Macaroni and Cheese

Packaged macroni and cheese tastes like cardboard and the cheese sticks like glue.  This homemade macaroni and cheese is almost as cheap and almost as easy to make. and it’s delicious.  If you can make a white sauce, you can make macaroni and cheese, and anyone with a spoon and a saucepan shoud be able to make a white sauce.
Macaroni and Cheese
  • 6 tablespoons butter plus more for greasing pan
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 3 cups milk
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, optional
  • Salt and white pepper
  • 1 pound dried short noodles, such as elbow macaroni
  • 3/4 pound grated cheese
  • 1/2 pound cooked ham, cubed
  • 1 bunch green onions, sliced
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs

Make a white sauce by melting 4 tablespoons butter in medium saucepan over medium-low heat.  Add flour and whisk until smooth.  Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, to remove raw taste of flour.  Add 1 cup milk and whisk until smooth. Raise heat to medium and add remaining milk, whisking occasionally to prevent lumping.  Cook until sauce has thickened, about 10 minutes.  Add mustard, if desired, and season to taste with salt and white pepper

Homemade bread crumbs are easy to make in a food processor. Just place slices of stale bread in the food processor and process until you have bread crumbs.

Meanwhile, cook noodles in plenty of rapidly boiling, lightly salted water until barely tender, about 8 minutes.  Drain, remove to large mixing bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon butter to prevent sticking.

Add cheese to white sauce and stir to mix.  Add cooked ham and green onions and mix again.  Add white sauce mixture to cooked noodles and combine thoroughly.  Turn noodles out into well-buttered 2-quart gratin dish.

In small skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter.  Add bread crumbs and fry, stirring constantly, until lightly toasted, about 5 minutes.  Scatter bread crumbs over top of noodles and bake at 350 degrees until top is browned and bubbling, about 30 minutes.