Thursday, October 8, 2009

Macaroni Mary

I was never a huge macaroni and cheese fan, perhaps because for far too long it had often conjured up the image and taste of the stuff from the box. However, in honor of my dear friend Mary and the fabulous baked mac and cheese I had at her house last year, I've been experimenting around with recipes. Here's my best effort so far. Its flexible enough to experiment around with, so get your "Julia" on and go for it.

  • 16 ounces elbow macaroni
  • 3/4 cup evaporated milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon seasoning salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (or try various combinations of Cheddar, Monterrey Jack, Pepper Jack, Gruyere, a bit of Gorgonzola or Brie)
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese mixed with 1/2 cup of bread crumbs
  • 3 tablespoons butter
Preheat oven to 350F. Bring a large pot of water to boil, adding a bit of salt. Add macaroni, cooking to al dente, about ten minutes. Drain and rinse with cool water.
In a bowl mix milk, eggs, sour cream and seasonings. Place macaroni in baking dish, gently incorporate cheese and milk mixture until pan is full. Sprinkle Parmesan and bread crumbs over the top and drizzle on melted butter. Bake for 30 minutes or until milk mixture is done.