2 years ago
160
Welcome backmost to Cookbook Showdown, wherever 1 brave location navigator tests recipes for the aforesaid crockery from assorted fashionable cookbooks to find retired which 1 comes retired connected top. They accidental eyes are the model to the soul, but I accidental macaroni and food recipes are the model to the cookbook. That’s wherefore I tested 5 recipes for mac and food from chefs including Ree Drummond, Carla Hall, Eric Kim, Patti LaBelle, and Nicole A. Taylor. Which cheesy noodles melted my heart? Read connected to find out!
The History of Macaroni and Cheese
How agelong has macaroni and food been around? Well, since astir the clip pasta and food were invented, radical person been mixing them unneurotic to marque a delicious casserole. The earliest known recipe for mac and food dates backmost to 13th period Italy. It instructed chefs to chopped sheets of pasta into 2-inch squares, boil them, and past premix them with grated cheese, astir apt parmesan. Its popularity successful Europe dispersed quickly.
The U.S.’s obsession with mac and food has a antithetic story. Although it’s been served present arsenic agelong arsenic the United States has existed, it reached a antithetic level of notoriety during Thomas Jefferson’s presidency, erstwhile macaroni and food was often served astatine authoritative authorities dinners. But portion immoderate recognition Jefferson with the emergence of mac and cheese, it was truly Black cook James Hemmings, who was enslaved by Jefferson, who brought the crockery to fame. Hemmings was sent to France to survey culinary techniques and utilized those skills to aboriginal make his ain macaroni and food recipe.
For a while, the crockery was thought of arsenic an elite, luxurious food. But arsenic dried pasta and processed food became much disposable astatine a little price, it morphed into the comfortableness nutrient we cognize today. And erstwhile Kraft released their boxed mac and food astatine the extremity of the Great Depression successful 1937, it was everlastingly cemented arsenic a inexpensive and casual American favorite.
The Basics of Macaroni and Cheese
Mac and food tin beryllium arsenic elemental oregon arsenic analyzable arsenic you like. At its astir basic, it tin beryllium cooked pasta layered with food and baked. At its astir extravagant, it tin see ingredients similar lobster and truffles and outgo hundreds of dollars.
Audiobooks Promotions Newsletter
Sign up for Audiobooks Promotions to person peculiar offers, caller products, and absorbing listens from the satellite of audiobooks!
Thank you for signing up! Keep an oculus connected your inbox.
By signing up you hold to our terms of use
Usually, macaroni and food consists of elbow macaroni, a condiment made of pick and/or butter, and assorted cheeses. But each of that is up for experimentation. Elbow macaroni is the astir communal pasta, but immoderate abbreviated pasta tin beryllium used, with much pockets and edges connected the signifier preferred to drawback the sauce. Cheddar is the astir fashionable food choice, but it tin beryllium substituted oregon mixed with different cheeses similar mozzarella for meltability, parmesan for saltiness, and gouda for flavor. Traditionally, mac and food is baked successful a casserole dish, but plentifulness of recipes are made connected the stove apical without usage of the oven. Really, erstwhile it comes to macaroni and cheese, the sky’s the limit.
Macaroni and Cheese Cookbook Showdown
Now that we’ve caught up connected the background, let’s get to the showdown, shall we? I usually take 4 recipes for a Cookbook Showdown similar this, but I tin ne'er get capable mac and cheese, and I besides wanted to springiness immoderate much nontraditional recipes a try, truthful I tested 5 recipes total. Three are much traditional, focusing connected the pasta and cheese, portion 2 person absorbing twists. Which 1 was the cheesiest delight? Read connected to find out!
The Pioneer Woman Cooks—Super Easy!: 120 Shortcut Recipes for Dinners, Desserts, and More by Ree Drummond
Ree Drummond, aka the Pioneer Woman, has built a cooking empire astir her approachable, tasty, family-friendly recipes. From her blog to her Food Network amusement to her galore cookbooks, you tin look to Drummond for delicious nutrient that isn’t overly pretentious oregon analyzable to make. This peculiar cookbook is focused connected shortcuts and quick, casual recipes with ingredients and substitutions recovered successful plentifulness of location pantries.
Drummond’s “Sheet Pan Mac and Cheese” promises a crockery lone somewhat much analyzable than the boxed stuff, but baked successful a expanse cookware for maximum crispy baked food topping. It involves making a food condiment from evaporated milk, Velveeta, and grated food connected the stove, mixing it with cooked pasta, past putting it successful the stove to cook with other food connected top. Let’s spot if this look delivered connected the baked food goodness.
How it Went
As promised, this was so a beauteous casual look to follow. Drummond includes photos of each step, which is decidedly adjuvant for ocular learners. The evaporated beverage was considerably faster and easier than making a roux oregon thickened pick sauce. Her method of preheating the baking expanse for a crispy, cheesy bottommost was palmy and helped the full happening cook much quickly.
Image from Susie DumondRee Drummond’s Sheet Pan Mac and Cheese Scores
- Taste: 4/5 — The blistery condiment and adust mustard were a bully touch, and the evaporated beverage made for a speedy sauce, but it ended up a small adust overall.
- Cheese factor: 4/5 — The Velveeta, cheddar, gruyère, and parmesan operation was truly bully and balanced. It delivered connected crispy food connected the apical and bottom, but it mislaid immoderate of the creamy, saucy prime on the way.
- Difficulty: Easy — This was a cleanable weeknight meal due to the fact that it came unneurotic truly quickly, and the pictures marque the look casual to follow.
- Overall: 4/5 — If you emotion the aureate crispy topping connected baked mac and cheese, this look is for you! But if you similar a creamy, saucy mac and cheese, it mightiness disappoint. The deficiency of condiment besides meant this didn’t reheat precise well.
The Up South Cookbook: Chasing Dixie successful a Brooklyn Kitchen by Nicole A. Taylor
Nicole A. Taylor is simply a location cook, nutrient writer, and podcast host. She spent overmuch of her younker trying to region herself from her Georgia upbringing, until she landed successful Brooklyn and realized the powerfulness of her Southern nutrient roots. In this cookbook, Taylor blends Southern classics with planetary and modern ingredients.
Taylor’s “Baked Macaroni and Cheese” recipe, though, is each astir classical flavors and nailing the food blend. Again, this look starts with making a condiment (including butter, dense cream, half-and-half, grated cheese, and assorted seasonings) connected the stove, mixing it with cooked pasta, and baking it. Let’s find retired what happened erstwhile I tried it astatine home.
How it Went
Making the food condiment went according to plan. The creamy condiment looked and tasted great, particularly with the summation of reddish capsicum flakes, nutmeg, and mustard powder. But here’s wherever the occupation came in: Taylor instructs readers to premix 2 beaten eggs into the hot, drained pasta successful the casserole cookware earlier pouring implicit the blistery food sauce. Do you cognize what happens erstwhile you adhd blistery ingredients to uncooked eggs? I definite do. They navigator into eggy clumps! The spirit of this mac and food was great, but the texture was each wrong. There’s a crushed cooks are usually instructed to temper eggs successful a condiment oregon casserole similar this by dilatory integrating a lukewarm constituent with the eggs earlier whisking it each together, and spot me, it’s worthy the other step.
Image from Susie DumondNicole A. Taylor’s Baked Macaroni and Cheese Scores
- Taste: 3/5 — The seasoning operation successful this look truly sets disconnected the cheeses nicely. But the clumpy eggs truly ruined the texture, which detracted from the wide experience.
- Cheese factor: 4/5 — The blend of crisp cheddar, manchego, and gruyère cheeses was delicious and good balanced, but a smoother cheesy texture would person enactment it implicit the top.
- Difficulty: Moderate — There’s a spot of a roux shortcut present of mixing flour successful aft you’ve already mixed unneurotic the food and creams, making it a small much approachable. But I’d alternatively instrumentality the other measurement of tempering the eggs to make a amended texture successful the end.
- Overall: 3/5 — Great flavor, atrocious texture. Always temper your eggs!
LaBelle Cuisine: Recipes to Sing About by Patti LaBelle
Patti LaBelle is known arsenic the Godmother of Soul, and that applies to some her Grammy-winning euphony vocation and her delicious food. This cookbook was archetypal released successful 1999, and this 20th day variation has adjacent much to emotion with caller stories and recipes. LaBelle’s recipes for classical psyche nutrient are interspersed with delightful (and sometimes wholly wild) stories from her household and friendships with different celebrities.
That’s what archetypal caught my oculus successful LaBelle’s “Over-the-Rainbow Macaroni and Cheese” recipe: a two-page communicative astir her relationship with Elton John, introducing him to her location cooking, and however helium ne'er returns her Tupperware. The look includes 5 antithetic kinds of cheese, and LaBelle says that’s however galore times Elton John went backmost for more. But did the crockery nonstop my tastebuds implicit the rainbow?
How it Went
This look skips the measurement of making a creamy sauce, alternatively mixing the cooked pasta with melted butter, half-and-half, grated cheese, and chunks of Velveeta. While the highly processed food merchandise Velveeta tin beryllium a arguable ingredient, LaBelle insists, “Ask anyone who makes unthinkable macaroni and food for their recipe, and I stake you that Velveeta volition beryllium successful there.” (Of the recipes I tried, Ree Drummond is the lone different crockery that included Velveeta.) It did springiness the mac and food creamy pockets of melted Velveeta, which besides helped it reheat truly well.
Image from Susie DumondPatti LaBelle’s Over-the-Rainbow Macaroni and Cheese Scores
- Taste: 4/5 — This look relies connected seasoned brackish and the assortment of cheeses for flavor, and it does deliver. If anything, it’s a small adust erstwhile the pasta soaks up each the food and half-and-half, but the Velveeta pockets helped.
- Cheese factor: 5/5 — The blend of mild and crisp cheddars, muenster, and monterey jack cheeses positive the Velveeta created a great, balanced flavor.
- Difficulty: Easy — Skipping the pick condiment signifier wholly made it a small drier successful the end, but the process was precise approachable.
- Overall: 4.5/5 — It could person utilized a spot much of a creamy saucy texture, but this mac and food would person been a deed astatine immoderate Southern potluck I’ve ever been to.
Carla Hall’s Soul Food: Everyday and Celebration by Carla Hall with Genevieve Ko
TV cook Carla Hall is beloved from her stint connected Bravo’s Top Chef to hosting ABC’s The Chew and beyond. In this cookbook, Hall blends her psyche nutrient roots from increasing up successful Nashville with her veggie-forward, caller constituent style. It’s an awesome postulation of main dishes, sides, desserts, and sauces that tin easy modulation from mundane meals to each kinds of festivities.
Hall transforms classical macaroni and food into a filling one-pot repast with her “Meaty Tomato Mac and Cheese” recipe. It’s made wholly connected the stove apical successful a ample Dutch oven, from browning crushed beef to cooking onions, garlic, and herb paste to making a roux and yet mixing it each together. Did this one-pot wonderment present connected flavor?
How it Went
I loved the one-pot quality of this dish, and it worked truly good contempt each the antithetic techniques and ingredients involved. In summation to the classical pasta, cheese, milk, and butter, it included mustard powder, paprika, and cayenne capsicum for seasoning, arsenic good arsenic crushed beef, onion, garlic, and herb paste to marque it a afloat meal. My sensation tester/wife described the effect arsenic “a truly delicious fancy mentation of Hamburger Helper,” and I don’t disagree.
Image from Susie DumondCarla Hall’s Meaty Tomato Mac and Cheese Scores
- Taste: 5/5 — Great flavor, precise satisfying arsenic a meal, and the leftovers adjacent reheated truly well.
- Cheese factor: 3/5 — The creaminess of the condiment was great, but with crisp cheddar arsenic the lone food included, the cheesy spirit was a small one-note. Luckily, it was good balanced by the different seasonings and ingredients.
- Difficulty: Easy — The one-pot facet made the full happening a breeze, particularly cleanable up. And I’ve ne'er seen specified an casual mode to marque a roux!
- Overall: 4/5 — I emotion the simplicity of this look and that it’s got added ingredients to marque it a full meal. I could person utilized different food oregon 2 to make a much analyzable flavor, but I thoroughly enjoyed it arsenic is.
Korean American: Food That Tastes Like Home by Eric Kim
New York Times nutrient writer Eric Kim has spent years penning recipes that wed Korean and American flavors. For this beautifully photographed cookbook, Kim spent a twelvemonth successful Atlanta with his parent processing dishes that perfectly blend his family’s accepted Korean recipes with the American comfortableness foods helium loves. It’s a profoundly idiosyncratic cookbook, afloat of archetypal dishes and touching stories.
Kim’s look is possibly the astir unsocial successful this situation — “Mac and Corn Cheese with Jalapeño Bread Crumbs.” It’s a mashup of the Stouffer’s mac and food his household ate increasing up and maize cheese, a broadside crockery fashionable astatine Korean restaurants. It’s the lone look I tried that called for a pasta different than elbow macaroni, alternatively utilizing rigatoni. The creamy condiment besides gets mixed with reddish onion, jalapeños, corn, and crunchy breadstuff crumbs. Let’s spot however this cheesy crockery turned out.
How it Went
Cooking this crockery connected the stove went perfectly according to plan. It besides included a abstracted process to marque a blend of breadstuff crumbs, cheese, reddish onion, and jalapeño which Kim describes arsenic “savory, granola-like food clusters.” It was a spot messy, but turned retired wholly delicious, and it was large to person a crisp topping connected a mac and food that wasn’t baked.
Image from Susie DumondEric Kim’s Mac and Corn Cheese with Jalapeño Bread Crumbs
- Taste: 5/5 — The vigor of the jalapeños, wound of the onion, sweetness of the corn, and creaminess of the condiment were fantastic. I admit the usage of rigatoni with much ridges to cling to the sauce. And the breadstuff crumb clusters were a revelation.
- Cheese factor: 4/5 — The lone food successful this crockery is mozzarella, but it worked good with the different flavors astatine play. It had a large melty texture, too.
- Difficulty: Moderate — Creating the breadstuff crumb clusters was a small unusual, but Kim does a large occupation of describing the process successful the instructions.
- Overall: 5/5 — I loved the complexity of flavors and textures successful this dish. It doesn’t consciousness similar a accepted mac and cheese, but if it’s food and pasta, who’s to accidental it’s not?
Lessons Learned
Before we determination connected to announcing a winner, I wanted to stock a fewer tips I learned on the travel of this Cookbook Showdown:
- Avoid pre-grated cheese — Although it saves time, pre-grated food has a coating added to support it from sticking unneurotic and molding excessively quickly, which tin impact the mode it melts into a sauce.
- Get originative with your cheeses — The much cheesy flavors, the better! I recovered that recipes with aggregate kinds of food led to a much analyzable and balanced flavor.
- Cook pasta to al dente oregon conscionable under — Your macaroni volition sorb immoderate of the condiment if you’re baking it, truthful navigator it to al dente oregon adjacent a infinitesimal little truthful it doesn’t get excessively soggy successful the end.
- The entity is the limit — I wholly adored the recipes that got originative with add-ins. Anything tin spell successful mac and food if you situation to dream!
Without further ado, let’s get to…
The Winner(s)
From near to right, made from recipes by Ree Drummond, Nicole A. Taylor, Patti LaBelle, Carla Hall, and Eric Kim. Image from Susie DumondAlright, let’s beryllium existent here. I made 5 mac and food dishes, and I enjoyed eating each 1 of them. I deliberation determination are 2 recipes present deserving of a crown. To that end, I’ve chosen 1 accepted mac and food victor and 1 much adventurous mac and food winner.
Best Traditional Mac and Cheese Recipe: Patti LaBelle’s Over-the-Rainbow Macaroni and Cheese from LaBelle Cuisine
How tin I not prime Elton John’s favourite macaroni and food arsenic the winner? The 4 kinds of food positive Velveeta gave this crockery a large flavor, and the chunks of Velveeta helped it reheat beautifully too.
Best Adventurous Mac and Cheese Recipe: Eric Kim’s Mac and Corn Cheese from Korean American
This was a beauteous dish, with good balanced flavors and a precise satisfying texture acknowledgment to the panko crumbles. It whitethorn not beryllium what you expect erstwhile you perceive the words “mac and cheese,” but don’t slumber connected this recipe!
We anticipation you enjoyed this installment of Cookbook Showdown! Check retired immoderate of our different culinary experiments:
Cookbook Showdown: The Best Lemon Meringue Pie Recipes, Tested
English (US) ·