Macaroni and Cheese--Not from a Box

On Boxing Day we have left-overs, sometimes supplemented with macaroni and cheese. The kids love it any night of the week.  To make your mac 'n cheese richer, use cream instead of milk or use homogenized milk, up your quantity of butter to 1/4-1/3 of a cup, and add more cheese.

• large pot of salted, boiling water
• 900 grams elbow macaroni
• 2 cups milk
• 2 tbsp butter or margarine
• 2-3 Tbsp flour
• salt and pepper
• 1 to 3 cups grated cheese (cheddar, parmesan, marble, or any combination of hard cheese that you have on hand and can grate.)

1. Cook the macaroni in the boiling, salted water according to package directions.
2. Drain macaroni in a strainer.
3. Add a little butter or oil to the bottom of the pot in which you cooked the macaroni, and return the macaroni to the pot; cover to keep warm.
4. In a medium-size pot, melt the butter, turn the heat to very low. Whisk in the flour to make a paste. Whisk in the milk, whisk till thickened. Add grated cheese, stir till it melts. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Stir the sauce into the cooked macaroni.
6. If you have only a little cheese and a lot of milk, make the sauce using 3 cups milk, 3 tbsp butter, 3-4 tbsp flour, and when the sauce thickens, stir it into the macaroni. Then grate the cheese on top of the bowl of macaroni. 
7. If making this in advance, make the 3-cup version of the sauce. Grease the casserole dish before you add the macaroni and sauce. To keep the macaroni from drying out, toss fresh bread crumbs in melted butter and some grated parmesan cheese if you have it, and spread on top. Bake until the crumbs brown, then keep the dish warm in the oven until ready to serve.

Optional Herbed Bread Crumb Topping for Mac 'n Cheese

In Home Ec class we topped cream sauce casseroles with crushed stale potato chips. You can also used crushed seasoned croutons. To make enough bread crumb topping for a casserole, mix:

• 2/3 cup fresh bread crumbs
• 2/3 cup parmesan cheese