Oct

Another Way to Use Leftover Bread: Mac and Cheese with Buttery Crumb Topping

Posted by Madam Chow Published in casserole, cheese

mac

I confess: in some ways, my palate has the sophistication of a five year old. And macaroni and cheese is one of those ways. I didn’t grow up with the Kraft “blue box,” but on the rare occasions that my folks would go out, my brother and I would get to eat Stouffer’s frozen mac and cheese TV dinners. Woo-hoo! Good times.

But the one thing that commercial mac and cheeses do not have is a crunchy, buttery topping. That’s where this recipe comes in, my adaptation of Cook’s Country Best Potluck Macaroni and Cheese, which allowed me to use up little bits and pieces of challah and ciabatta lurking about my freezer. Oh, and one Trader Joe’s whole wheat hamburger bun, age unknown. But once you pulse these chunks of bread in a food processor, along with some butter and parmesan cheese, then bake it atop a mac and cheese casserole, you end up with quintessential comfort food. And seeing as I now have to get a new dishwasher (along with the washer, refrigerator, microwave oven, and oven that have broken down this year), I need some comforting.

My favorite mac and cheese is still the frozen kind, but my husband, who is not a connoisseur of this dish, found it pretty tasty. And we both loved the crumb topping. Recipe after the jump. And this recipe has been YeastSpotted!

Macaroni and Cheese with Buttery Crumb Topping
Adapted from a recipe by Cook’s Country

Serves 8 to 10.

Use block American cheese from the deli counter—prewrapped slices of American cheese will result in a drier mac and cheese.

Ingredients

3–4 slices of leftover bread , torn into large pieces

8 tablespoons unsalted butter , 4 tablespoons melted

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Kosher salt

1 pound whole wheat elbow macaroni

5 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 (12-ounce) cans evaporated milk

2 tablespoons hot sauce (the original recipe calls for 2 teaspoons, but that would be very bland based on the results I got. I used Tabasco.)

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon dry mustard

2 cups shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese

1 1/4 cups shredded American cheese , (about 5 ounces)

3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Pulse bread, melted butter, and Parmesan in food processor until ground to coarse crumb. Transfer to bowl.

2. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and macaroni to boiling water and cook until al dente, about 4 minutes if you’re using a whole grain pasta, or 6 minutes with a white pasta. Watch this carefully – if you over cook a whole grain pasta, it turns to mush. Reserve 1/2 cup macaroni cooking water, then drain and rinse macaroni in colander under cold running water. Set aside.

3. Melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter in now-empty pot over medium-high heat until foaming. Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture turns light brown, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in evaporated milk, hot sauce, nutmeg, mustard, and 2 teaspoons salt and cook until mixture begins to simmer and is slightly thickened, about 4 minutes. Off heat, whisk in cheeses and 1/2 cup reserved pasta water until cheese melts. Stir in macaroni until completely coated.

4. Transfer mixture to 13 by 9-inch baking dish that you’ve sprayed with a non-stick spray or buttered, and top with bread crumb mixture. Bake until cheese is bubbling around edges and top is golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Make Ahead: The macaroni and cheese can be made in advance through step 3; since the pasta continues to absorb moisture, adjustments must be made to avoid a dry filling. To do so, increase amount of reserved pasta cooking water to 1 cup. Pour filling into 13 by 9-inch baking dish, lay plastic wrap directly on surface of pasta, and refrigerate for up to 1 day. The bread crumb mixture may be refrigerated in airtight container up to 2 days. When ready to bake, remove plastic wrap, cover macaroni mixture with foil, and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle bread crumbs over top, and bake until topping is golden brown, about 20 minutes longer.

Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

Frugal Fridays #2 – Vegetarian Courtship Casserole (April 24th, 2009)
Cooking from Blogs – Ezra Poundcake’s King Ranch Chicken Casserole (January 15th, 2009)
Good Ol’ Retro Green Bean Casserole (September 11th, 2008)

10 users responded in this post

Subscribe to this post comment rss or trackback url

YeastSpotting October 9, 2009 | Wild Yeast said in October 9th, 2009 at 3:04 am

[…] Mac and Cheese with Buttery Crumb Topping […]

Di said in October 9th, 2009 at 11:09 am

Oh, wow. Now I really want to make mac and cheese. Guess what’s going on my menu for next week… =)

Monelle said in October 9th, 2009 at 11:43 am

for some strange reason the ingredients are missing from the recipe that came up on my computer.

Madam Chow said in October 9th, 2009 at 2:19 pm

Hi, Monelle – you have to click on the part in blue, at the very end, that says “continue reading “Another Way to Use Leftover Bread: Mac and Cheese with Buttery Crumb Topping”

Natashya said in October 9th, 2009 at 5:24 pm

That is a great use for leftover bread – so funny about the “age unknown” – I have a few of them myself!

Elle said in October 9th, 2009 at 10:03 pm

Never liked the Kraft stuff, but the Stouffers’ frozen mac and cheese is pretty good. Your topping makes it true comfort food! Love the addition of Parmesan.
So sad about appliances…they seem to all need replacing at the same time. Hope you find a lovely dishwasher.

Stefanie said in October 10th, 2009 at 11:00 am

A great idea for leftover bread! Sounds like the perfect recipe for cold and rainy days in autumn!

pinkstripes said in October 11th, 2009 at 11:29 pm

Mac & cheese is the bomb. Yum.

Cheri said in October 14th, 2009 at 2:53 pm

Yum! That does look comforting! I can almost taste it’s creamy goodness.

Susan/Wild Yeast said in October 15th, 2009 at 8:24 am

Mac and cheese was one of the first thinks I learned to make from scratch. However, the Betty Crocker (I think that was the cookbook of my mom’s that the recipe came from) recipe didn’t have a crunchy crumb topping either. This looks great!