British Expatriate Network

I made Mac'n'Cheese yesterday.

Not the 29c packet stuff. From scratch.

I used 4oz of Cabot "seriously sharp" cheddar (which @ $2 per 8oz block is also seriously value for money), half a can of Strongbow, and a dash of Colman's.

TnS loved it.

Do you drink the Strongbow first?

/only way I can face mac and cheese of any description

How do you think there was only half a can ;o)

Don't like mac and cheese, never saw it till started hanging with Americans.

My mum used to make a cheesy pasta bake with whatever pasta was available, whether it was macaroni or anything else.

I am less keen on the saucy stuff you get here, I'd rather have a scratch recipe with the cheese all brown and crusty on the outside

mmmm cheeeeeeeeese ggggggggg



* Edit to change pic: Try that one! *

mmm what pic, is it microscopic -)

Recipe please... I would love to try it. I have picky kids.

We make a white sauce (milk heated, thickened with cornflour), chuck a load of cheese in it, stir it up until it's melted, pour it on the cooked mac, give it a stir, then lob some more cheese on the top, sometimes mixed in with chunky real breadcrumbs, bung it under the grill for a bit and bobs yer uncle.

Sometimes we get fancy and add bits of cooked bacon, onion, mushrooms and peas ....but then the kids won't eat it. roll

Regularly had macaroni cheese as a kid -probably the first thing I learned to cook. Never made it out of a packet -I'd probably mess that up! lol

:lol: Tell me about it, It took me 2 and a half years to get my Step daughter to eat anything green, and that was after a weekend of food that I had dyed green with food colouring. This included Chips, and cheeseburgers. I was illustrating, Green food does not taste bad. She ate the darn chicken broccoli pie I made, and hadn't a clue there was broccoli in it. :shock:

Now if I can just convince her that yog with chocolate in it, is not exactly yoghurt. :lol:

We even learnt to cook it at school! It was a good vehicle for teaching about roux.

My recipe is to make a roux with butter, flour and dried mustard. Add onion-infused milk, then add a mixture of Red Leicester and Scottish Cheddar cheese - then add to cooked macaroni. If there's time, put in a buttered oven dish and top with breadcrumbs and sliced tomatoes - heat for 20 minutes or so.

Packet macaroni cheese is revolting. What's the point?

I didn't make a roux for mine. I find the flour separates again when it cooks. Also I don't pre-boil the pasta, as in the summer I prefer the radiant heat of an oven to the filling-the-air humidity of a boiling water pot. Don't ask me for amounts, I cook by "feel".

I took a 9" square glass pan, threw in about half a box of macaroni or similar pasta.
Then I grated about 4oz of Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar over the top.
I added half a tall can of Strongbow.
Then I filled the pan with milk (Vit D, full milk) until the pasta was covered but not swimming.
I added salt, pepper, Hungarian paprika, a dash of Cajun seasoning, and dipped a knife in the pot of Colmans and washed it off with the milk in the pan.
I put this in a pre-heated oven at 350F for 30 minutes.
Then I took it out, added some cornflour slurry and stirred the whole pan so that any pasta that was sticking out of the fluid would get mixed into it.
I returned the pan to the oven for another 20 minutes until the top got all crispy and golden brown.

One dish, plus the grater and the cup for the slurry. Can't beat that for washing up!

As a possible addition I would fry up some onions and throw them in.

Sounds like a lot of work, E17

Here's the basic version

Grate cheese
Chuck stuff in a pan, bung it in the oven
Make a slurry
Take pan out of oven, add slurry and stir
Put back in oven for a bit more
Eat

I have cooked much more complex stuff than that. If you can't be bothered to make a good meal like that, enjoy your TV dinner ;o)

But it's still just nursery food at the end of the day.

No way, Thats a great comfort food when it is made properly. That's like saying Welsh Rarebit is nursery food