Julian Child's Mac And Cheese

My recipe was inspired by my great grandmother Coo Coo's. She used canned mac and cheese as a base that she "doctored up" to something that was truly remarkable. It wasn't the congealed mass of noodles that you normally get: it was just the right amount of soupy and absolutely delicious. Her unique additions of mustard and Worcestershire sauce give this recipe its heart and soul. No two batches are ever the same, and you can even add delicious ingredients like pancetta or lobster to offer something truly special.

I can't help but recognize Ina Garten, the woman whose show literally taught me how to cook. I made her macaroni and cheese once, and although her recipe is hardly unique, I've developed my own from that for years. I have added so much to this in terms of flavor that I have no problem calling it mine, but she always deserves a nod of appreciation.

Ingredients:

1 lb Pasta – Casarecce (preferred) or Tortiglioni

1 quart Half & Half

1/3 Cup All Purpose Flour

1 stick of unsalted butter, divided
4 oz chopped pancetta (not the small slices) - optional

1-2 large eggs (if you don't let the sauce thicken)

Seasonings:
     Dry:

·         1 tbsp Kosher salt (if you don't use Kosher, it will be too salty)

·         1 tsp freshly ground black pepper (if you don't use freshly ground, it will be gross)

·         1 tbsp sugar

·         1 tsp FRESHLY ground nutmeg (freshly ground is VERY VERY important.)

·         ¾ - 1 tsp dry yellow mustard

·         1/4 - 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

·           ½ - 1 tsp smoked sea salt (optional; I use the regular or a chardonnay oak smoked)

     Wet:

·         1 tsp Dijon mustard

·         Splash of dry white wine or beer (kind of optional; this makes the cheese stickier/smoother)

·         2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

·         ½ tsp white truffle oil (optional)

Cheese:

·         .3-.5 lb grated Parmigiano Reggiano *

·         1.5 lb cheddar cheese, grated ** (I typically put 3 varieties: aged at least 1 year (.7 lb), maple smoked cheddar (.5 lb), and something really, really pungent (.3 lb). These are all approximations, and I usually just try to get the cheese to add up to 1.5 pounds. Adding three varieties gives complexity that you just cannot replicate with one cheese.)

Bread Crumb Topping:

·         1.5 cups Panko/Japanese Bread Crumbs

·         1 tbsp rendered bacon fat (or pancetta fat) with 1 tbsp butter or 2 tbsp of butter (go with the bacon, trust me.)

o   This is the stuff your mom keeps in a jar in the fridge… just snag a little grease the next time you make bacon or roughly chop several slices of bacon and cook in a sauté pan until you get a tbsp of fat from them. See the second part of Step 3 if you want to use pancetta.

Instructions:

1.       Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pre-measure wet and dry seasonings into separate bowls for quicker prep. Grate the cheese if you haven't already.* and **

2.       Place half and half in saucepan and heat on low/simmer. Do not boil. You can heat over a double boiler to make sure you don't overheat it. (It's an old wives' tale that the milk and flour should be of different temperatures. I just think it makes it take 20 minutes for the roux to thicken. If both are hot, it should thicken within a couple of minutes up to ten if your pot isn't hot at all. I can't notice the difference between the two. Trust that I would take the extra time if actually mattered.) If you're inexperienced making a roux, you might want to buy an extra quart of half and half just in case you curdle the first one.

3.      Start the pasta water. When ready (for me, almost exactly when roux is ready), cook pasta as directed on package to the shortest time on the range. Don’t forget to add a splash of oil and a hearty toss of salt to the water. The noodles are almost always done when I need them. If not, wait on them to finish or let them chill in a colander in the sink until you’re ready.

       If you're going to use the pancetta, place it in a small frying pan with a little bit of water and heat it over medium to medium high heat until crispy. Place on paper towels to cool but reserve the fat for the bread crumb topping.

4.       Prepare the roux by melting 6 tbsp butter in hard bottomed pot of at least 5 qt capacity. Add 1/3 cup flour and whisk for a minute or two to cook the flour. You don't want this to get too hot or you will increase your chance of curdling the half and half.

5.       Slowly whisk in hot Half & Half to pot through sieve. I usually add a third and whisk in with the flour mixture and follow it with the rest. If not immediately thick, cook on low to medium low stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until thick (it should be the consistency of Alfredo sauce). (Don't be careless and burn this. It'll make the whole thing gross. If you think it has stuck to the bottom, transfer pots and pour it through a sieve.) Turn off the heat.

6.       Add seasonings. You may have to whisk to incorporate. You can do this before the roux has fully thickened. I pre-measure the seasonings before I start cooking and place the wet and dry in different bowls so I can add them quickly. I also like to whisk up the dry to mix it well because dry mustard likes to clump when added to a sauce.

7.       Add all of the cheddar and 1 cup of Parmesan (if you only have one cup, don't sweat it; just dump it all in there). Stir until almost melted. Taste for flavor. It should be fairly spicy from the cayenne, but don't worry as it will be cut significantly by the noodles. You may need to add more sugar depending on the ruthlessness of the cheese you chose. The most I've added is an additional tablespoon to round out the cheese sauce. If the sauce seems too soupy because you didn't let it thicken enough, add an egg or two but you probably want to temper it by adding a little bit of the cheese sauce to make sure that it doesn't scramble the eggs.

8.       Add warm noodles to cheese sauce (Lobster Mac Variation***). Don’t feel like you have to put the whole pound of noodles in. You want it to be relatively soupy. I use the whole pound with Casarecce noodles and ¾ of a pound with Tortiglioni. Stir in the pancetta if you're using it.

9.       Place into rectangular baking dish. (I use a ceramic 12.5x9.5 or an enameled cast iron roaster.)

(If you want to prepare ahead, stop at this step and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator if you're not cooking within an hour or so.)

10.   For the topping, sprinkle the remaining grated Parmesan OR some more smoked sea salt (about a teaspoon; you can rub it between your fingers and it will become very fine).

11.   Melt 1 tbsp butter with 1 tbsp bacon fat (or just another tbsp of butter) and mix as evenly as possible with bread crumbs using a fork.  Add breadcrumbs to cover the top. I like to have some noodles still coming out of the topping so you know what it is.

12.   Bake in oven for 30-35 minutes (or 40-60 minutes if it was refrigerated) until cheese sauce is bubbling on the sides. If you over-bake it the cheese will separate into grease and cheese solids. You don't want that to happen. Sometimes I'll turn on the boiler to brown the breadcrumbs, but it really doesn't affect the flavor. It's just for looks.

*roughly chop block of Parmesan cheese and process in a food processor using the steel blade and pulse until grated

**cold cheese grates better than room temperature

***variation: add 1-1.5 pounds of lobster meat before adding the noodles. I buy one live 4 pound lobster and boil it for 10-12 minutes in boiling water with 2 lemons, roughly 1 tbsp salt, and a splash of white vinegar (separates meat from shell). I boil the lobster first and harvest the meat. (I reserve the olive for a wonderful mayonnaise mustard dip for shrimp and crab legs.) You might want to alter the seasonings a bit to taste. I would not add any sugar, cayenne, fennel, or truffle oil because they would compete with the lobster flavor rather than complement it, but you can use your own judgement.