Reader! Where the hell have you been, loca?

We’ve got quite the sparkly recipe coming up today – that is, if sparkly means cheesy, and in our case it certainly does. This past Sunday, a period of reminiscing at family dinner led us to remember my Grandma’s Mac and Cheese, which was one of my favourite meals growing up and about the only thing my sister wanted to eat for at least a year. A few days later I got the recipe from my Grandma, and now I will share it here so that you may all enjoy the creamy, cheesy masterpiece that sustained my foremothers. 

First things first, preheat the oven to 375°F. Then spray a 3 quart casserole dish and set it aside for later. In order to make the breadcrumbs which go on top, put 6 pieces of bread (white, multigrain, whatever you like!) into a food processor and blend it up. Then melt 2 tbsp of butter and add it in to make that buttery crumbly mixture, and set it aside for later. 

Now we’re going to make the cheesy, life-sustaining sauce for this dish. In a microwave safe bowl (ie. not metal or plastic), melt 6 tbsp of butter. Then mix it up with ½ cup of flour. In a separate glass measuring cup, begin to heat the 5 ½ cups of milk (Yes I know it’s a lot, don’t make this for your lactose intolerant friends). When the milk is warm, begin slowly adding it to the flour butter mixture, adding about a third and then microwaving it for about 2 minutes each time until it becomes thick. Be sure to keep stirring it, or you run the risk of a rather messy explosion. 

While you’re microwaving your sauce, cook the macaroni noodles according to their package until they’re al dente. When your sauce is thick and creamy, stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar cheese, and parmesan before setting the cheese sauce aside. Once your noodles are done, stain and rinse them under cold water before transferring them into the cheese sauce.

Pour the mixture into the 3 quart casserole dish. Sprinkle your remaining 1½ cups of cheddar cheese and bread crumbs over the top, then bake until browned, about 45 to 60 minutes. When it’s done, let it sit for a few minutes before serving up a portion of this flavourful blessing.

I made this for my family’s Sunday dinner, and the results have my Grandma’s seal of approval. It’s also been great for leftovers, so I highly recommend this scrumptious take on the classic mac and cheese meal. 

Thanks for joining me for another recipe! We’re in the last few weeks of this inquiry project, which means I draw ever closer to confronting my arch nemesis… pancakes. I will not yet despair, as I still have time to sharpen my skills in preparation for this fateful day… nonetheless, any tips and tricks for the successful creation of this unforgiving recipe would be highly appreciated.

Thanks to slebor on Canva for the recipe template!