A Fun Twist on Mac & Cheese

Mac and Cheese Cakes

I helped a culinary school friend Ed McNamara with a wedding that he catered this weekend ... it came out smashingly and I'll highlight some recipes over the next few days.  One of the dishes that the bride's aunt made were mac and cheese cups.  She made mac and cheese, put them into cupcake tins and baked them so that they came out in little cakes.  They were delicious and make fantastic party food.  They were great at this wedding and would make great birthday food too.


You can dress up this recipe by using more gourmet and flavorful cheese (perhaps smoked gouda or goat cheese) or adding a drizzle of black truffle oil in the finished mac and cheese (thanks, Meirav Devash - not going to be able to sleep until I try that version).  A nice surprise in the middle would be to put 1/2  a scoop of the mac and cheese in the cupcake tin, add a few oven roasted tomatoes in the middle and then add another 1/2 scoop of the pasta on top.

Recipe:
1 pound elbow pasta
sea salt
5 Tablespoons + 2 tsp. unsalted butter
6 Tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
5 cups milk
8 ounces monterey jack cheese, shredded
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (white)


(1) For the pasta and cheese--adjust the oven rack to the lower middle position and heat the broiler.  Bring 4 quarts of water to a roiling boil in a dutch oven over high heat.

(2) Add the macaroni and 1 T of salt and stir to seperate the noodles.  Cook until the pasta is tender.

(3) In the now empty Dutch oven, heat the butter over medium high heat until foaming.  Add the flour mustard and cayenne.  Whisk well.

(4) Continue whisking until the mixture becomes fragrant and deepens in color, about 1 minute.

(5) Whisking constantly, gradually add the milk, bring the mixture to a boil, whisking contstantly (the mixture should reach a full boil to fully thicken), then reduce the heat to medium and simmer, whisking occassionally, until thickened to the consistency of heavy cream, about 5 minutes.  Off the heat, whisk in the cheese and 1 tsp. salt until the cheese are fully melted.  Add the pasta and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mxiture is steaming and heated through, about 6 mins.

Spray your muffin tin with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and scoop mac and cheese into the tins.  Bake until the cakes are crisp and remove from the oven and cool.

Enjoy!