Martha Stewart’s Macaroni & Cheese

I have heard that Martha Stewart’s macaroni & cheese is, perhaps, the best macaroni & cheese in the world. Feeling ambitious, I decided to give her mac cheese a try in our house because, goodness, what do we have to lose?

If there is one thing that I am madly in love with it is a good macaroni & cheese recipe. I have tried many, but very few are creamy enough or have that flavor that I really love in a good macaroni. Rarely do I make the homemade stuff, but even rarer do I find a homemade macaroni worth making.

For my birthday this past year, we hit a local tapas restaurant to indulge in some gourmet food. Listed among these tiny bites of deliciousness was a side of macaroni & cheese. Since it was my birthday, I selected this side for our meal and I think I ate the entire bowl all by myself. It was mac & cheese perfection and I have been thinking about it ever since.

If ever a recipe stacked close to my new restaurant favorite, it is this one. A bit more labor intensive than I would typically love on a weekday, I set out to make homemade croutons for topping, fought with my food processor to grate the cheese, made a roux, and simmered a cheese sauce.

It wasn’t the easiest dish I made.

It certainly created a lot of dishes.

I am no Martha Stewart, that is for sure.

But it tasted like heaven.

It was the perfect macaroni & cheese.

It was worth the effort.

Please try it, I believe you will agree. This is the mecca of macaroni & cheese. Perfectly creamy, oh, so cheesy, a perfect blend and merriment of flavors, a gift from Above.

Add it to your Thanksgiving menu and I promise it will not disappoint. I cut the recipe in half for our family meal, as the full recipe creates 12 generous portions, but a full tray of this would be perfect for your holiday feasting.

Recipe:

Martha Stewart’s Macaroni & Cheese

Warm the milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Melt the remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. When the butter bubbles, add the flour. Cook, stirring, 1 minute.

While whisking, slowly pour in the hot milk a little at a time to keep mixture smooth. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick, 8 to 12 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar cheese, and 1 1/2 cups Gruyère (or 1 cup Pecorino Romano); set the cheese sauce aside.

Cover a large pot of salted water, and bring to a boil. Cook the macaroni until the outside of pasta is cooked and the inside is underdone, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well. Stir the macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce.

Pour the mixture into the prepared dish. Sprinkle the remaining 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup Gruyère (or 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano), and the breadcrumbs over the top. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes (though we needed a bit more time to get it brown, but your oven may vary). Transfer the dish to a wire rack for 5 minutes; serve.

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 60 minutes
Serving Size: 12
Source: Adapted from Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The Original Classics, Inspired by Smitten Kitchen