole cooking.
I. Wade, Erin, 1981 II. Title.
TX809.M17A74 2013
641.822dc23
2013001194
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-60774-466-5
eBook ISBN: 978-1-60774-467-2
Printed in China
Design and illustrations by Betsy Stromberg
Food and prop styling by Christine Wolheim
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
First Edition
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T
HEMAC+CHE
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ECOOKBOOK
