American Mac and Cheese

A community recipe by PattiCakes

Not tested or verified by Nigella.com

Introduction

I got this recipe from my mother-in-law, the best cook I have had the pleasure to personally know. I'm not sure where she originally got it from, but I've been trying to top it, quite unsuccessfully, for years. It is so good I have even used it to entertain and everyone always eats way too much, if that's possible;) These are US measurements but I wouldn't bother to convert as it's a pretty basic sauce and most of the measurements can be approximated.

Ingredients

Serves: Makes 4 generous servings

2 cups dried pasta
5 tablespoons butter
¼ cup flour
2 cups milk
1 cup Cheddar cheese
salt to taste
pepper to taste
4 ounces velveta american cheese Cut into small chunks
½ cup crushed ritz crackers

Method

American Mac and Cheese is a community recipe submitted by PattiCakes and has not been tested by Nigella.com so we are not able to answer questions regarding this recipe.

Preheat oven to 350 F & butter a medium sized baking dish.

Cook pasta in salted boiling water until just slightly underdone. Drain and put to the side.

While the pasta cooks get on with the sauce. Melt 4TBSP butter in a large saucepan, whisk in flour, cook while still whisking for a minute or two and then whisk in the milk. Heat while whisking for a few minutes until it starts to thicken.

Stir in the cheddar and season with a little salt(not to much, you still need to add the salty cracker topping) and a generous amount of pepper(I like both black and white but whatever your preference is fine).

Take off the heat and add the velveeta while stirring but don't let it melt completely, you want little bits of it in the sauce.

Dump the pasta into the baking dish and poor over the cheese sauce, stirring gently to coat. Sprinkle the cracker crumbs generously over the top and dot the top with the remaining butter.

Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until browned and bubbly.

Additional Information

The American cheese can be substituted for more cheddar, but it does add a certain je ne sais quoi to the consistency of the sauce, even if the cheese ifself is of a je ne sais quoi origin;) The Ritz crackers could be substituted with some bread crumbs or other buttery "crips", but they too add something extra special to the dish when it all comes together. It may be disgustingly American of me but I love to have this with a simple homemade applesauce; the combo takes me right back to my childhood. It would also be very American to serve with some breaded pork chops, but it is so rich I usually just make a nice green salad.