- Hey, I'm John Kanell Today on "Preppy Kitchen", we're making a deliciously
decadent baked mac and cheese. So, let's get started. First off, grab a big pot and we're gonna fill this with water. (water rushing) You need to remember to salt your water. It is so important because the pasta will not absorb any
flavor after it's cooked. It's while it's cooking that
it's gonna absorb the flavor. We're gonna place this over high heat or medium high if you want. I usually add about a tablespoon in. You can add more. It's gonna impart so much flavor. And if you don't, your
pasta is gonna be bland. So bland and sad. So, just a little bit
of salt will do wonders. While my water's coming to a boil, we have some cheddar and Gruyère to shred. 10 ounces or 283 grams of each. The cheddar is gonna
give you so much flavor. And today I'm using a
regular sharp cheddar, but my favorite and it's so delicious, is an aged red English cheddar. Oh my gosh. If you can find it at the
store, which I could not today, it is going to change
your mac and cheese life. I always like to buy cheese
in blocks and shred it myself because when you go to the store and buy pre-shredded cheese, like if you look at this, it's
already sticking together. It feels really nice though. In the store, you buy that
stuff and it never sticks. It's because it's coated with
cellulose, which is fine. But cellulose is code for wood pulp. So, it's basically just sawdust, very fine sawdust that
the cheese is coated in. And that is not part of my mac and cheese, although it does give
you some extra fiber. So, your choice. Set your cheddar aside and repeat the process with your Gruyère. This is a delicious cheese. It's similar to Swiss, so
you could sub Swiss in, but this is not a delicate souffle. It's mac and cheese, so
you can use your favorites. Sometimes I like to use a
nice aged Gouda in this. Sometimes I'll use some cream cheese. You can use a medley
of cheeses if you like. Just try and have like 20 ounces in total because if you add too
much cheese to your sauce, it won't be creamy. It'll solidify right away. So, you need to have the
right amount of cheese to your bechamel sauce. Look at that beautiful cheese. Ooh-hoo! My cheese is prepped. We're gonna make our bechamel sauce now. So, measure out three cups of whole milk and one cup of cream. If you want some extra bonus points, warm these up slightly in the microwave so they're not ice cold. Your sauce will thank you for it. Grab a large pan. We're gonna place that over
medium heat in just a moment. But I noticed my water came to a boil, so it's time to add one pound of your favorite smaller pasta. This is a baked mac and cheese, so I'm using macaroni today, but I might have just as
easily used smaller shells. It's gonna be delicious
any way you cut it, so use your favorite pasta. (macaroni rattling) While my pasta's cooking, I'll
give it an occasional stir. Don't forget about it.
Let it clump together. But I'll also be melting
half a cup or 113 grams of unsalted butter in that pan. This will be the base of my roux. A roux is a delicious
thickening agent for sauces. So, a bechamel is one
of the mother sauces. It's a white sauce based
with milk or cream, and you start with
melted butter and flour. You'll cook the flour in the melted butter for just a moment, and then
we add our creamy things in, and then we add our
delicious flavorings in. Let's get that nice and melty and grab half a cup of all-purpose flour. That's 60 grams. My butter's melted. I'm gonna sprinkle the flour
in and stir, stir, stir. You can use a whisk or a
wooden spoon if you want. Actually, definitely use a whisk for this. I dunno what I was thinking with a spoon. So whisk, whisk, whisk
for two to four minutes until you have a wonderful, nutty smell coming from that butter and flour. And you can make a white roux, which is cooked a little bit less. You can make a darker roux, which is cooked more and has more flavor, but don't burn things. (whisk whizzing) Oh my gosh, the smell is so good. Once things are ready, we're gonna pour our milk and cream in
slowly while whisking. There'll be quite a transformation,
so whisk, whisk, whisk, and don't stop until all the liquid's in. Immediately it'll start bubbling up and getting really thick and disturbing. And then, you're just gonna
add more liquid as you whisk until it comes together
and is nice and creamy. (cheese sizzling) And you'll see some lumps. Don't worry about it.
They'll get whisked away. Whisked away. Don't forget about the cream. Whisk really well, especially
in the side of your pan where lumpy things might have happened. And then, you can kind of chill out and just whisk less vigorously
until things thicken up. Really about five minutes or less if you warmed your liquids up. You can always take a little break and add an optional ingredient. In this case, I have to add some nutmeg. It's a traditional addition
to a bechamel sauce and it gives you a
wonderful depth of flavor. But if someone doesn't like nutmeg, just tell them it's black pepper. (steel clunking) Ooh, that smells so nice. (cheese sloshing) While whisking, don't forget to check on your mac and cheese on your macaroni. That's al dente and perfect. I'll take it off heat now
and we're gonna drain it out. My sauce is getting really close. Don't forget to add salt and pepper. Three quarters of a teaspoon of each. (pepper container rattling) Nobody wants bland pasta
with bland bechamel sauce. No, no. Okay. This has thickened up
nicely. Come take a look. Use that wooden spoon. Very nice. Everything came together at once. So, remove the bechamel from heat. I have to drain my pasta
so it doesn't overcook. And then, we're gonna add the cheese in. (water trickling) Always feel free to blow steam away. That's how you avoid a steam burn. Let your pasta drain and then plop it back into the pan. If your pasta cooked first and
you're not ready for it yet, you can add a little bit of olive oil to keep it from sticking
or a little bit of butter. I'm gonna let this set because we're almost ready to assemble. You're gonna add half of your cheese. So, half of the cheddar
and half of the Gruyère. or whatever you're choosing to use, and whisk that into the
warm bechamel off heat. This actually sat for just a minute while I drained the pasta. And that's fine. If your bechamel is too hot
and you add the cheese in, the sauce could break and
you wouldn't be happy. Slightly cooled is better than too hot. The rest of the cheese is
getting reserved for the topping. There's something so satisfying
about the cheese melting. Look at that. Wah! Just stir it really well so
everything is distributed. Look at this cheese pull. (chuckles happily) Now, you're gonna pour your
sauce over the macaroni and stir it gently so
it's nicely combined. That's nice. Fold this together. I think this is much better when the pasta is at that al dente stage
and it's not bone dry either, so it kind of has a little bit of that residual pasta water left in because that pasta water is full of starch and just gives you a silky loose sauce. Okay, that's perfect. Let's grab our casserole dish
and get everything together. Grab a three quart baking dish and we're just gonna grease
it a bit with some butter. You could use baking spray if you prefer. So, it's gonna help the
cheese not stick too much. Transfer the mac and cheese,
which is so delicious at this point you're like,
how could it get any better? But just wait. Into your prepared baking dish. Smooth that out into a nice even layer. The sound either really makes you wanna go haaa, or you enjoy it. You let know what in the comments. ASMR. (chuckling happily) Okay, here we go. I'm gonna let this hang
out for just a minute because the favorite
part for me in this dish is that golden crunchy topping. So, we're gonna make it
with a little bit of butter and panko crumbs right now. Grab a small skillet, place
it over medium high heat and add two tablespoons of butter. So just like with garlic, in any recipe where the
amount on the recipe is the minimum amount of garlic
to have a delicious dish, this I feel is like the minimum amount of toasted panko crumbs to
have an amazing mac and cheese. That would be two tablespoons of butter and half a cup of panko crumbs. I'm reading that as a
quarter cup of butter and a little bit less than
a full cup of panko crumbs because I wanna have tons of that crunchy golden topping on top. It makes me so happy. Let this melt. We're gonna add the crumbs
in and just toss them about until they're golden brown,
but a light golden brown. You do not want them to be too dark 'cause this goes into the oven
to bake and it would burn. My butter's melted. This smells delicious. So, let's add our panko crumbs in. (crumbs sizzling) And stir, stir, stir. They need to move around
because the ones on the bottom will totally burn if you
just let them sit there. If you feel comfortable,
it's actually easier just to give this little toss 'cause it takes the
bottom and puts it on top. Now for the fun part, sprinkle the remaining
Gruyère cheese on top, as well as the cheddar. Now, I'm gonna sprinkle the toasted breadcrumbs on top, carefully 'cause everything is very hot. This is ready to go into
the oven, 375 for 30 minutes until it is golden and bubbling, and just wait till you see it come out. (metal door clanks) Let your dish cool for a
few minutes if you can, and then you're ready to enjoy. I'm gonna be so popular
tonight for this dish. I can't even tell you. (gentle upbeat music) That is so silky, creamy,
cheesy, and crunchy. I don't think it's gonna be beat. I hope you get a chance
to make this recipe, and if you like this video,
check out my pasta playlist.
