Classic Macaroni and Cheese

This is old fashioned comfort food for the soul and is one of my son and daughter’s favorite foods although my daughter does tend to like the Kraft dinner version! Macaroni and cheese was first made in the nineteenth century and was made even more popular when Kraft Foods introduced the Kraft Dinner (macaroni and cheese) in 1937. I received a pleasant surprise in the mail the other day from my food blogging friend, Kalyn Denny from Kalyn’s Kitchen. She sent me a box of Spike, the all purpose, all natural seasoning. I used a teaspoon to season the breadcrumb mixture in this recipe. I have to say I loved the flavors and have since used it in other recipes. Thanks ever so much Kalyn!

Serves 4

recipe from Super Food Ideas

1/2 cup fresh white breadcrumbs
20g finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh flat leaf parsley leaves
1 tablespoon olive oil
300g dried macaroni pasta
175g bacon, roughly chopped
2 cups milk
1/4 cup thickened cream
50g butter, chopped
1/4 cup plain flour
2 teaspoons wholegrain mustard
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 200c (180c fan-forced). Grease a 5cm deep, 17cm x 26cm base, 6 cup capacity baking dish. Combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, parsley and 2 teaspoons oil in a bowl. Set aside. Cookm pasta according to packet instructions until al dente. Drain. Transfer to a bowl. Meanwhile heat remaining oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook 4-5 minutes or until crisp. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel.

Combine milk and cream in a jug. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat and add butter. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon for 1-2 minutes or until it bubbles. Gradually pour in milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring for 5 minutes or until mixture thickens. Stir in mustard and cheese. Cook for another 2 minutes or until combined and cheese is melted.

Add sauce and bacon to pasta and stir to combine. Spoon into prepared dish. Sprinkle with breadcrumb mixture. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

The Culinary Chase’s Note
: If you don’t fancy using bacon, you can always replace it with a can of tuna or salmon (drained) and replace the parsley with dill.

4 Comments

  1. Kalyn on April 2, 2008 at 13:40

    Hooray! I’m so glad you liked it. I’m amazed it got there so fast too! I was sure you had the kind of intuitive cooking sense to tell what kinds of foods it would taste good on. This sounds like a delicious way to use it!



  2. Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) on April 2, 2008 at 20:22

    Nothing beats mac and cheese, and I don’t think we ever outgrow it. How nice of Kalyn to send you some of the seasoning she mentions so often on her blog!



  3. The Culinary Chase on April 3, 2008 at 06:00

    Thanks Kalyn & Lydia! The Spike seasoning worked well with the breadcrumb mixture & I also used it to season home made croûtons. YUM!



  4. Mark on April 4, 2008 at 09:37

    That recipe looks great. Nice to see a proper sauce with a roux, rather than many of the other recipes I see on the web which seem to consist only of pasta and cheese. I think I put on a bit of weight just reading about adding the cream! 😉