I brag about this. There are people who make Macaroni & Cheese from a box in a sauce pan. Duh? That's not Macaroni & Cheese! You have to bake the stuff! My recipe is the merger of two recipes, one from the elder women in my family and the other taught to me one night by a very pretty dark-haired lady in the little cliffside town of Santa Margarita di Ligure, Italy. I put together the best of both and over the years developed this masterpiece. It takes a lot more work than the box stuff, but it is guaranteed to result in an empty baking dish when your family or guests get up from the table. Make this and you'll never use the boxed type again.

(NOTE: An alternate recipe I use adds two egg yolks to the cheese mess. It is not in this particular version.)


Phase 1: Ingredients...
Look in your refrigerator and gather up all those cheese remainders (the half-used block of Swiss, the half container of Parmesan (or Romano), the bag of shredded sharp Cheddar, what's left of the hunk of Asiago. Last time I used Provolone and Gorgonzola, too! Then get out the macaroni bag, Pour out two or three cups, depending on how many you have to feed. Next, you will need...

Butter, milk and flour (wheat, rice or whatnot - just so it is white), for your white sauce base to make the cheese sauce.

Two or three slices of dark toasted bread. You may use plain white or whatever you like. I use what is in peril of going off soon, even hamburger buns.

Mustard - the real kind, dry powdered in the Colman's tin canister.

Italian bread crumbs (about a quarter cup)

Cracked pepper - black

A half shot glass of sherry. I have also used Marsala, the Siciliano verson of sherry.

Optional: Chopped fresh parsley

Phase 2: The bread... easier to cut when toasted.
Chop the toasted bread into little pea-sized chunks. Melt butter (no oil!) in a skillet and fry the crumbs in the butter. Let them get stiff and brown. Remove and drain on paper towels. Set aside.

Phase 3: Boil a pot of water. Add the macaroni and stir. Bring back to a boil and when it is done, drain it and set aside.

Phase 4. Make a white sauce base. I usually get about a pint and a half in a sauce pan before I add the cheeses. When it is the consistency of thick soup, set it off the burner.

Phase 5: Shred, cut, mangle all the cheeses together in a bowl. Whatever you have in the fridge is fine. I have two admonitions here - don't use a lot of Mozzarella or string cheese (too sticky-gooey) and I wouldn't recommend soft cheeses like Brie or Camembert. I use whatever I want to cull out of the cheese drawer, even Gouda, Monterrey Jack and Kasseri.

Phase 6: Get the white sauce hot enough to melt the cheese, Add the cheese to the sauce over the burner and stir it into a great gloggy smooth paste. When the sauce is completely mixed, the cheese will have melted into the white base. Now add the sherry, stir it in, add about four or five pinches of dry mustard and pepper to your liking. It should be peppery. Stir it all and remove from the heat.

Phase 7: In a large bowl mix the cooked macaroni and the cheese sauce, stir it together. Now add the Italian bread crumbs and stir them in.

Phase 8: Get a baking dish. I have used enameled flat pans, glass and Corning ware dishes. The latter is better because for the first hour in the oven the dish must be covered or your sauce will partially evaporate. Spray the dish with olive oil spray or rub it with a paper towel soaked in oil.

Phase 9: Dump the mixed mac and cheese into the dish, level it, and sprinkle the fried bread crumbles over the top.

Phase 9: Preheat oven to 325. Set the dish (covered) in the oven. After an hour, remove the cover for an additional fifteen to twenty minutes. This will brown the top and the longer you leave it uncovered, the darker and crispier the top will become.


Phase 10: Serve it hot. You'll love the difference between this one and the boxed type with powdered chemical "cheese." It is great as a leftover, too.

This is a filling dish. It is also an aphrodisiac, but if intended for that purpose, don't over-eat or you'll simply fall asleep too soon. I have done both white and red wines with this dish. I actually enjoy a simple Beaujolais with it when I can find one here.