Stovetop Mac and Cheese

Hey hey! This week’s blog entry may seem to be written in a completely new voice, and that’s because it is! Rachel is taking the week off, so her editor (Ryan!) is taking over, and for this week I thought I’d walk you through stove-top macaroni and cheese recipe that’s about as bulletproof as you can get. I adapted it from J. Kenji López-Alt’s three ingredient mac and cheese and made it slightly more complicated, but it’s still pretty easy to make!

The Mise En Place

Mise en place literally means “Everything in its place” but it’s really more of a fancy term for the Boy Scout saying “be prepared.” The mise en place for this week’s recipe is about as simple as you can get–you can probably memorize the recipe: 16 oz shredded cheese (your choice), 24 ounces evaporated milk, 16 ounces macaroni noodles, salt and sriracha to taste, decent-sized hunk of butter. You’re also going to need a big pot to make everything in, and a rubber spatula probably wouldn’t go amiss.

Now you’re probably saying “Ryan, that doesn’t look like any macaroni I’ve ever seen” and you’d be right. I’m using cavatappi here because it’s got ridges that hold onto the cheese sauce really nicely, and they’re longer so they mesh together a little better! But if you’re a purist, traditional mac will work. Or if you’re some kind of avant-gardiste, you can really use any ole pasta!

One Pot Mac and Cheese

The idea behind this recipe is to keep cleanup to a minimum, so pick a pot you’re comfortable working with to the very end. The first step is to boil the pasta, but don’t just use tap water–salt that water so that it “tastes like the sea” in order to infuse your pasta with a bit of seasoning before you start. Even though we typically talk about boiling pasta, we’re going to simmer it. Think “champagne bubbles” not “rolling boil.”

The idea is to get the pasta “al-dente” which basically means it’s still a little crunchy. Don’t worry, we’ll finish cooking it–all will become clear later. Once the pasta hits that stage, drain it out but don’t rinse it. Let it sit in the colander and do its thing while we move to the next step.

Got the Mac, Where’s the Cheese?

This cheese sauce is about as easy as it comes. Now that your pot is empty, pour in your 24 ounces of evaporated milk–it should be two cans if your grocer’s is the same as mine. Then add in your cheese–what cheese you use is up to you, but make sure it’s something that melts well. My general rule is if you’d put it in a grilled cheese, you can use it here. Turn your heat up to about low-medium and let it coast until the cheese fully melts and you’re left with a nice, creamy sauce that may seem a little bit runny, but that’s okay.

The reason we’re using evaporated milk is it helps to stabilize your cheese and keep it from breaking. If you really want to keep it bulletproof, you can whisk a tablespoon of cornstarch in with the milk before you add it to the heat, but if you move slow and take your time, it’s not really necessary (your choice–you know how you cook better than I do!) Once the cheese is totally melted, add in your pasta and give it a nice stir.

The reason we leave the pasta al dente is because now it’s going to sit on the stovetop on low heat for 10-20 minutes, and the pasta finishes cooking in the cheese sauce. This helps it absorb some of that milky goodness and will thicken your sauce and get everything stringy and sticky. Now is a good time to add in your hunk of butter. I normally go with two tablespoons, but you can do more or less (or none!) depending on your needs. You can also add in your sriracha, but this is to taste. I like to add a bit of spice, so I put in a fair amount (it also gives it an electric orange color that reminds me of the mac-which-shall-not-be-named)! Cook it until it reaches your desired thickness, but remember! Slow.

And that’s pretty much it! If you wanted to, you could keep the sauce a bit runny, scoop everything into a baking dish, cover it with a 50/50 blend of bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese and bake it at 400 for about 20 minutes and turn it into baked mac and cheese, but that uses two pans and who wants to clean two things?