Best 6 Star Jones Famous To Die For Mac And Cheese Recipes

THE BEST BAKED MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just slightly softened, about 6 minutes. Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta and rinse under cold water.
• Meanwhile, remove the crusts from the bread and cut into 1-inch cubes. Pulse in the food processor until the bread breaks into bean-sized pieces.
• Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the breadcrumbs and cook, stirring, until toasted, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper.
• Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour, mustard powder and cayenne. Cook, whisking constantly, until smooth and slightly golden, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk and cook, whisking occasionally, until the sauce begins to boil and thicken, about 7 minutes, then remove from heat. Stir in the fontina, Gruyere and all but 1 1/2 cups of the Cheddar until fully melted. Stir in the pasta, adding the reserved pasta water as needed to make a creamy sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
• Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a small bowl in the microwave. Brush a 9-by-13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish with the melted butter. Spread the pasta mixture in the prepared dish. Sprinkle the remaining Cheddar evenly over the pasta, then scatter the toasted breadcrumbs on top. Bake until heated through and just bubbling, about 25 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

STAR JONE'S FAMOUS TO DIE FOR MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Directions:.
• Pre-heat oven to 350°.
• Pour milk and butter into a medium sauce pan and heat over a low flame. Slowly add each kind of cheese (except 1 oz of Sharp Cheddar and a ½ oz of Blue Cheese) and allow it to melt. Be sure to cook over a low flame and stir constantly to prevent clumping and sticking.
• While the cheese is melting, in a separate pot, cook the macaroni according to the directions (do not overcook) with a dash of salt and 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
• Drain macaroni and pour ½ into a large baking or casserole dish. Add salt and pepper to taste then slowly add half of the cheese/milk mixture and stir together thoroughly. Pour remaining macaroni and cheese/milk mixture into the a 2 quart baking dish and stir well.
• Sprinkle remaining Sharp Cheddar and Blue Cheese on top of the macaroni and place in the oven. Bake until a light golden brown (approximately 20 - 30 minutes). Let stand a half hour and serve.
• You have just died and gone to heaven!

CLASSIC BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until it's barely al dente. (It should be more al dente than your average pasta: It's going to continue to cook in the oven.) Drain and set aside.
• Meanwhile, heat butter in a medium pot over medium heat. (The pot should be large enough to hold all the pasta when cooked.) Whisk in flour and cook, whisking constantly, until the flour is foamy and just starting to turn a light golden brown, about 4 minutes. Slowly whisk in milk to avoid clumping. Add garlic, paprika and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, whisking constantly and paying special attention to the edges of the pot to make sure the flour mixture is totally incorporated.
• Add grated cheese and whisk to blend until the cheese is completely melted. (The sauce will seem thick at first and thin out as the cheese melts; it will thicken while it bakes.) Season with salt and pepper and add cooked pasta, stirring to coat well.
• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil (to catch any cheesy drips).
• Make the optional topping: Combine bread crumbs, melted butter and Parmesan, if using, in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper and, using your hands, mix well to ensure the bread crumbs are evenly coated.
• Transfer the macaroni and cheese mixture to a 3-quart or 9 x 13 baking dish and scatter bread crumbs, if using, evenly over the top. Place on prepared baking sheet and bake until macaroni and cheese is bubbling, thickened and creamy, and bread crumbs are evenly golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.

"TO DIE FOR" BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Start by cooking 1 pound of elbow macaroni until "el dente", drain & set aside.
• Cut the crust off of white bread (set crusts aside for later) and line a very large baking dish with them. (I ended up needing one large 9x13 pan and another 8x8 pan to fit it all).
• Melt 8 Tablespoons of butter in Microwave then brush all over the bread. (YES this is one entire cube of butter.).
• Take the crusts & spread on a cookie sheet & put into a 200 degree oven until nice & dry. I deviated from JoAnne's recipe here and sprinked the crusts with a bit of Garlic Powder.
• Put 5 1/2 cups of WHOLE milk into your pot and don't try to make it with skim milk. You just got done brushing all the bread with one cube of butter. Don't you think skim milk is pointless by now? (Also, make the pot a large one).
• On a lower heat setting warm the milk a bit then slowly add 1/2 cup flour as you whisk to prevent lumping (you can also use another thickening agent like corn starch etc).
• Add 1/4 tsp White Pepper (you can use regular black pepper if you don't have white), 1/4 tsp Cayanne Pepper & 1/4 tsp Nutmeg.
• To the milk, flour, spice mixture you add 4 1/2 cups of White Cheddar (I used Tilamook Vintage White). Now I didn't want to shred it all so here was my conversion -- 8 oz to a cup -- so basically I just cubed up an entire two pound block of it and put it into the pot. I could be totally off but it turned out great anyway.
• Add 1 cup Swiss & 1 Cup Romano.
• Keep stirring over low to medium heat until the cheese is melted & everything is mixed creamy together.
• When it's all mixed and creamy mix in your elbow macaroni.
• Pour the mixture into the white bread lined baking dish (or dishes).
• Crumble up your dried out bread crusts to make coarse bread crumbs.
• Sprinkle breadcrumbs over the macaroni mixture.
• Put pans into a 350 degree oven for 30 to 45 minutes until bubbly & browned on top.

FAMILY-FAVORITE MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Cook and drain macaroni as directed on package.
• While macaroni is cooking, melt butter in 3-quart saucepan over low heat. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constanly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in cheese. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cheese is melted.
• Gently stir macaroni into cheese sauce.
• Pour into ungreased 2-quart casserole. Bake uncovered 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly.

SOUTHERN MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add macaroni and cook according to package directions until a little under al dente, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a colander and rinse under cold water to stop cooking. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk milk and eggs. Add cooked macaroni, 2 cups extra-sharp Cheddar, melted butter, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and stir until well combined.
• Add half the macaroni mixture to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish in an even layer. Sprinkle 1 1/2 cups Colby Jack evenly on top. Spread the remaining macaroni mixture on top in an even layer. Cover with aluminum foil, transfer to the middle rack of the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
• Remove from oven. Carefully remove and discard the aluminum foil. Top the macaroni mixture with the remaining 2 cups Cheddar and 1/2 cup Colby Jack. Broil on top rack until cheese is browned in spots, 3 to 5 minutes. (The broiled cheese can go from golden to burnt fairly quickly, so keep a close eye on it.)
• Remove from oven and let cool until the macaroni and cheese is fully set, 10 to 15 minutes. (The mixture may first appear jiggly, but it will firm up as it cools.) Serve warm.