Sunday dinner

I believe in mac & cheese. I made it for Steph, but we all love it. Here's my recipe, adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook, Ruth Reichl.

Macaroni & Cheese

1. Melt 3 T. unsalted butter, then add 3 T. flour, & cook over moderate heat for 3 minutes, stirring all the while because it burns easily. This is a roux.
2. Pour 2 3/4 C. milk & 3/4 C. heavy cream into a glass measuring cup, then stir it into the roux. (I use a wire whisk sometimes, but prefer a wooden spoon.) Bring that to a boil, stirring constantly. Then simmer on low for about 3 more minutes, stirring off & on so it doesn't burn. I simmer on very low, because I tend to burn it; so I cook it 5 or more minutes – until it is like thick cream. Turn off the heat.
3. Add 4 C. grated Cheddar, the sharper the better, 2 tsp. Dijon mustard, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. pepper. * Stir until cheese melts.
4. Get your drainer out & put a glass measuring cup in it.
5. Cook 3/4 lb. DeCecco Ziti or other macaroni in salted boiling water until it is done but not mushy. Drain it, but before you do, dip out about a cup of the pasta cooking water into the glass measuring cup. Save that liquid.
6. Mix the sauce, macaroni & pasta cooking water together. I use a big shallow bowl that is meant for serving pasta. It makes the mixing easy. If you use a deep mixing bowl, the mixing is more difficult.
7. Pour it all into a casserole. Sometimes I butter it, but it's not necessary. The pan pictured looks bigger, but the container itself is 10" diameter. You can put buttered crumbs on top, but I don't.
8. Bake in the middle of the oven at 400° until it bubbles in the middle, about an hour.

*Sometimes I use 2 C. Cheddar and 16 oz. Velveeta, which makes a creamy & mild sauce.

**If you make 2/3 of this recipe, it fills an 8" square pan.

We had this with broccoli, strawberries, & angel food cake from the bakery.