Grown-Up Baked Mac and Cheese with Crumb Topping

 

This Kraft box of macaroni and cheese represents one of the most quintessential comfort foods. My children have consumed many, many macaroni and cheese dinners courtesy of Kraft during their childhood. Truly, it was one of their favorite foods. I liked it because it was so easy to make, though I never indulged in it. 
It would probably surprise you, given all the cooking and recipe testing I do, that I have only made macaroni and cheese from scratch a few times. Perhaps I have always been suspicious of the main ingredient used in most recipes: Velveeta Cheese.

It is not a refrigerated product, but to its defense, it does have an amazing shelf life. The best thing about this product is that it produces a very creamy sauce.

But I recently found a grown-up version that I definitely will be making on repeat. It's creamy, made with three cheeses (not with Velveeta) and its absolutely delicious. The recipe serves six and is an Ever Ready Special. It was made on the stove top, transferred to a baking dish, and topped with a Panko crumb topping. It deserved to be served on a fancy china plate. Some options that could be added include steamed broccoli,  bacon, sausage bits, green chiles, or chopped tomatoes. Note: I used small elbow macaroni.

Baked Mac and Cheese

Ingredients:

• 2-1/4 cups dry small elbow macaroni
• 3 tablespoons of butter
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
•  3 cups whole milk
• 1/3 cup sweet yellow onion, finely diced
• 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg, paprika, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes 
• 1-1/2 cups Swiss cheese and sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• Salt and pepper to taste 

Topping Ingredients:

• 1 cup Italian Panko bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons melted butter 

Directions:

• Make the topping ingredients and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8 x 8 baking dish.
• Salt a pot of water and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook al dente about 5.  Avoid over-cooking. 
• Drain, rinse, and set aside. 
• In another pot, melt butter and sauté onions.  Whisk in the flour and mustard, and keep whisking for 2 minutes. Make sure there are no lumps. Stir in milk and simmer for 8 minutes. Stir in Swiss and Cheddar cheeses, whisking until incorporated. 
• Fold macaroni into cheese mixture and pour into baking dish. 
• Sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese over the dish and sprinkle the topping evenly over the dish, and bake uncovered for 25 minutes or until bubbling around the edges.