I would like to feed you this mac and cheese, by the very large spoonful, until we make eye contact for too long and it gets awkward. That’s a real thing, you know.
This Classic Macaroni and Cheese recipe comes from one my very favorite new books The Mac + Cheese Cookbook! Seriously. We’re talking mac and cheese recipes, cool sides, and a peanut butter pie recipe that is just taunting me.
The book is written by two awesome and inspiring ladies, Allison and Erin who own a mac and cheese restaurant called Homeroom in Oakland, CA. I was lucky enough to visit Homeroom this month and I am all-over smitten.
I made this recipe because I admire and want to support these two ladies, because comfort food is impossible to deny, and because macaroni and cheese is just the thing to break up all of the cookies I’ve baked as of late.
Also… I want to feed you until it gets weird. It’s already weird.
We are making a roux!
This is really exciting! I don’t think we’ve ever done this before!
Making a roux goes something like this:
Melt butter in a pot. Add flour to the butter and stir it around. It feels crazy, but it’s totally the right thing to do… and guess what!? That’s your roux!
We’re transforming our roux into a bechamel. It’s a cream sauce. No big deal.
Slowly drizzle in milk and stir. Drizzle in more milk and stir. The last of the milk and… you guessed it… stir!
The milk will begin to thicken thanks to the heat and flour. Thank you roux!
What’s happening while you’re making the roux and bechamel? You’re multi-tasking your life!
You’re also Instagramming and cooking the pasta! Of course you are. I know you.
Once the bechamel is thickened and seasoned with salt and pepper, I like to take a moment to admire my work. Bechamel feels like an accomplishment.
Hopefully you have someone in the house you can high-five. You deserve it…. and you haven’t even added cheese yet!
To the warm bechamel we add all kinds of cheese. Yea we do!
I used a mondo amount of sharp cheddar and a smaller mondo amount of gruyere cheese.
It’s almost time to freak out for real!
The bechamel transforms into the most luscious, pale orange cheese sauce. You’ll want to dive in with your spoon. So wrong so right.
This pan stops me right in my tracks.
The mac and cheese is stirred until every elbow is coated in cheese sauce. I like to let the mac and cheese warm in the oven until just bubbly, and then I top the dish with waaaay too many toasted Panko breadcrumbs. It’s… I mean… come on!
On the side we’re serving up minty peas cooked with butter, salt, and pepper. Fresh! Veggie sneak.
Classic Mac and Cheese
serves 4 to 6
from The Mac and Cheese Cookbook
For the Bechamel:
3 cups whole milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
fresh cracked black pepper
For the Mac:
3/4 pound dried elbow macaroni
1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated gruyere cheese
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs, toasted in the oven until golden
To make the Bechamel, heat the milk until it almost begins to boil. Remove from heat and pour into a large liquid measuring cup. Set aside.
In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Once melted, add the flour and whisk constantly until the mixture turns light brown, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Slowly pour in milk 1 cup at a time, whisking constantly. The mixture will begin to thicken once the first cup is added, but will thin out as all of the milk is added.
Return pot to medium heat and whisk constantly for 2 to 3 minutes as the sauce thickens. Sauce will become silky and thick. To test the thickness, dip a metal spoon into the sauce. If the sauce coats the spoon and doesn’t look translucent or slide off the spoon like milk, it’s done! Stir in salt and pepper.
Remove from heat.
Stir in cheddar and gruyere cheese. Stir until cheese is melted and thoroughly combined. Taste and season accordingly.
Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dente. Drain, rinse the pasta in cold water, and drain again.
Add the cooked pasta to the warm sauce. Serve immediately, or place in an oven proof dish for easy re-heating and serving. Top with toasted breadcrumbs just before serving.
Minty Peas
serves 4 to 6
from The Mac and Cheese Cookbook
3 cups frozen peas
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons chopped mint
Thaw the peas by placing them in a glass bowl in the microwave for 1 minute, or by leaving them out of the counter for 1 hour before cooking.
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the peas and salt. Stir until peas are warm and coated in butter, abotu 3 minutes.
Place in a serving dish and toss in mint. Taste and season accordingly. Serve with Mac and Cheese!
87 Responses
I just stumbled upon your latest cookbook and will be buying it today! Looks soooo good!
And I’m making this mac n cheese for dinner tonight! I have one question though for you~in the photo where did you find those red foil dishes? I love them!! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for buying the book! I hope you make all the thins in it! I found those at a thrift store actually!
Made the Mac and cheese and it was delicious!! The whole family loved it and my 9 month old couldn’t get enough!
i recently acquired a mint plant and i think it might need to be used with these peas!
Great Site!
This looks DELICIOUS!! If you are looking for a food-related laugh while this bakes, check out http://www.cafehunk.com.
I’m kinda sorta freaking out over the fact that there’s a mac and cheese restaurant on this planet. It restores my faith in humanity. I’m definitely checking out this book!
Great recipe! I never got mac and cheese until I went to New York earlier this year and ate some proper American mac and cheese. This reminds of that. I added toasted cumin seeds to the breadcrumbs for a little extra taste.
remember your face when cooper dunked his spoon in that CARAMEL at homeroom? I’ll never forget it. MAC N CHEESE MAJS 4life.
This american Classic has always been a mistery to me.. But now that I see it in a recipe.. It’s no different than pasta al forno! In fact it IS pasta al forno! It always sounded so mystic.. Now all the mistery is gone..but I have pasta, cheese and an oven, and I know what’s for dinner!!
This was amazing! By far the best mac & cheese I’ve ever had! Thanks for sharing! Feel free to check out my recipes on my blog at http://www.BetterOffHealthy.com.
Ooh, thus is making me crave mac and cheese again! I just had some yesterday with a healthy dose of sriracha, yum!
I absolutely love mac and cheese and this looks delicious!!
mmm
:)
https://downtownhautefashion.blogspot.com
My maj is having a baby any day now, and I think this will be what I bring over when I come meet the baby!
I lived just up the street from Homeroom when it first opened– I was one lucky gal! Never before had I been so willing to wait 45 minutes for a table to have a bowl of Mac n Cheese! The mac, the sides, the homemade sea-salt topped oreos… oh man, heaven. Not to mention it’s the cutest restaurant ever. I’ve since moved away and miss it very much, but am so so happy that they released a cookbook so that I may attempt to recreate that yumminess at home!
Yummi thats great !
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I come from a place where mac and cheese barely exists, so I’m thanking you for sharing this recipe! I was just thinking about making mac and cheese three days ago :)
*swoon*. I am so excited to try this.
I’m down for getting weird with the Classic Mac. Hmmm, that sentence is weird too. I’m ok with that.
Darn, I wish I new about Homeland (oops, Homeroom) when I was near Oakland. Looks so good! Thanks for the recipe & inspiration, can’t wait to get my mac & cheese on.
Heidi xo
Oh my goodness..my mouth is watering, I would have never thought to eat mac n cheese and peas together but now I NEED IT!!
http://www.wishfulwhisking.com
I love the side dish with this! So fun. Plus mac and cheese is the freaking best.
This may very well be my favorite post yet, not only because of all the cheesey mac n’ cheeseyness, but also because it really made me laugh:) You’re the best JOY!!!
All about that mac and cheese, and Homeroom! I lived in Berkeley for 5 years, and when it opened up, that resto was my JAM. I’m actually going to the East Bay today so this was a perfect reminder for where I need to grab dinner!!
i went to school up north and homeroom was one of my favorite haunts. IT’S SO GOOD. how is it so good? it must be made by elves. it’s magical. i can’t even…
in any case…you’ve reignited my love affair with mac & cheese. awesome.
thanks for sharing!!
Hi Joy – thanks so much for writing about one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants – we’ve tried most of their variations and especially like the Spring Mac – I like the Trailer Trash but my sailor man prefers this classic – we both agree that it must be accompanied by a side of minty peas – and if he forgets to bring me home a slice of PB pie I send him right back!
HI Joy – so glad you wrote of one of our favorite places to eat – we stop by at least twice a month and though we have tried most of the variations our best is the spring mac or this, the classic with YES the minty peas – and if my sailorman brings it home without a slice of PB pie I send him right back!
Mac and Cheese is my go to meal when I’m craving some comfort food…and this is a brilliant idea!
Think this is going to be my cold winter night meal.
My oh my! The classic mac n cheese is a staple in my home. The hubby’s favorite! I’ve never tried minty peas. Funny, just the other day I watched a cooking show and she was making minty peas. Seems easy enough!
the mac and cheese looks amazing, but i am having serious issues with that green pan – like i won’t rest until i find one like it!
glorious!
You are making my mouth water so much right now! I need to check out this amazing sounding cookbook!
Perfect for fall!
You had me at peanut butter pie!
god help the less fortunate who have not ever tasted delicious mac’n’cheese like this.
I saw a review of homeroom on check please bay area! Looks like a cute place. I recently tried pesto mac, and it was amaze balls, I’d like to check theirs out. Might have to give this recipe a go as well, been wanting to experiment with a bechamel. Thanks!
I just added “go to a mac and cheese restaurant” to my bucket list.
i’ll deal with the awkwardness if it means eating a bowl of this mac and cheese. anything for mac and cheese.
Bechamel is always an achievement in my life. Hubby has been bugging me for mac and cheese lately. I have got to try this recipe! So easy! Also, with my Brussels sprouts. Maybe I’ll make them minty and lemony.
Total feel good food! Yummy!!!
Making this tonight! Seems like a great dish for a crowd/potluck :) might put in some Pepper Jack cheese for a kick
Shutterbean just did a sriracha mac n’ cheese and now you post a version too?! Too many recipes to try!!!
Duuude! I just made their classic Mac & Cheese last night with my boyfriend. I’m now in kind of an awkward position- do I tell my mom (from Wisconsin and therefore an authority on Mac & Cheese) that I’ve found a recipe that is, um… better than hers?
you don’t have to tell her. you could just make this version and let your mama think it’s hers. no one has to get hurt.
Right, that’s option A. Option B is to tell her (gently?) and share the recipe with her so that she can up her already stellar Mac & Cheese game. I don’t want her missing out! Maybe if I frame it in a “hey, I tried a new recipe you might like- it’s good in a *different* way” kinda approach.
omg. mac and cheese is probably my favorite ever!!! Living in Germany, I don’t get to eat it… but will definitely be making this recipe!!!
Thanks Joy!
oh you should!!! let me know what you think!
this is an absolute torture.
I found a treasure trove of Time life coookbooks from the 1960s over the weekend – that would be delish curled up with vintage James Beard and others!
this sounds beyond decadent! definitely my next go to mac n cheese recipe!
https://oyouclassy.com
https://oyouclassy.com
Sooo, I’m on this silly 3-day smoothie cleanse and THIS is what you put up for me to droll over?! Good heavens, I’m going to have to eat this for breakfast as soon as these 3 days are up. Also, you take pretty pictures.
This looks so good! I love mac and cheese!
themacaronaddict.blogspot.co.uk
I thought my mom WAS crazy for stirring flour & butter together in a heated pan. Now I know she was making a roux! Nice. She’s still crazy though.
The Fashann Monster
hahahah!
This. Looks. Perfect.
Love me some Mac N Cheese! Amazing! :)
https://sometimesgracefully.com
my mouth started watering when you mentioned minty peas. and why do we not have a mac and cheese restaurant in the twin cities??
I want you to feed me until it gets weird too. And this business is CRAZY AWESOME. Holy crap.
it won’t be weird for us! (yes it will.. who cares.)
mmmm…homemade mac & cheese. I like mixing the peas right into the mac before baking. Here’s my version:
https://taplatt.wordpress.com/2012/12/15/all-american-foods-apple-pie-macaroni-cheese/
A cookbook all about mac and cheese? Yeah, I need that right away!! This looks awesome!
Adoring the minty pea twist and that green pan you have up there lady!
Gosh this reminds me my childhood. I would order this combo more often from the canteen more often than anything else. Nothing like good mac and cheese for fuss free meal. I love you for introducing me this this book, i need it now!
Straight away I’ve bought the Mac and Cheese cookery book based on your recommendation. Absolutely love cheesy cheesy mac love. Homeroom looks such a cool place – must add to my American road trip stops to try out.!
FoodNerd x
http://www.foodnerd4life.com
This looks so delicious! Can’t go wrong with mac and cheese :)
Love the green skillet!
Love mac n cheese!!!! I cannot believe that no one has thought about dedicating a whole cook book to it before! yum!!
What a fun book and I am in love with the vintage-ish green cast iron skillet. I would love that piece. And it was tailor-made for a recipe with the title, Minty Peas, in it! How perfect!