The cooking loft, the head chef and Mac & Cheese recipes

Regarding the Food Channel. There are some new people and new shows like the Cooking Loft. The cooking loft chef Chef Alex Guarnaschelli cooks for some famous people and is based in her popular restaurant in New York City. Read more.
http://www.okmagazine.com/posts/view/8725/

I like her easy going style. On the show she has some nice dishes, not too complicated for the most part. I learn from her methods, techniques and what she talks ago.. The other assistants do not do much (they should more difficult things).

I don't make mac & cheese much. She made a good one 9/20 on her show, which I would like to try. I need to find Gruyere. When I try this one I will let you know.

Macaroni and Cheese
Recipe courtesy Alex Guarnaschelli
Show: The Cooking Loft
Episode: Perfect Pasta
10 cups water
Kosher salt
3 cups elbow macaroni (preferably De Cecco brand, if available)
1 quart heavy cream
2 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed with the back of a knife
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 to 3 1/2 cups grated Gruyere
Freshly ground white pepper
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
1/2 cup grated sharp Cheddar
Worcestershire sauce, to taste
Hot sauce, to taste
1/3 to 1/2 cup toasted bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large pot, bring the water to a rolling boil. Add the salt. Taste the water. It should be salty like sea water. Add the macaroni and stir, with a wooden spoon or large slotted spoon, to ensure the macaroni does not stick to the bottom of the pot as it cooks. Cook until the macaroni is still quite firm, 8 to 10 minutes.

Pour the macaroni and water into a strainer placed over the sink. Allow the water to drain out, reserving approximately 1 cup of the liquid.

In the same pot, bring the cream, garlic cloves, and the reserved cooking liquid to a simmer. Add the mustard and 3 cups of the Gruyere. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer gently, stirring constantly, until the cheese is melted and has integrated with the cream. Add the Parmesan and Cheddar. Stir with a wooden spoon and simmer again until smooth. Add a splash of Worcestershire and a splash of hot sauce. Stir to blend. Taste for seasoning.

Add the macaroni to the cream and stir gently to blend. Allow the macaroni to rest on the stove, 5 to 10 minutes, so the pasta absorbs the flavors. Remove and discard the garlic cloves.

Fill a baking dish with the macaroni mixture, top with the bread crumbs, the remaining Gruyere cheese and bake 10 to 12 minutes or until the bread crumbs crust on top. Serve immediately.






Tyler Florence has a good one. Alton Brown had another one while Michael Symon Iron Chef America has a fancy one with panko crumbs and mascarpone (which I have never used) in his.

Mac 'N Cheese with Bacon and Cheese
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence
Show: Tyler's Ultimate
Episode: Ultimate Mac and Cheese
Mac
Kosher salt
1 pound elbow macaroni
4 cups milk
2 or 3 sprigs thyme
4 cloves garlic, smashed and divided
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 1/2 cups shredded sharp white Cheddar
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
4 slices bacon, cut crosswise into thin strips
1 large onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, smashed
Leaves from 1/4 bunch fresh thyme

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the macaroni and cook for 8 to 9 minutes, until al dente. Drain.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Baked Mac and Cheese
2008, Michael Symon, All rights reserved.
See this recipe on air Saturday Sep. 20 at 9:30 PM ET/PT.
Show: Dinner: Impossible
Episode: Grand Ole Opry Obstacles
3 ounces butter
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
Kosher salt
3 ounces all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken stock
2 cups half-and-half
6 ounces smoked Cheddar, grated
3 ounces mascarpone
1 large egg
1 pound cooked macaroni
4 ounces panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley leaves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter, add onion and garlic and sweat over medium heat for 3 minutes with a pinch of salt until vegetables are translucent and aromatic. Add flour and stir with wooden spoon until the flour is completely incorporated with the vegetables, cooking for about 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock 1/3 cup at a time, stirring vigorously to ensure no lumps form. Bring to boil and reduce to medium-low heat and simmer for 40 minutes. Remove pan from heat and whisk in the half-and-half, Cheddar, mascarpone, and egg. Toss sauce with macaroni and place in a 2-quart casserole pan. Mix bread crumbs and parsley in a small mixing bowl and sprinkle on top of pasta. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, or until bread crumbs are golden brown.

In a small saucepan heat the milk with the thyme sprigs and 2 garlic cloves. Melt the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly, to keep lumps from forming. Strain the solids out of the milk and whisk it into the butter and flour mixture. Continue to whisk vigorously, and cook until the mixture is nice and smooth. Stir in the 4 cups of the cheese and continue to cook and stir to melt the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Add the cooked macaroni and the parsley and fold that all in to coat the macaroni with the cheese mixture. Scrape into a 3-quart baking dish and sprinkle with the remaining 1 1/2 cups cheese. Bake for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

While that bakes, heat a saute pan. Add the bacon, render the fat and cook until crispy. Add onion, garlic and thyme leaves and cook for about 5 minutes to soften the onion. Season with salt and pepper.

To serve, scatter the bacon mixture over the mac and cheese. Use a big spoon to scoop out servings, making sure you get some of the smoking bacon mixture on each spoonful.

**
Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown
Show: Good Eats
Episode: For Whom the Cheese Melts 2
1/2 pound elbow macaroni
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon powdered mustard
3 cups milk
1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 large egg
12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh black pepper
Topping:
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente.
While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the bay leaf.
Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.
Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.
Remember to save leftovers for fried Macaroni and Cheese.
**
Baked Mac and Cheese
2008, Michael Symon, All rights reserved.
See this recipe on air Saturday Sep. 20 at 9:30 PM ET/PT.
Show: Dinner: Impossible
Episode: Grand Ole Opry Obstacles
3 ounces butter
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
Kosher salt
3 ounces all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken stock
2 cups half-and-half
6 ounces smoked Cheddar, grated
3 ounces mascarpone
1 large egg
1 pound cooked macaroni
4 ounces panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley leaves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter, add onion and garlic and sweat over medium heat for 3 minutes with a pinch of salt until vegetables are translucent and aromatic. Add flour and stir with wooden spoon until the flour is completely incorporated with the vegetables, cooking for about 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock 1/3 cup at a time, stirring vigorously to ensure no lumps form. Bring to boil and reduce to medium-low heat and simmer for 40 minutes. Remove pan from heat and whisk in the half-and-half, Cheddar, mascarpone, and egg. Toss sauce with macaroni and place in a 2-quart casserole pan. Mix bread crumbs and parsley in a small mixing bowl and sprinkle on top of pasta. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, or until bread crumbs are golden brown.