Cook's Illustrated Classic Macaroni And Cheese

Total Time: 45 mins Preparation Time: 40 mins Cook Time: 5 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 6 slices sandwich bread (hearty and torn into rough pieces)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (cold and cut into 6 pieces)
• 1 lb elbow macaroni
• table salt
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 6 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 5 cups milk
• 8 ounces monterey jack cheese, shredded
• 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Recipe

• 1 for the bread-crumb topping: pulse bread and butter in food processor until crumbs are about 1/8 inch, ten to fifteen 1-second pulses. set aside.
• 2 for the pasta and cheese: adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat broiler.
• 3 bring 4 quarts water to boil in dutch oven over high heat.
• 4 add macaroni and 1 tablespoon salt. cook until pasta is tender. drain pasta and set aside in colander.
• 5 in now-empty dutch oven, heat butter over medium-high heat until foaming.
• 6 add flour, mustard, and cayenne and whisk well to combine.
• 7 continue whisking until mixture becomes fragrant and deepens in color, about 1 minute.
• 8 gradually whisk in milk and bring mixture to a boil, whisking constantly (mixture must reach full boil to fully thicken).
• 9 reduce heat to medium and simmer, whisking occasionally, until thickened to consistency of heavy cream, about 5 minutes.
• 10 off heat, whisk in cheeses and 1 teaspoon salt until cheeses are fully melted.
• 11 add pasta and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is steaming and heated through, about 6 minutes.
• 12 transfer mixture to broiler-safe 13x9 inch baking dish and sprinkle evenly with bread crumbs.
• 13 broil until crumbs are deep golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes, rotating pan if necessary for even browning.
• 14 cool about 5 minutes, then serve.