Grandma Pat's Mac & Cheese became the Christmas meal of choice. Whether we celebrated on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day our meal was always grandma pat's mac and cheese. Christmas was never just our family, We always asked God who we should include for Christmas dinner so whether it was a group of single adults, another family, or our whole church..we always had Mac and cheese. When the kids became young adults and would come home for the holidays we would do a Christmas night open house with wings, desserts, and of course Grandma Pat's Mac and cheese. I was always amazed at how many people would stop by after they were done with all their family responsibilities.
Over the years Grandma Pat became weak and fragile. I remember as if it was yesterday the day I got the call that she was in ICU and that I needed to get on a plane immediately cause she probably wouldn't make it thru the day. As my dear friends Melanie, Debbie, and Janelle greeted me in the ICU room we walked into her room expecting to only have a few moments with her. Within moments we had her laughing as we told her she couldn't die cause we didn't have the Mac & Cheese recipe. For the next few hours she dictated recipes to our favorites. At the end she told Jesus she couldn't die that night cause she had more recipes to share with us. She definitely was a hoot!
Important: Do not add cheese to cold milk ... this will result in cheese becoming one giant ball in the milk as it heats.
Ingredients:
- 3lbs Elbow Macaroni
- 1/2 gallon milk
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2-3/4 lb of Munster cheese
- 1/2-3/4 lb of Swiss cheese
- 2 1/2lbs of Vt sharp cheddar cheese (according to Grandma Pat, Vt Cabot was the best)
- 1-2 cups shredded cheddar to sprinkle ove the top when done
- Parmesan cheese
- Salt & pepper
- garlic powder
- flour or corn starch to make a gravy (grandma pat used corn starch)
Directions:
In deep sauce melt butter, add enough flour to make a roux (probably 2-3 tablespoons) add milk and bring to a simmer. Add salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Meanwhile cut up munster, swiss, and extra sharp cheddar. ( I prefer the food processor but Grandma Pat was loyal to hand chopping)
While milk is simmering, cook macaroni al dente, drain and set aside.
Gradually add cheese to simmering milk and stir constantly. As cheese melts add more. Repeat process till cheese is completely melted. Bring to a slow boil, stirring constantly. Allow to simmer till you get your desired consistency.
When cheese sauce is done put macaroni in a backing pan and add cheese, stir together. Will appear soupy but the more sauce the better. Then sprinkle a little bit of cheddar cheese over the top and parmesan cheese over that. Then cover.
Set oven to 375* and cook covered 1/2 hour and uncover 20 minutes.