{"id":1225,"date":"2011-12-24T18:21:19","date_gmt":"2011-12-24T23:21:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rubright.com\/basement\/?p=1225"},"modified":"2011-12-24T18:22:44","modified_gmt":"2011-12-24T23:22:44","slug":"the-best-mac-and-cheese-ive-ever-had","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.rubright.com\/basement\/the-best-mac-and-cheese-ive-ever-had\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Mac and Cheese I’ve Ever Had"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I was a kid, my favorite thing to eat was my mom’s macaroni and cheese. I don’t have it very often these days, since it’s pretty darn indulgent. A couple of years ago I asked her for the recipe so I could make it for my birthday. She had stopped making it years before and often opines that she’s no longer “Mother Good Cook,” though I can tell you, even though she has disowned the title, she can still cook mighty good if need be.<\/p>\n

The recipe is one of those rote things that doesn’t come from the Food Network<\/a>; I scribbled it down on a scrap of paper as she dictated it to me.<\/p>\n

Here it is:<\/p>\n

In a large pot capable of easily holding a pound of pasta (we both use a Le Crueset dutch oven<\/a>), make a roux using 3 tbs. of butter and 3 tbs. of flour. I melt the butter over medium heat and then whisk in the flour. It shouldn’t get too dark, we’re not making gumbo here.<\/p>\n

When it’s nice and bubbly, add a cup of milk (2% is fine) and whisk it in. Now we’ve got a nice white sauce going. Grate in a bit of nutmeg and add kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.<\/p>\n

Now comes the nostalgic kicker: drop in 8 oz. of Velveeta<\/a> cheese product (yes, you have to use it for authentic Mom’s Mac and Cheese since in the 60s, cheese was<\/em> Velveeta). Cut it into cubes first to facilitate uniform melting. Then add 8 oz. of shredded sharp cheddar cheese for a little zing.<\/p>\n

When it’s all melted, fold in a pound of cooked pasta. Macaroni is traditional but ziti or penne work well also. It can be served as is or baked in a 350 oven, which is how I like it best. My hand written notes don’t say how long to bake it so I leave that up to you. When the top is nicely browned, it’s done!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Mac and Cheese pre-baking<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I was a kid, my favorite thing to eat was my mom’s macaroni and cheese. I don’t have it very often these days, since it’s pretty darn indulgent. A couple of years ago I asked her for the recipe so I could make it for my birthday. She had stopped making it years before […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-food"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Best Mac and Cheese I've Ever Had - Rubright.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.rubright.com\/basement\/the-best-mac-and-cheese-ive-ever-had\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Best Mac and Cheese I've Ever Had - Rubright.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When I was a kid, my favorite thing to eat was my mom’s macaroni and cheese. 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