Roadhouse Mac and Cheese

Listed as the top Mac and Cheese by Alton Brown  in Food Network's "America's Best: Top 10 Comfort Foods", Zingerman's Roadhouse in Ann Arbor is a local tradition. We're off to AA for football tomorrow and my daughter (and wife) loves this mac and cheese so I though I would give it a try. Zingerman's actually posted the recipe for this one so no guessing and I really tried to follow the recipe. The changes were those you may need to make for convenience, no raw milk cheese around this area and a different pasta.

Rating:

I snitched a little to rate it. I'll get more input tomorrow.


Notes: The recipe went well. I had no whole milk but I added the right amount of cream to skim milk as a sub. The cheese and pasta was substituted as stated above. I used my All Clad pan for the final step and really couldn't brown this as directed. Although the recipe doesn't state it, I think something like a large cast iron pan would be better for the final step. I will use the 12 inch chicken fryer next time.

Printable recipe

Tools: Nothing special- a large cast iron pan as stated above would be nice.

Ingredients:

2 T sea salt
1 lb macaroni - your choice

2 T butter
1 small diced onion
1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup heavy cream

1 pound cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 t sea salt

2 T Olive Oil

Instructions: 

1) Cook pasta according to box instructions with 2 T sea salt. Drain and set aside.

2) In a heavy sauce pan melt butter over medium heat then add the chopped onion and bay leaf. Cook until onion is soft and getting transparent. About 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaf.

3) Slowly add flour to onion over about 1 minute while stirring continously.

4) Now slowly add the milk while stirring continuously to avoid lumps. Now add the cream in the same manor. Simmer for 2-3 minutes until thickening.

5) Reduce heat to medium. Now add the mustard, 1t sea salt and the cheese. Stir well and continue to simmer (only a few bubbles) for about 5 minutes.

6) Now add 2 T olive oil to a large pan and heat until oil is starting to smoke. Add pasta and cheese mixture and stir until about 15% is golden brown.

Roadhouse Mac and Cheese

by DrDan at 101 Cooking For Two August 5, 2010

Listed as the top Mac and Cheese by Alton Brown in Food Network's "America's Best: Top 10 Comfort Foods", Zingerman's Roadhouse in Ann Arbor is a local tradition. We're off to AA for football tomorrow and my daughter (and wife) loves this mac and cheese so I though I would give it a try. Zingerman's actually posted the recipe for this one so no guessing and I really tried to follow the recipe. The changes were those you may need to make for convenience, no raw milk cheese around this area and a different pasta.

Ingredients

1 lb macaroni - your choice2 T sea salt2 T butter1 small diced onion1 bay leaf2 T all-purpose flour1 1/2 cups whole milk1/4 cup heavy cream1 pound cheddar cheese1 t Dijon mustard1 t sea salt2 T Olive Oil

Instructions

1) Cook pasta according to box instructions with 2 T sea salt. Drain and set aside.2) In a heavy sauce pan melt butter over medium heat then add the chopped onion and bay leaf. Cook until onion is soft and getting transparent. About 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaf.3) Slowly add flour to onion over about 1 minute while stirring continuously.4) Now slowly add the milk while stirring continuously to avoid lumps. Now add the cream in the same manor. Simmer for 2-3 minutes until thickening.5) Reduce heat to medium. Now add the mustard, 1t sea salt and the cheese. Stir well and continue to simmer (only a few bubbles) for about 5 minutes.6) Now add 2 T olive oil to a large pan (large cast iron pan preferred) and heat until oil is starting to smoke. Add pasta and cheese mixture and stir until about 15% is golden brown.

Details

Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 25 mins Total time: 30 mins Yield: 6 servings

Updated

April 20, 2011