Mac & cheese

[jennyema]

If it were dry and non-creamy, that just sounds like bad macaroni and cheese.
You have to take into account a couple of things.
1. The pasta will continue cooking in the oven as it bakes because the pasta should not be completely cooked through when it goes in. It'll absorb moisture from the sauce as it finishes cooking in the oven.

2.The starch released from the pasta can also slightly thicken the sauce. I almost always hit my pasta with cold water in the colander when it finishes boiling to keep it from overcooking and to rinse off some of the starch. I only do this for baked macaroni and cheese to help with the final texture; no globs of pasta stuck together and sauce consistency is easier to control.

3. The breadcrumbs act as a moisture wick, pulling a little moisture up and then evaporating into the oven. I've noticed very dry mac and cheese when I accidentally make the crust too thick on top.

So, the solution is extra sauce and a thin crust on top. I usually put almost double the sauce of a traditional recipes call for and it comes out perfectly. I don't mind putting in extra cheese if the sauce needs it. In my opinion, good macaroni and cheese is ALL about the texture as long as you get the cheese flavor in there. I've had times where I cooked the pasta too much and just browned the crust under the broiler and you couldn't tell much difference from the baked one honestly.

Great tips!

I also use WAY more sauce than might make sense. It ensures a delicious creamy, cheesy texture.

 

[GotGarlic]

Southern mac & cheese leaves much to be desired. I am speaking only this family I married into and other times when I have been served this dish.
It seems its no more than cooked elbows mixed with some cheese and put in the oven. Very dry with no creamy texture.

Might be a good idea then to call it "my wife's family's mac 'n cheese" because real Southern mac' n cheese is creamy and delicious

 

[Cheryl J]

I also make more sauce than called for. I stumbled upon the following recipe a few years back, and have since used this as a go-to for the macaroni/cheese sauce ratio. 1 1/2 cups uncooked macaroni, with 2 cups milk (before cheese is added) makes a super creamy and cheesy mac and cheese. It's going to look like way too much sauce, but trust me, it's perfect and you'll never have a dry mac and cheese dish.

I've adulterated the heck out of it as far as the cheese, because I just cannot abide Velveeta. I use whatever cheese I have in the fridge. Also, it calls for 1/4 C. butter to 2 Tbsp. flour. An equal amount of flour to butter works fine.

Also, as others have said, go easy on the breadcrumb topping, if you use it. It will wick up a good amount of the sauce.

Mouse's Macaroni and Cheese Recipe - Allrecipes.com

 

[Addie]

I also make more sauce than called for. I stumbled upon the following recipe a few years back, and have since used this as a go-to for the macaroni/cheese sauce ratio. 1 1/2 cups uncooked macaroni, with 2 cups milk (before cheese is added) makes a super creamy and cheesy mac and cheese. It's going to look like way too much sauce, but trust me, it's perfect and you'll never have a dry mac and cheese dish.

I've adulterated the heck out of it as far as the cheese, because I just cannot abide Velveeta. I use whatever cheese I have in the fridge. Also, it calls for 1/4 C. butter to 2 Tbsp. flour. An equal amount of flour to butter works fine.

Also, as others have said, go easy on the breadcrumb topping, if you use it. It will wick up a good amount of the sauce.

Mouse's Macaroni and Cheese Recipe - Allrecipes.com

I cover the whole thing with foil until it is bubbling. Then I remove it for the last few minutes so to brown the crumbs and cheese.

I can't remember that last time I bought Velveeta. It had to be back in the early 60's when the kids were small. They liked it for their school lunch bag. Before that I used to get along with ten pounds of butter, the five pound block of Velveeta like cheese from the surplus food.

I like to use Swiss Cheese. It has about the same melting qualities that Velveeta cheese has. And I like that taste of it also. The dry mustard really goes well with the whole dish. For the cheese that I mix with the bread crumbs for the topping, I toss whatever cheese I am going to mix with them, into my small FP until it is about the same consistency of the crumbs. Or I use my micro plane. I have one that is really fine. It depends on the cheese I have on hand. Mix well with the crumbs. Sprinkle over the top. Cover with foil.

I have always used the dry mustard. One time I made it and was out of the mustard. (I hate yellow mustard) And the Guilden's dark mustard didn't seem right. So I left it out. The kids noticed right away. Why was it different? They never knew it was hot powdered mustard. But they knew it was different. It wasn't until they were grown and with homes of their own that they found out when I gave them the recipe.

 

[Roll_Bones]

My mother used to make Welsh Rarebit all the time with the beer when she had it. Otherwise it was milk or cream. I prefer it without. She was a stickler for sticking to the recipes her mother taught her. I think I come from a family of drunks. Maybe that is why I have never tasted liquor.

Or maybe they were just regular folks who liked to drink?

If it were dry and non-creamy, that just sounds like bad macaroni and cheese.
You have to take into account a couple of things.
1. The pasta will continue cooking in the oven as it bakes because the pasta should not be completely cooked through when it goes in. It'll absorb moisture from the sauce as it finishes cooking in the oven.

2.The starch released from the pasta can also slightly thicken the sauce. I almost always hit my pasta with cold water in the colander when it finishes boiling to keep it from overcooking and to rinse off some of the starch. I only do this for baked macaroni and cheese to help with the final texture; no globs of pasta stuck together and sauce consistency is easier to control.

3. The breadcrumbs act as a moisture wick, pulling a little moisture up and then evaporating into the oven. I've noticed very dry mac and cheese when I accidentally make the crust too thick on top.

So, the solution is extra sauce and a thin crust on top. I usually put almost double the sauce of a traditional recipes call for and it comes out perfectly. I don't mind putting in extra cheese if the sauce needs it. In my opinion, good macaroni and cheese is ALL about the texture as long as you get the cheese flavor in there. I've had times where I cooked the pasta too much and just browned the crust under the broiler and you couldn't tell much difference from the baked one honestly.

I know how to make it, I just never have made it.
My references to dry mac & cheese stem from the mac & cheese I have been served at every "get together" I have been too.
My wifes family in particular. None of them can cook and none of them could care less about cooking.
It is a chore. Nothing more.

On the other hand cooking is a big part of my life. Dinner menu's float around in my brain all day.
I do not know how anyone had anything to eat before I came along.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I do not know how anyone had anything to eat before I came along.

They came to my house.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North