Monday, February 13, 2006

Another shot at macaroni and cheese




Baked Macaroni
Joy of Cooking Copyright 1931, 1936, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1946, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1975

Boil in salted water:
4 oz macaroni, 1 cup
Drain it.
Preheat oven to 350 degreed.
Place layers of macaroni in a buttered baking dish.
Sprinkle the layers with:
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Beat until blended:
1 or 2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon paprika
a few grains of cayenne
1 slice pimiento, optional I omitted this
¼ cup chopped green peppers or 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, optional I omitted this
1 tablespoon grated onion, optional I added this
Pour this mixture over the macaroni. Sprinkle top with dry bread crumbs, dots of butter and grated cheese.
Bake the macaroni about 40 minutes.

I made this a few weeks ago but never got around to posting it. It didn't wow me but I happen to personally know a few people (well, at least one) who like this type of baked macaroni and cheese so I thought it was worth sharing. I guess I'm just not a fan of custardy baked macaroni and cheese. I like my mac n cheese to be ooey and gooey. I really wanted Alton's Brown's stovetop version when I made this but I didn't have evaporated milk on hand. I should have made Horn and Hardart’s Baked Macaroni and Cheese again. I loved that recipe but I always think that no matter how good my mac n cheese turns out that there is always a better recipe out there.

Can I be honest? Joy of Cooking is just not one of my favorite cookbooks. No where even near the top of the list. Sure, it has a recipe for practically everything and it's been around forever but it just doesn't have that cookbook 'magic' I look for in a cookbook. It's comprehensive, I'll give you that, so if you need a recipe for kidneys or brains, you'll probably find one there but I don't think it necessarily has the 'best' recipes.

Question of the Day: Is there a dish that you keep trying a new recipe for, searching for the 'best' version or maybe a version you remember from your past?

9 comments:

The Cookbook Junkie said...

There are several dishes I am always trying to find the 'perfect' version of - chocolate cake, chocolate chip cookies, macaroni salad and macaroni and cheese are just a few that I can think of off the top of my head.

Kalyn Denny said...

Thanks for the nice comment. Food Bloggers are the nicest people.

MommyProf said...

Carrot cake

Tricia said...

Lemon squares! (the cookies) When i was in grade school, my sister had a Peanuts Cookbook of some sort. One of the recipes she used to make was titled "Lucy's Lemon Squares." To this day, lemon squares do not taste right, and I just can't figure out what is missing... maybe the tincture of youth??

Fran said...

I agree about Joy of Cooking. I know there are a lot of basic recipes in it but it just doesn't get it for me. Love mac & cheese.

Randi said...

banana bread

Anonymous said...

Chocolate chip cookies and scones. I hardly ever make the same ones twice.

Kitchen Bounty said...

Actually, I love this old recipe. I use a combo of cheeses and I use evaporated milk. Like my grandmother, who had this cookbook, I place slices of tomato on top before baking. Also, I add dried, minced onion to the custard mix and a few shots of a good hot sauce.

J. Albert said...

This is the original JOC recipe. Since I away from home, I don't have access to this - so thanks for posting. (I don't like the revised recipe in the current edition so much.)