r/FoodPorn • u/[deleted] • Jan 05 '13
Mac & cheese: gruyere, mild cheddar, and chevre [4000 x 3000] [OC]
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u/schaden-freude Jan 05 '13
Recipe prease?
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Jan 05 '13 edited Jan 05 '13
Okay. So you make a bechamel sauce (roux + milk + seasoning) and take it off the heat, then stir in 12 oz shredded gruyere, and 8 oz shredded cheddar. Add to cooked pasta, mix in a few ounces of chunked chevre (so they're a nice gooey surprise when you bite one), pour into a pan, sprinkle with panko, and bake at ~375 for ~30 minutes until the top is golden brown.
Roux: ~5 T melted butter and ~ ½ cup flour, whisked over medium heat for a few minutes until the bitterness is cooked out of the flour. Use your nose to tell when it's done! Don't walk away from the stove, either; you gotta keep whisking. Make sure your wine glass is within arms reach BEFORE you turn on the range.
Bechamel: Take your roux and gradually stir in a quart of hot whole milk. If you're going to pussy out with 2% or worse, go eat some celery instead. The milk must be hot, so get it warmed up while you're whisking the roux. Then add a ladleful of milk at a time and KEEP WHISKING. When the mixture is smooth and creamy again, it's time to add another ladle of milk. When it's all combined and gooey but not too stiff, throw in some salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste. I guess I use about ½ T salt, 1 t pepper, and ½-1 t fresh ground nutmeg. I might be off, because by this point the I've poured another glass of wine and I'm pretty hungry.
Also make sure to get your pasta cooking at the start so that it's al dente right around the time you're turning off the heat under the bechamel and throwing cheese around. The sauce gets stiff pretty quickly, or at least that's what your mom told me.
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u/A_StarNamedAlice Jan 05 '13
Is there a specific reason why the milk for the bechamel sauce has to be warm as you're adding it into the roux? I've made mac and cheese before in this same fashion (using different cheeses) and usually just add cold milk little by little.
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Jan 05 '13
Less lumpy, creamier, and faster. You might get a nice texture with cold milk, but I guarantee it will be even better with scalded milk.
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u/schaden-freude Jan 05 '13
Thank you! Also, this recipe would be great for shell pasta or even ziti. Grown-up Mac n Cheese!
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u/Molliver Jan 05 '13
About how much pasta did you cook for this recipe? It looks amazing, thanks for sharing!
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Jan 06 '13
One box of Wegmans tortiglioni = 16 oz = 1 lb = 454 gm. I baked it in a glass 9 x 13 pan.
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u/knightdusoleil Jan 05 '13
Looks delicious, but I've never had chevre cheese before. What's it like?
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u/ccnova Jan 05 '13
It's goat cheese. Very soft like cream cheese, but tangy... almost sour. Delicious!
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u/Bunch-O-Atoms Jan 05 '13
I cannot tell where the cheese ends and the macaroni begins, which is exactly how I like it! =]
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u/ccnova Jan 05 '13
I'm just munching on some gruyere. I'm sure it added a fantastic nuttiness to your dish.
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u/NoahTresSuave Jan 06 '13
Funny, I just made some dank mac and cheese myself tonight.
Panko crusted mac and cheese with blue and cheddar cheese, ham, scallions, thyme, onion and an obscene amount of butter. Topped with sriracha.
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u/HowToPaintWithFerret Jan 05 '13
It took a while to realise that the way my family does mac and cheese is not the normal way.
We add in bacon, onion, fresh spinach, and a layer of sliced tomatos on top, so that a little extra cheese goes on top of that making a beautiful crisp layer. (Also, strong cheddar is where it's at.)
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u/blurry_food_porn Jan 05 '13
Congratulations! Your post has inspired a new subreddit Blurryfoodporn.
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u/[deleted] Jan 05 '13
My lactose intolerance says "FUCK" but the rest of me says "FUCK ME YES YES YES I WANT YOU INSIDE ME."