Saturday, January 10, 2009

The Best Homemade Mac and Cheese EVER

It's no secret that I like macaroni and cheese. I don't think I've ever encountered a version of the dish that I didn't like. At the same time, I've never had mac and cheese quite as good as this.

Golden color*? Check. Creamy smooth sauce beneath a crispy topping? Check. Rich, cheesy flavor? Check.

I'd like to take credit for this one, but really it's just a variation on a mac and cheese recipe that Food Blogga published last year. Yes, the recipe with pureéd cauliflower blended into the cheese sauce. This time, I omitted the southwestern seasoning and added 3/4 cup grated Gruyere to the cheddar cheese called for in the recipe. I wasn't sure how the two cheeses would do together, and, as I added the Gruyere to the sauce, I wondered if I was about the ruin a perfectly good batch of mac and cheese. I might have blown things nutritionally, but the flavors of the two cheeses blended wonderfully, to create the best-tasting mac and cheese sauce that I've ever had. And, this is coming from someone who eats a lot of mac and cheese.

*I managed to find an orange cauliflower at the grocery, which helped boost the color.

3 comments:

Kitt said...

Cauliflower? Really? I'll have to try that!

Beatrice said...

Really - cauliflower! The sauce doesn't taste like cauliflower - it tastes like cheese - but I think the cauliflower does contribute to the texture of the sauce, and, of course, the color.

Anonymous said...

Hi Bea;
If someone is trying to lower carbs, mash cauliflower instead of potatoes. You wuld honestly believe it was potatoes. That is from the South Beach Diet Book. Dine With Donna