The Easiest and Creamiest Mac-n-Cheese....ever

Who doesn't love mac-n-cheese? I have made several variations, my most recent favorite being this one where I toasted the bread crumbs and herbs in butter before topping the mac and baking it. Delicious!

So a few months ago when I was going through old issues Food and Wine and ripping out recipes to try, I found one for Three-Cheese Mini Macs in the December 2007 issue. I shared the recipe with a friend who made it once using the muffin tins, and it was so good that she decided to make it in a casserole dish. She raved about it so much that I had to try it.

My adaptation of the recipe is below. For the original recipe using muffin tins, see the link above.

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb elbow macaroni
• 1 1/2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 1/2 c light cream
• 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
• 4 oz shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 lb deli-sliced American cheese, chopped
• 1 large egg yolk
• Salt and pepper

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 425; grease a baking dish with 1/2 tbsp of the butter
• Cook macaroni; set aside
• Heat the remaining tablespoon of butter in a pot over medium heat. Whisk in flour and continue to whisk until you have a nice roux.
• Add the cream and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper.
• Remove from the heat and whisk in the American and cheddar cheeses. Adjust salt and pepper if needed.
• Mix in the egg yolk
• Pour the cooked macaroni into the sauce and toss until coated. Transfer the macaroni mixture to the prepared baking dish and top with the Parmesan cheese.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes until sizzling.

The American cheese may not be the fanciest cheese around, but it is what made this dish so creamy and delicious. And talk about easy - this took about 10 minutes to prep. I usually put chopped onions in my mac-n-cheese, and thought I'd miss them, but I didn't. I will still make other, fancier versions of mac-n-cheese, but this is my new go-to recipe.