While recently in NYC, I visited a restaurant called, The Smith. The mac & cheese was unforgettable, but I was discouraged having flown home mac & cheese recipeless. Crossing my fingers, I hoped that someone in the Internet world felt the same about this dish. That "someone" was Oprah! She loved it so much that the chef provided her with the recipe for her to post on her website. It's TDF (aka, to die for...) but just don't look at the ingredients. Everything in moderation, right!
Ingredients:
- 1 pound elbow macaroni
- 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 4 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 12 ounces heavy cream
- 12 ounces whole milk
- ¾ cup cheddar, shredded
- ¾ cup Fontina, shredded
- ¾ cup Gruyère, shredded
- ¼ cup Parmigiano Reggiano, shredded
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup shredded Parmigiano Reggiano to finish
Directions:
Preheat oven and a shallow ovenproof baking dish to 400° F.
In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook pasta to al dente. Strain but do not rinse. Simultaneously, in 2-quart, heavy-bottomed stockpot, whisk butter and flour together over medium heat to make a blonde roux. Add milk and heavy cream; whisk until boiling. Add all the cheese, reserving ½ cup of Parmigiano Reggiano; stir until mixture is melted evenly throughout.
Add cooked pasta to cheese mixture, season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Remove hot baking dish from oven and butter it evenly while hot. Add entire contents to buttered baking dish, sprinkle top with reserved Parmigiano Reggiano. Bake in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes, until top is browned. Serve immediately.
In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook pasta to al dente. Strain but do not rinse. Simultaneously, in 2-quart, heavy-bottomed stockpot, whisk butter and flour together over medium heat to make a blonde roux. Add milk and heavy cream; whisk until boiling. Add all the cheese, reserving ½ cup of Parmigiano Reggiano; stir until mixture is melted evenly throughout.
Add cooked pasta to cheese mixture, season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Remove hot baking dish from oven and butter it evenly while hot. Add entire contents to buttered baking dish, sprinkle top with reserved Parmigiano Reggiano. Bake in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes, until top is browned. Serve immediately.
*The Smith Restaurant, NYC