I make as usual but add chopped cooked bacon and onions and chopped hard boiled eggs... so good I love the eggs the most
cherie19,
May 6, 7:48am
pineapple chunks is yummy too, if you like them!
annie.nz,
May 6, 7:57am
In my opinion it's all about the white sauce.
I only make it 3 or 4 times a year because it blows the entire family's arteries to hell and gone, but it's worth doing it properly, never any good with lowfat milk.
3 cups macaroni (Italian, pref. Barilla or Riscossa - aust/nz stuff sogs too much) 4-5 tbsp butter 6 tbsp flour 560ml homogenised or full cream milk 1/4 tsp mustard salt, black pepper 150g of Mainland mild cheddar or similar (or more - I tend to go by fistfuls till it tastes good) 30-50g good parmesan, grated
Make a white sauce by melting the butter, adding the flour and cooking over very low heat for several minutes, don't allow to brown. Add the mustard at this stage. If the flour/butter mix isn't liquid enough to stir, add more butter. Cool a bit. Heat the milk in the microwave to just below boiling, and add to the flour and butter, stirring well, to make a smooth liquid. (Or whisk it if it goes lumpy). Bring to a simmer and simmer slowly until the mixture thickens to the consistency you like. Add salt and pepper to taste - keep tasting, it should be really really good, takes quite a bit of salt to get to that stage.
Add the cheese and melt it in, reserving a bit of grated cheddar for the topping.
Meanwhile boil a really big pot of water, salt well then salt well again. Add a little olive oil to stop the water boiling over, then add the pasta and boil for about 3/4 the time it says on the packet.
Reserve a cup of pasta liquid, then drain the pasta. Add the white sauce, and then if the sauce is too thick add the reserved liquid till the sauce pours easily.
Put into shallow oven dish, sprinkle with grated cheese, and put in oven at about 180 deg untill heated through and browned on top.
Can also add cauliflower, bacon, tomatoes if you prefer.
This quantity is for 3 adults - for 4 I use 4c macaroni, 6 tbsp butter, 8 tbsp flour, 750ml milk, 200g cheese.
vtired,
May 6, 10:02pm
I make similar to annie.nz but I crumble a chicken stk cube into white sauce w a pinch cayenne. I also finely dice an onion and plenty of bacon and cook until just starting to brown, this is tipped into pasta then sauce mixed up and put into dish with breadcrumbs then cheese then sliced tom and bake 30 min 180c
quicke,
May 7, 9:34am
i never bake mine anymore with the breadcrumbs and extra cheese... theser days i make a good cheese sauce with a pinch of cayenne peppercook the pasta and fry up bacon bit mix all together and then just before i serve it i toss thru one tub of sour cream and chopped spring onions and tomatoes... its my new fave i love the crunchy fresh spring onions and toms. . yummmm!
stormbaby,
Apr 9, 5:45pm
That sounds absolutely yum. I like the idea of the sour cream. There's another product you can try, its called Creme Fraiche. Absolutely beautiful.
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