I love mac & cheese. Along with many other things, obviously. Last year, my mom and I were watching Rachel Ray make a pan of it and decided we could do it better. I never tasted Rachel Ray’s, but in my opinion our recipe kicks her recipe’s butt. We used dry white wine and some extra old cheddar, and it gives the recipe a zip that contends with the rich cheesiness.
Zippy Mac & Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, very finely chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 box of macaroni (I prefer Catelli Smart, adds some fibre without changing the texture)
- 1 tbsp. flour
- 1/2 cup dry white wine (I like sauvignon blanc)
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I use aged)
- 1/2 a tub of McClaren’s imperial aged cheddar
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs.
Directions
- In a large pan, saute onions in oil until softened. Start cooking the macaroni in a separate pot.
- Add flour to the onions and cook a minute to make a roux. Add the wine and cook to a thickened sauce.
- Add milk and bring sauce to a boil. Melt 1/2 of the shredded cheddar into the sauce as well as the McClaren’s cheese.
- Once sauce is uniformly thick, strain the cooked macaroni and add to the sauce pan. Stir the sauce and macaroni well to combine.
- Pour this mixture into a 9×12 baking dish. Cover the top with the remaining shredded cheddar and sprinkle with bread crumbs.
- Bake at 375F for 30 minutes, or until cheese on top is bubbly and breadcrumbs are browned.
And then eat your mac & cheese accompanied by the remaining Sauvignon Blanc!!! I recommend Kim Crawford’s from Marlborough, New Zealand (LCBO VINTAGES #35386, $19.95).
Hey Megan – fun blog, I’ll look forward to following your wine quest! I I live with mac and cheese fanatics but I am a bit of a snob, and feel that the colour of Kraft dinner is too scary to feed to Mr. Finn.. so I’m pumped to try this one!
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