Author |
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Countrydaze
Member
11-07-2003
| Monday, January 11, 2010 - 2:57 pm
Pamy, I just use beer, enough to cover them and I buy the cheapest beer in the store. They are always fall off the bone tender, but I boil them a good hour to an hour and a half, I boil them until they are tender, and they always come out so good.
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Hermione69
Member
07-24-2002
| Thursday, January 21, 2010 - 1:37 pm
Does anyone have a really good recipe for homemade macaroni and cheese? I'm making it next week for friends of mine who had a baby in October, and mom just started back to work and is exhausted juggling a full-time job and a new baby!
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Thursday, January 21, 2010 - 1:53 pm
yep...cook your pasta and add chucks of velveeta and a little half and half to make it the right consistancy.
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Tishala
Member
08-01-2000
| Thursday, January 21, 2010 - 2:01 pm
Patti Labelle has the best mac and cheese recipe ever. You need a bypass after you have it, but you'll enjoy it while you eat it... Oprah Over-the-Rainbow Macaroni and Cheese * 1 tablespoon vegetable oil * 1 pound elbow macaroni * 8 tablespoons (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon butter * 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Muenster cheese * 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded mild Cheddar cheese * 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese * 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack * 2 cups half-and-half * 1 cup (8 ounces) Velveeta , cut into small cubes * 2 large eggs , lightly beaten * 1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt * 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a deep 2 1/2-quart casserole. Bring the large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the oil, then the elbow macaroni, and cook until the macaroni is just tender, about 7 minutes [me? I skip the oil]. Do not overcook. Drain well. Return to the cooking pot. In a small saucepan, melt eight tablespoons of the butter. Stir into the macaroni. In a large bowl, mix the Muenster, mild and sharp Cheddar, and Monterey Jack cheeses. To the macaroni, add the half-and-half, 1 1/2 cups of the shredded cheese, the cubed Velveeta, and the eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to the buttered casserole. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese and dot with the remaining one tablespoon of butter. Bake until it's bubbling around the edges, about 35 minutes. Serve hot.
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Twinkie
Member
09-24-2002
| Thursday, January 21, 2010 - 2:16 pm
Hermi, the Patti Labelle mac and cheese is absolutely the best mac and cheese we have ever had. Hubby and I love it and so do our friends that we've turned on to it. But you really can't have it very often or it'll kill ya. LOL ETA: I use rigatoni instead of elbow macaroni. We like it better that way.
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Beekindpleez
Member
07-18-2006
| Thursday, January 21, 2010 - 2:18 pm
Agreed. Patti Labelle Mac is the ginchiest. But I top mine with a mix of parmesan and bread crumbs for a little added crunch and flavor.
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Thursday, January 21, 2010 - 2:38 pm
my family doesn't like it when it's baked...go figure! LOL which is kind of nice cause my 'recipe' takes maybe 15 minutes top and i even use whole wheat pasta to make it 'healthy' LOL
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Thursday, January 21, 2010 - 2:47 pm
We love Patti's recipe, too!
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Sia
Member
03-10-2002
| Thursday, January 21, 2010 - 3:45 pm
I laughed really hard when I read Martha Stewart's recipe for macaroni and cheese several years ago. I laughed so hard that I just had to print it from the internet and paste it into my recipe/scrapbook. We've never made it because it's just so darned complicated! I just wanted to include the recipe because Martha has an uncanny knack for adding about three dozen steps to any process just to make things more difficult.
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Twinkie
Member
09-24-2002
| Thursday, January 21, 2010 - 4:26 pm
Sia, please share it with us!
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Colordeagua
Member
10-25-2003
| Thursday, January 21, 2010 - 4:36 pm
Is this it, Sia? I found this mac and cheese recipe from Martha Stewart Living in 1999. Link
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Dipo
Member
04-23-2002
| Thursday, January 21, 2010 - 4:41 pm
Texannie, I don't like it baked either, do you think that grated cheddar would work instead of velveta?
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Thursday, January 21, 2010 - 5:09 pm
It would Dipo, but I think you might have to add more half & half to get the same creamy texture. cheddar can get kind of stringy sometimes.
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Colordeagua
Member
10-25-2003
| Thursday, January 21, 2010 - 5:12 pm
From Martha's recipe. (Link above.) The type of cheese used will also affect the sauce's texture: Sharp white cheddar produces the smoothest result; yellow and extra sharp cheddars can become grainy.
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Serate
Member
08-21-2001
| Thursday, January 21, 2010 - 6:08 pm
Guess I'm not seeing what's so hard about Martha's recipe. Just make a white sauce, add cheese, pour over macaroni, top with buttered bread crumbs. Basically how I do mine just not with the cheeses she uses. And unless I'm taking it to a potluck, I don't bother with the bread crumbs.
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Costacat
Member
07-15-2000
| Thursday, January 21, 2010 - 7:14 pm
I've got a killer recipe but... well, I make it up as I go along. I will say this... I don't have to make a bechamel sauce. And I never EVER use Velveeta or American cheese in my mac. I'll grate about 3-4 cups of cheese, depending on what kind of cheese I use. I'll often use a combination of cheddars with gruyere or gouda, with a bit of parmesan or other chi chi cheeses that I get at the cheese shop, or any other leftover bits I have around (like a good manchego). I cook up the macaroni and drain. Dump back into the pot and stir in 8 ounces of cream cheese (cut up so it melts faster) and a bit of milk. Add the cheeses and mix well. Add white pepper and cayenne to taste. Dump into a casserole and top with buttered bread crumbs mixed with parmesan cheese. Bake for about 40 minutes (depending on how deep the casserole is). It's a no recipe recipe and it's the best mac of all time. And if I'm feeling really fancy, I'll add truffle oil for a really decadent mac! Damn. Now I'm craving mac 'n cheese!
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Costacat
Member
07-15-2000
| Thursday, January 21, 2010 - 7:15 pm
Oh yeah, sometimes I use pasta water instead of milk. Cuz I hate to heat up milk, so I'll reserve a cup of the pasta water and use that instead.
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Thursday, January 21, 2010 - 7:36 pm
Hermoine! I cannot believe you came in here to ask about the mac and cheese when you know how everyone raves about mine! (Well, it's not really mine, it is Patti Labelle's, but still!)
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Hermione69
Member
07-24-2002
| Friday, January 22, 2010 - 6:36 am
Duh! But thanks, everyone! I'm going to try Patti Labelle's recipe.
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Sia
Member
03-10-2002
| Friday, January 22, 2010 - 1:23 pm
Color, that seems to be the same recipe. I think it's been re-typed just a hair since I copied it from Martha Stewart's site. I can reproduce it here, probably. I will give it a try.
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Sia
Member
03-10-2002
| Friday, January 22, 2010 - 1:34 pm
Here's the recipe from my home-made recipe/scrapbook. I have photos of family and some special recipes, plus recipes I didn't want to lose. It was a project I did while recuperating from abdominal surgery in 2007.

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Sia
Member
03-10-2002
| Friday, January 22, 2010 - 1:35 pm

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Sia
Member
03-10-2002
| Friday, January 22, 2010 - 1:41 pm
My favorite macaroni & cheese story is as follows: years ago, before I was married & had kids I worked as a dorm supervisor & cook/baker at a boarding school. I was learning to cook vegetarian dishes & to cook food in large quantities for the first time. In making my white sauce as a base for the mac/cheese that was the entree for the evening's meal for a music camp full of vegetarians (about 80 of the 120 ppl served), I scorched the milk. Instead of starting over (because I had no time), I went ahead & made the mac/cheese, which ended up tasting a bit off, or a bit burnt. One of the students came into the kitchen, found me crying, & put her hands on my shoulders. She said, "It's not your fault; it's that damned government cheese!" That makes me laugh to this day.
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Friday, January 22, 2010 - 8:31 pm
Has anyone else tried Huberts' mac'n cheese w/prawns from the Top Chef's Master's dorm challenge. We made it one night, figuring if he could make it in a dorm room, it would be pretty easy in a kitchen. It was delicious! I can't put my hands on the recipe at the moment, but I'm looking. I'm going to see if the Bravo site still has it.
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Friday, January 22, 2010 - 8:34 pm
AH HA! Only took a couple minutes on the bravo site -- CLICK HERE for the recipe.
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