It only takes an hour to create this gooey, creamy mac and cheese masterpiece, crafted originally at Manhattan’s venerable Murray’s Cheese. This recipe does call for some handiwork by grating your own cheese rather than buying the pre-grated cheese from the store. But if you take the time to grate the cheese yourself, it will help you get that smooth, creamy texture that you’ll want for your mac and cheese every time you make it.
Alina Stallone, the kitchen manager at Murray’s Cheese, chose a fairly classic lineup to add to her recipe: cheddar, Fontina and Gouda. She then took things one step further by adding a fourth secret cheese.
“A wonderful trick to make your mac and cheese extra luxurious is adding cubed Taleggio,” Stallone told The Daily Meal. “Because when it bakes with the pasta, it’s going to turn into little ooey-gooey pockets of delicious cheese.” Taleggio, a semisoft, washed-rind Italian cheese, is used twice: once while making the initial cheese sauce and again after incorporating the pasta into it. You can watch the full technique in the video below.
You can upgrade this recipe by adding bacon, scallions, SPAM or whatever else sounds good. Crushed Goldfish crackers, for instance, can be a surprisingly delightful addition. Once you master this recipe, use the leftover cheese you have on hand (if any) for more super decadent, delicious cheese-filled recipes.
Gooey, Creamy Mac and Cheese
Ingredients:
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