WHAT IS YOUR BEST MARARONI CHEESE HINT/TIP

and or best ever tried, true and or tested recipe? Thanks

Jamie Oliver gave a nice Cauliflower Macaroni Cheese recipe but felt it was very large and some items were not easily accessible or economically available but adapted the following and can be halved for a easier sized dish.

Jamie Oliver Cauliflower macaroni -Altered.
This does make a huge batch, possibly need to divide all by two, hmmm.
2 X 350 gram packets of bacon pieces from Pak’n’Save Chopped smaller
A packet of Brier sticks about 6 in a packet or a small Salami (about 300grams)
1 large head of cauliflower
500g dried macaroni
250g mature Cheddar cheese (Can use grated Tasty or Mild Cheese)
4 thick slices of country bread ( 8 slices of normal Toasted Bread)
Few sprigs of fresh rosemary
2 cloves of garlic
2 x 250g tub of crème fraîche
Parmesan cheese, to serve (optional)

Preheat Oven to 220 c.

Cauliflower macaroni:
Lay the bacon pieces in a roasting tray (approx. 30 x 25cm, or large enough to bake the pasta in) and put on the top shelf of the oven and remove when cook/grilled.
Get rid of any tatty outer leaves from the cauliflower,
then trim off the tough base of the stalk and quarter the head.
Put in a extra large saucepan, core down in pieces, with the pasta, on a high heat.
Cover with boiling water, filling and reboiling the kettle if necessary for more boiling water.
Season with a good pinch of salt, drizzle over a little olive oil, then stir and cook according to pasta packet instructions, with the lid askew.

Grate the Cheddar in the food processor (or packaged grated cheeses) and tip into a bowl.
Fit the standard blade attachment, then with the brier sticks added and blitz in the processor with the bread, rosemary leaves and a good drizzle of olive oil until you have a coarse bread crumb consistency, (depends on the processor size - may need to do two smaller lots).
Put a colander over a large bowl to catch the pasta water, then drain the pasta and cauliflower.
Tip pasta and cauliflower into the roasting tray with your cooked Bacon still in, add 400ml (or just under a pint) of the reserved pasta water from the bowl.
Gently breaking up the cauliflower with tongs or a potato masher and put on top of bacon pieces. Crush in the 2 unpeeled cloves of garlic and mix in the crème fraîche and grated Cheddar.

Have a taste and correct the seasoning.
It should be nice and loose; if not, add another splash of the pasta water,
do not be frighten to do this, just gives great moisture content.
On top of all, spread out evenly and scatter over with the breadcrumb mixture.
Put on the top shelf of the oven for about 8minutes, or until golden and bubbling.

To serve:
When the cauliflower macaroni is golden and bubbling, take it to the table and shave over or sprinkle some Parmesan.

valentino that sounds divine - I am drooling!

Cut down on the macaroni, I like mine with plenty of sauce, not too thick
And use Diamond macaroni elbows, it stays firmer

Oh, further to the recipe above.

It freezes and defrosts beautifully !

Made a full batch, served 3 medium servings had enough for 3 to 4 servings and froze the remainder in 2 batches.
Had one 2 weeks after and it was lovely, the other still in freezer but still looking good, checking and trialling it to se how long, LOL but now about 6 weeks will use it very soon this coming week.

Looks as though an excellent recipe as a stand-by freezer ready to go sort of meal as well as having it freshly cooked.

Cheers.

This is my daughters fav.

Skinny baked broccoli mac & cheese

340g pasta
1 1/2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup minced onion
1/4 C flour
2 C skim milk
1 C chicken stock
2 C cheese
340 g broccoli (i also add cauli)
2 Tbsp parmesan1/4 C breadcrumbs
salt pepper to taste

Cook pasta & veges together (add veges towards end of pasta cooking time) as norm.
Preheat oven to 190c.
Melt butter. Add onion & cook over low heat about 2 mins. Add flour & cook another minute or until flour is golden & well combined. Add milk & stock and whisk raising heat to med-high until it comes to the boil. Cook about 5 mins or until sauce thick & smooth. Season. Remove from heat, add cheese & mix well.
Add pasta & veges, pour into prepared baking dish. Top with cheese & breadcrumbs.
Bake for 15-20 mins. Can grill top for a few mins.

Add pineapple pieces!

add chorizo ans smoked paprika- YUM

cheese cheese and more cheese vintage cheddar, real parmesan lots of it. Full cream milk plus cream. For sauce, Real butter fried until nutty then add flour and fry further until colours. Adding warmed milk seasoned. Well drained pasta. Mix the lot into deep casserole dish and then add more grated cheese mix. Let the lot bubble and colour golden in oven. Mac n cheese is a simple gooey comfort dish to be kept simple.
If going fancy then add fried good bacon such as speck and golden fried brown onions.
Into a big bowl served on your lap in front of black thing in the corner.

Yea. way to go!

add sun dried tomatoes and use a mix of different cheeses

Mac n Cheese - my way
http://youtu.be/C6tyIcpRcQo

250g macaroni
100g butter
100g plain flour
500ml milk
100g Kikorangi chese
100g ham optional
50g baby spinach optional
200g cheese grated.
Make a white sauce then and then add Kikorangi cheese, ham, spinach.
Add to cook macaroni and stir thoroughly. Put in oven proof dish and sprinkle grated cheese on top.
Oven 180ºC.
Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until grated cheese starts forming a nice golden crust.
Replace ham with bacon, or chorizo. saute before using. Cheese can be cheddar or Gruyere.

I always put mustard,curry,worchestershire sauce,splash of tom sauce and nutmeg in to my cheese sauce.

thanks for the tips everyone :)

Neighbour use to put a tin of cream corn in the cheese sauce as well. A bit different. Mine is just the cheese sauce with mustard added for a bite, cooked pasta, cooked bacon - all mixed together, then in an oven proof dish, grated cheese and breadcrumbs on top with onion rings, tomato slices, a sprinkle of paprika and baked until bubbly.

We do it very similar, mustard, worchestertshire, white wine and aromat (stabilizer, probably not the healthiest choice)

I just made this recipe, but I only added a tiny amount of cayenne, and left out the swear words. he's a bit of a dickhead

m
Hes a Classic Hoser, as we say in Canada, eh?

Takes a little longer and a bit more fiddly but well worth the effort. I serve this with a green salad and garlic loaf. Sometimes I will make french bread rolls as an alternative to garlic bread.

Gourmet Macaroni Cheese

Ingredients

3 C milk (use dark blue milk)
1 onion chopped
1 bay leaf
60g butter
2 rashers bacon chopped
1/3 C flour
1 C cream
pinch of nutmeg
2 C grated cheddar cheese (I used tasty)
375g elbow macaroni
1 C fresh breadcrumbs*
30g butter extra

preheat the oven to moderate 180C. Grease a 25x20x6cm ovenproof dish with melted butter
place the milk in a saucepan with 1 Tb of the onion and the bay leaf. Heat until it is just about to boil then remove from the heat and leave for 15 minutes to infuse. Strain.
Melt the butter in a large frying pan, add the remaining onion and the bacon and cook over a medium heat for 3 minutes. Add the flour and cook for a further 1 minute. Remove from the heat and gradually stir the milk into the onion and bacon mixture. Stir until smooth. Return to the heat, stirring continuously until the sauce boils and thickens. Remove from heat. Add the cream, nutmeg and 2/3 of the cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover the surface with cling wrap.
Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of water until al dente. Drain.
Combine the pasta and sauce then pour into prepared dish. Sprinkle the combined breadcrumbs and remaining cheese over the top. Dot with the extra butter and bake for 30 minutes, or until top is crisp and golden. Serve hot.

* to make fresh breadcrumbs, you can use stale bread or alternatively heat oven to 180C and place slices on an oven tray. Bake until lightly brown. Using a food processor process until crumbed.

Easy Mac n Cheese
Cook a little pkt of bacon with one chopped onion in butter.
Add milk to make the bacon and onion mix into a white sauce.
Add cheese (however much you want)
Cook a pkt of big spirals for a bit (not quite cooked) then drain and add to the pasta.
Put it in a baking dish then top with crunched up green onion chips and cheese. - bake about 30 mins.

add tsp mustard to the sauce

Mine is similar to all the above but I add a handful of walnut pieces.

vegan mac cheese is also great , no cheese or milk. Google the recipe

Top with panko crumbs mixed with sesame seeds and some grated cheese. Grill carefully!

Coarsly grated potato tossed with a smidgen of oil and parmesan or cheddar cheese sprinkled thickly on top . makes a yummy filling crunchy crust.