Mac and Cheese for 20

Recipe

Preparation20 minutes
Cook time45 minutes
ServingsServes 16-20
Episode1396
314,346

Ingredients

  • 2 lb of Elbow Pasta (or any pasta of your choice)
  • 8 cups of Whole Milk
  • 1-1/2 cups of Heavy Cream
  • 1/2 cup of Unsalted Butter
  • 1/2 cup of Flour
  • 1-1/2 Tbsp of Dried Mustard
  • 2 tsp of Paprika
  • Plenty of Salt and Pepper
  • 3 cups of Shredded Sharp Cheddar
  • 1 cup of American Cheese, cubed or roughly torn
  • 1 cup of Shredded Mozzarella
  • 1/4 cup of Unsalted Butter for tossing the pasta
  • 2 Sleeves of Ritz Crackers
  • 1/3 cup of Melted Butter

Preparation

    1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Boil the pasta in plenty of salted water (remove it a couple minutes shy of what the package says) drain well, put it back in the same hot pot and stir in ¼ cup of butter, pour into a very large buttered casserole dish (the one I use is an 18x13x2 inch)set aside.

    2) In the same large pot, add the half cup of butter, allow it to melt, stir in the flour, cook for just a couple minutes then add the milk, cream and cook while constantly stirring over medium heat until it thickens a bit (it won’t be super thick so don’t panic).

    3) Add the mustard and paprika, along with a good pinch of salt, lots of pepper and slowly stir in all the cheeses, pour the cream sauce over the cooked pasta in the pan (stir it all around to make sure the pasta is coated) and set aside while you make the topping.

    4) In a food processor, add the Ritz crackers and butter, pulse until they develop into fine crumbs, sprinkle this mixture over the mac and cheese and pop it in the oven for about 30 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

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