Golden Mac Daddy

The infamous after-school snack. A guilty pleasure. The classic comfort food. That golden gooey goodness. Mac & Cheese!

Now I’ll be honest, I wasn’t a big fan of mac & cheese at first. Yes, even the blue box. Maybe I have not been cooking it right this whole time but I was not crazy about it. I mean, I like macaroni salad but mac & cheese was the meal that I would pass on without hesitation. I have tried countless recipes. Some called for a range of cheese, spices and even a specific type of mustard. The results were always the same though, macaroni smothered in a thick and bland sauce. I was not here for it.

That was until I came across Tia & Cory Hardict’s recipe. Let me tell you, this is the only mac & cheese recipe that I would eat in one sitting! Two things that make this such a standout would be the cream of mushroom soup and the crispy cracker topping. The cream of mushroom soup helps add more depth of flavour to the cheese sauce. While you have that delicious, gooey mac & cheese, the buttery cracker topping will make you want to have more than seconds.

This has definitely become a favourite of mine, especially during a bbq!

When it comes to bbq, it's all about grilled meat and vegetables. But pair those with the right side dish then you'll have the ultimate summer experience. If you are going to have a hearty meal, you might as well have something that'll stick to both of your ribs.

For this food glow up challenge, I found the presentation to be the most challenging aspect. I was not sure how to find the right angles to make this mac and cheese look as good as it tastes. Most of the mac and cheese photos I've seen go for an overhead approach so I tried that. I definitely need to work on my flat lay work. But that's alright, I think a 45-degree degree angle shot works just as well.

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Mac & Cheese

Adapted from Cooking Channel TV

Ingredients:

MC Mac

• 2 cups of dried elbow macaroni

• 5 cups of water

• salt

Golden cheesy sauce

• 4 tbsp of unsalted butter

• 3 cups sharp or old cheddar cheese – shredded

• 1 egg

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 2 tsp ground black pepper

• 2 tsp paprika

• 1/2 can cream of mushroom soup

• 1/2 cup milk

• 4 tbsp sour cream

Crispy and crunchy galore

• 1/2 cup of panko breadcrumbs

• 1/2 tbsp melted unsalted butter

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Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C.

2. In a pot, boil some water with salt and add in the macaroni by following the cooking directions on the package.

3. In a separate pot, we are going to make the sauce. Melt the butter on medium-low.

4. Once the butter has melted, add in the shredded cheese and mix well.

5. Once you have a melted cheese mixture, mix in your beaten egg. The cheese sauce should come together at this point.

6. Into the cheese mixture, add in the salt, black pepper, paprika, cream of mushroom soup, milk, and sour cream. Mix up your cheese sauce really well.

7. Fold in the drained macaroni with the cheese sauce.

8. Have a quick taste and adjust for seasonings. Now you have mac and cheese.

9. Pour the mac & cheese into a baking dish and top it with your mixture of panko breadcrumbs and melted butter.

10. Place your mac & cheese in the oven. Bake it for 25 minutes if you like it a bit loose and saucy or 40 minutes if you like it dry and chunky. I like to go halfway and hit the 30 minutes mark.

11. Take it out of the oven and let it chill for 4-5 minutes. Serve this baby and enjoy!