The king of all casseroles, the ruler of all comfort foods, the undisputed grand champion of suppertime - in my house, at least - is this macaroni and cheese. Perfected over the course of several decades, it sits on the throne with humility - made of simple ingredients with very little creativity necessary. There is a reason you often hear the phrase during Thanksgiving week, “don’t mess around with the mac and cheese”. Basically, that means “if it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it.” I learned that lesson way back.
To be fair, when the kids were growing up, I served my share of Kraft-in-the-box along with everyone else, but there really is no substitute for a proper macaroni and cheese.
My recipe uses five different cheeses, and it is bechamel-based as opposed to custard-based. To each their own. I have tasted versions of both types - and both are delicious. The real key to this dish is that it should be homemade, with the very best cheese available. Clearing those two hurdles will cover a multitude of lesser sins.
Here is my recipe. I hope you will enjoy it as much as we have through the years.