We grew up with "the blue box" and the occasional HoJo's Baked Macaroni and Cheese. While those have their places, this is what we make now.
- 1 pound elbow macaroni (ridged if you can get it)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 small onion onion, minced
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 teaspoons mustard powder (We use Colman's)
- 2 teaspoons Rubarama's Original No. 4
- 6 cups milk
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 large egg
- 4 ounces Monterey jack cheese
- 4 ounces mozzarella
- 12 ounces sharp cheddar, divided
Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Shred the cheeses, reserve 2 cups of the cheddar cheese.
Cook the pasta just to al dente, rinse with cold water, and let cool. Add the butter to a large stockpot and melt on medium-low heat. Cook onions in butter until translucent, stirring often to ensure that they don't brown.
Whisk in the flour, mustard, and Rubarama until fully combined, cook for 15 seconds. Slowly add in milk, whisking to ensure the mixture is combined well. Add in the salt and cook for 5 minutes.
Turn off the heat. Place 1 cup of the milk mixture into a glass bowl and let cool for a 3-5 minutes in the refrigerator.
Add egg to the cooled milk, whisking until fully combined.
Turn the heat on the pot to medium-low. Slowly add in the egg and milk mixture, whisking well. Next, whisk in the Monterey jack, mozzarella and 1 cup of the sharp cheddar cheeses. Keep whisking until combined.
Add the cooled macaroni into the pot and toss with the cheese sauce.
Pour into a 9" x 13" baking dish and top with the remaining 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese. Sprinkle on a little Rubarama.
Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.
What we used: Rubarama Original No. 4, Colman's Mustard, Pyrex 3-quart glass baking dish