Have you tried Macaroni & Cheese - the ones where you can buy from the supermarkets, just add water, milk & butter? I love eating Mac & Cheese! Ever since the day I tried it back home, I sort of fell in love with it.
Lately I was thinking whether this miracle instant food can be cooked from scratch. So I thought I would give it a try, using my own imagination on what ingredients manufacturers use. Hehe, a 'food factory' experiment!
And so it begins with these ingredients - macaroni, cheese, water, butter, salt & pepper.
Pour 1 cup of water and half cup of macaroni into a sauce pan. Let them simmer on medium heat and add in about 1/3 cup of milk, followed by the a good knob of butter. Stir up everything. I used the same cup for all measurements : )
While waiting for the macaronis to be cooked, season it with salt & pepper. I think the simmering will probably take about 6 - 10 minutes, depending on the quality of the macaroni.
Once the macaroni is thoroughly cooked, mix it grated cheese. I used cheddar cheese. While mixing the cheese, remove the pan from heat in order to avoid your sauce from splitting.
Finito!
I can't believe that my experiment actually worked! Hahahaha... So happy with the result. Some things to take note though: If I want to make the sauce dryer, I could reduce my water measurement. Perhaps the next time, adding another type of cheese (say, Mozarella) should take better. And, I think the next time I can add in some herbs. So far, I'm inclining to basil but I'll need to test it out the next time : P
So it turns out that we can actually cook Mac & Cheese on a hob too! Looks like a simple instant food can be home cooked and it takes the same amount of time to prepare as well : )
TheLoyalFan says: 'Ten times nicer than the instant version! The cheese tasted real, beacause it was! It didn't have an artifical taste and wasn't overly creamy. Just nice!'
Ooo... yes it was!
Till then, keep nomming : ) And have fun watching the opening ceremony for London Olympics!
So creative! Not sure if basil will goes with mac & cheese.
ReplyDeleteTypically you boil the macaroni. To make the sauce you melt butter and put in a spoon or two of plain flour. Then add milk and keep stirring til no lumps. This is basic white sauce. YOu can add cheese at this point too. Then add drained cooked macaroni and season.
We normally put sliced tomato on the top and cheese mixed with breakcrumbs on the top. We like a crunchy top. Cheat way is to grill otherwise bake til cook.
Some folks tell me the secret ingredient to good mac & cheese is a teaspoon of mustard. ;)
I may give this method a try instead of making white sauce. Check out BBC Food if can find a slimmer version from Hariy Bikers Dieting series.
Hahaha... I think its not basil. Probably something more 'light' such as parsley?
ReplyDeleteAs for the additional cheese, should be Parmesan. Mozzie is for lasagna but hey, it's all about individual preference : ) After all, cooking should be fun!