Rachael Domenica Ray (born August 25, 1968 on Cape Cod, Massachusetts) is an Emmy-winning television personality and author who currently hosts the syndicated series Rachael Ray...more.

Hmmm… I heard of macaroni and cheese recipes but I had never tried it before. To me I thought it looks like either baby food or hospital food because the pictures I saw never looked appealing to me.

The reason I try this recipe was because I was curious to know how macaroni and cheese tastes like. I crossed my finger hoping it’ll taste as good as carbonara but unfortunately the result turn out quite disappointing.

I don’t know what went wrong with this recipe because the sauces are quite thick and floury, and the taste was a bit bland. The thick sauce could be due to using full cream milk so maybe I should use a low fat milk to make it more fluid in the sauce. As for the bland taste I know you guys will say add more salt! But I did! I think maybe not enough.

However, I still have over left in the fridge so I planning to pan fried some coarsely chopped bacon with butter until it crisp and stir in the bacon together with the juice to the over left macaroni. At least this will bring in some flavor to the sauce. (cross finger again!)

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Instructions

Heat a medium, deep skillet over medium heat. Add oil and butter. When butter melts into the oil, add flour and combine. Gently cook, whisking flour and butter together, until smooth and flour has had a chance to cook, about 3 minutes.

Slowly add milk while continuing to whisk. Gently bring milk to a bubble while stirring frequently. Allow the milk to thicken a bit, then stir in 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese a handful at a time.

Season sauce with nutmeg and cayenne. Taste and add a little salt, if you like. Add cooked pasta to sauce and coat completely by turning over and over in the cheese sauce. Transfer to a baking dish and top with remaining cheese. Place baking dish under a hot broiler and brown the cheddar cheese on top.

Source : Rachael Ray "30 Minute Meals"

Recipe

- 1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil, 1 turn of the pan in a slow stream
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 1/2 cups whole or 2 percent milk
- 3 cups shredded white cheddar cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, ground or freshly grated
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, a couple pinches
- Salt
- 1 pound elbow macaroni, cooked 8 minutes or to al dente, with a little bite to it

SERVES : 4