Ingredients
- 1 Pound Elbow Macaroni
- 1/2 Stick Butter, minced
- 1/2 Stick Butter, minced
- 1 Medium Onion, minced
- 1 Jalapeno Chile Peppers, minced
- 2 Tablespoons Flour
- 1 1/2 Quarts Milk
- 2 Teaspoons Cayenne Pepper
- 1/2 Pound Yellow Cheddar Cheese, grated
- 1/2 Pound Jalsburg Cheese
- Salt and Pepper
- 1 Cup Bread Crumbs
- 1 Tablespoon Butt Kickin' Blacken, to taste
- 1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese
- 6 Slices American Cheese, as needed
- Butt Kickin' Blacken, as needed
- 5 Medium Plum Tomatoes, sliced 1/4" rounds
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a 9 x 13 baking pan, or, 1/2 chafer pan by either coating with butter, or, spraying with Pam.
2. Cook elbows in water until almost done. remember that you're not cooking these to be a stand alone item, so, be sure to cook them well past the al dente stage. Cooking them this way well give you a nice, creamy finished product. Drain real well when done.
3. Make the bechamel sauce while the macaroni is cooking. Use a sauce pot that will hold all of the finished sauce.
4. Saute the onion and peppers in 1/2 stick of butter over medium heat until they're soft. Add the rest of the butter, let it melt, then the flour and whisk to break up any lumps. Add the milk and turn to medium high to heat the milk to almost boiling (Don't Boil The Milk). You'll know that it's hot enough by noticing bubbles starting to form around the outside of the pot.
5. Turn the heat off and add the cheese 1/3 at a time and stir to melt, add the cayenne pepper. Add salt and pepper being careful that you add a lot of pepper, and not too much salt. There's salt in the parmesan cheese, and you don't want the end product to be too salty. While adding the cheese, it's important to remember that you never bring it back to a boil because the cheese will separate. All you want to do at this point is melt the cheese, it doesn't need to cook.
6. Put the macaroni in the baking pan, add the sauce mixture and stir it up well. Don't worry that it looks too soupy because the noodles will soak up the liquid.
7. Mix the bread crumbs with the parmesan cheese, and sprinkle all over the top. Cut the American Cheese into quarters and place on top of the bread crumbs. Dust with Butt Kickin' Blacken. Place one tomato slice on top of each piece of cheese.
8. Bake at 350 for 15 - 20 minutes. You'll know it's done when the cheese topping has melted and the sauce is bubbling in the middle of the dish.
9. Let it stand for about 10 minutes to cool a little, then serve. If you serve it too hot, the filling will just run all over the place.
Print this recipe
Submitted 10/24/08.
Source:
Submitted By: Cap'n Ron
thecapn@capnrons.com
4 Cheese Mac and Cheese