Name: Mac and Cheese
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 6 tablespoons butter; 6 tablespoons flour; 4 cups milk; ¼ cup sour cream; Salt and pepper; 2¼ cups milk, for the cheat "béchamel" (optional); 1 (14 oz) can condensed cream of celery soup (optional); 1 lb elbow macaroni or similar short pasta; 8 oz American cheese, grated; 4 oz mozzarella (or provolone, Swiss, or Gruyère), grated; 4 oz sharp cheddar, Comté, or Parmesan, grated; 3 oz extra grated cheddar or Parmesan for topping (optional); 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Classic baked mac and cheese: elbow pasta in a creamy cheese sauce, browned on top and bubbling at the edges.

Ingredients

For the béchamel (about 2 lb)

Cheat "béchamel" (optional)

To assemble

Directions

A few important concepts for cheese sauces

What makes a cheese sauce smooth

Young cheeses — mozzarella, provolone, Swiss, fontina, Gruyère — bring less flavor but a better, more stable texture.
Sodium citrate stabilizes cheese sauces, and is prevalent in American cheese.
Grate the cheese yourself. Bagged grated cheese often contains anti-caking agents that make the sauce grainy.

What makes a cheese sauce grainy

The heat is too high. Stir the cheese in off the heat.
There is too much cheese. Keep the total within half the weight of the béchamel.
Too much of it is sharp. Sharp cheese should be no more than half the total cheese.

Cook the pasta

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Cook the pasta in well-salted water until the package's recommended time for al dente (or desired doneness). Drain and rinse with cold water to prevent overcooking.

Make the béchamel

If using the cheat "béchamel", simply combine the condensed soup, milk, and sour cream in a saucepan and bring to a boil.

If using the classic béchamel, whisk the butter and flour together in a saucepan over medium heat until combined and foaming (about 2 minutes). Slowly whisk in the milk, one-third at a time, letting it fully thicken before adding more. Add the sour cream with the last of the milk and continue whisking until the sauce comes to a boil.

Whisking milk into the roux until smooth

Make the Mornay

Remove from the heat, stir in the American cheese and the young cheese a handful at a time, then the sharp cheese, letting each addition melt fully before adding more, and finish with a tablespoon of Dijon mustard and season with salt and pepper.

Combine and bake

Stir the cooked pasta into the cheese sauce until evenly coated, pour into a buttered baking dish, and scatter the extra grated cheddar or Parmesan over the top if using. Bake 10–15 minutes, until bubbling at the edges and browned on top.