I've been trying to perfect my Mac & Cheese technique. For some reason, it seems that no matter what I try, I just can't get it right. Well, I did get it right the other day, but I found out the hard way that baking the dish even to get a little crust can mean the difference between velvety smoothness, and well, an overgrown hockey puck. Dammit, I should have taken it and just eaten it out of the pot, but no, I had to get a crust on it. Well, live and learn. At least I salvaged deep fried mac-fromage out of that one, which actually, wasn't bad once you melted more cheese on top. Mmmmmm
In an effort to redeem myself here, I went back to my roots. I pulled out a dish that I grew up with in Japan that really is similar to a good 'ole American Mac & Cheese although the technique is really much more traditional French.
Macaroni au Gratin
1/2 lbs. Macaroni or other tube shaped pasta
5.5 oz Chicken or Shrimp
1 medium Onion
1/4 cup White Wine
optional 6 Button Mushrooms
1 tablespoon Unsalted Butter and 1 cup Grated Cheese for topping (I like a combination of parmegiano-reggiano, mozzarella, and gruyere, but anything with flavor that melts is fine)
Mornay Sauce:
3.75 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
3.75 tablespoons Flour
3.75 cups Milk or Half-and-half
1/2 cup grated Parmegiano-Reggiano
1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese
1/2 cup grated Mozzarella cheese
Freshly grated Nutmeg and White Pepper, to taste
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Chop up chicken or shrimp into bite-sized pieces and salt and pepper them. Dice the onion and thinly slice the mushrooms if using. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add salt. If you decide on the shrimp, skip the instructions for chicken and add it once you fold all the ingredients together before baking.
In a large saute pan or skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat, and saute the chicken until it is nicely colored. Remove the chicken and reserve. Add more butter to the pan and saute the onions (and mushrooms) until translucent. Return the chicken to the same pan and add the white wine. Stir and cook until the wine is almost completely gone.
Add pasta to the pot of boiling water at this time. Because of additional baking in the sauce later, you will want to slightly under cook the pasta. If the directions give 9-10 minutes, take them off at 8. The pasta should still be slightly hard in the middle, but not quite al dente yet. If the pasta is done before the sauce, drain and add a little butter to prevent sticking.
Meanwhile, make the sauce mornay. In a sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat, being careful not to burn it. Once all the butter is melted, remove the pot from the heat and slowly sift in the flour. Both sifting the flour and mixing off the heat help prevent the formation of lumps. Cook the mixture (roux) over low heat while stirring to make sure that the roux is completely cooked through. Do not allow the roux to brown. Once the roux is cooked through and the flour is completely incorporated (it will smell less like flour) remove from the heat and bring the milk or half-and-half to a scald. Placing the roux back over low heat, add in the heated milk and whisk vigorously until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. This should take approximately 4-5 minutes. Remove the white sauce from the heat. In small batches, add in the grated cheese, making sure it is completely melted before adding more. Place the pot back over low heat if necessary. Once all the cheese is melted in, add in a small amount of freshly grated nutmeg and white pepper.
Fold the components together. Place pasta, chicken and sauce mixture into an oven safe baking dish that has been buttered or sprayed. Top with the reserved grated cheeses and add dots of butter. Place in the oven and bake until bubbling and nicely browned, about 10 minutes.
Let cool for a few minutes (important, it's like napalm right out of the oven!) and serve up.
Now, folks, I may not be able to make a great American Mac & Cheese that's better than the blue box, but this... just try it once. It's gooooooood. Just don't complain to me when your cholesterol figures go up. :D
Happy Cooking!
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