Serious Eats has an amazing modernist mac and cheese recipe. If you don’t like flour or a Béchamel sauce, this is your go-to. The recipe involves one special ingredient—sodium citrate—which you can mail order. Sodium citrate has the ability to turn any cheese into the consistency of creamy Velveta. No flour needed. So as a result, if you use water you get a really cheese-forward mac and cheese. I usually modify the recipe slightly by using a bit of milk in place of all water, but the result is the same—super creamy mac and cheese with a pronounced cheese flavor. https://www.seriouseats.com/sodium-citrate-baked-mac-and-cheese

Anonymous wrote:Martha’s is the one I always go back to.

https://www.marthastewart.com/957243/macaroni-and-cheese

Ditto. I have one that doesn't like the breadcrumbs on top, which is my favorite part

Anonymous wrote:https://barefootcontessa.com/recipes/mac-cheese

This is my favorite to make, but my kids don’t like it.

Here's mine:

1 lb. elbow macaroni
16 ounces of grated cheese--mix of half sharp cheddar and half colby jack/monterey jack
4 cups whole milk
6 Tbl butter
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
------------------
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, add the macaroni and cook according to the directions on the package, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain well.

Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan, but don't boil it (I microwave it). Melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a large (4-quart) pot and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. While whisking, slowly add the hot milk and cook for a minute or two more, until thickened and smooth. Off the heat, add the cheese, 1 teaspoon salt, black pepper, dry mustard and onion powder. Add the cooked macaroni and stir well. Pour into a 3-quart baking dish (I divide into two batches and cook on different nights).

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top.

If you want something a little different, the recipe from the NYT using marscarpone and miso was really good. Even our Mac & cheese connoisseur daughter liked it.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1025274-one-pot-miso-mascarpone-pasta?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share

Flavor comes from good cheese. The sharpest good quality cheddar or a blue if you’re into that. Using the Martha Stewart recipe.

Anonymous wrote:I don't have a recipe, I just make it. The key is white wine, grated onion, and mustard -- the dry kind.

key is the small addition of nutmeg

If you want the really creamy kind that has a more Veletta consistency, use evaporated milk.

I’ve tried tons of mac and cheese recipes and my kids hate them. Until finally someone here posted this

https://www.seriouseats.com/ingredient-stovetop-mac-and-cheese-recipe

Martha Stewart. It's perfect.

I sometimes as diced bacon, spinach, lobster meat, or other add-ins, but the base mac & cheese recipe is always Martha's.

I like the Alton brown stovetop Mac n cheese recipe

Martha’s is the one I always go back to.

https://www.marthastewart.com/957243/macaroni-and-cheese

I don't have a recipe, I just make it. The key is white wine, grated onion, and mustard -- the dry kind.

https://www.muellerspasta.com/recipes/old-fashioned-baked-macaroni-and-cheese/

My favorite and easy.

Anyone have one? Most of the Mac and cheese that's homemade is flavorless garbage that tastes like bland flour. I am looking for an amazing Mac and cheese recipe that has actual flavor. Crunchy topping is OK. Any recs for recipes you've actually tried that were winners?