I have never had a decent mac n cheese and have honestly never cared about it

That shit will have a texture to it no matter how thoroughly you melt it and/or give up some oil.

For Mac n' Cheese you want some smooth jellylike cheese "product". Use good cheese and you might as well start toasting it and shit then it sort of stops being Mac n' Cheese.

No it should maybe have sliced up hot dogs in it or a plain peanut butter and bread sandwich on the side

I get Tesco mac and cheese in a can, and add a bunch of stuff to it. It's trashy but very tasty. Pretty cheap too if you get a good price on the bacon. £1.50 for 300g at Tesco. Must be a loss leader. The mac and cheese is only 40p too.

1 can of macaroni and cheese (pic related)
Half an onion, chopped
150g bacon (that's 4-5 thin rashers, or 3 thick rashers), cut into thumbnail size pieces (I use kitchen scissors but I guess you can use a knife)
1 tbs minced garlic
1 tbs herbs (rosemary, basil, oregano)
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp black pepper

Fry the bacon in a saucepan, then add the onion, garlic, rosemary and cayenne (this smells amazing btw). Take that off the heat and let it cool for a bit, then add the can of mac and cheese and the black pepper and stir well, heating as instructed.

You won't regret it and neither will he.

I think they used this prop on the set of the thing

I think the Thing's meat might actually be the next breakthrough in the culinary field.

Think about it, a meat that can replicate anything out there. The possibilities are endless.

Add some maple syrup and bacon to Velveeta shells & cheese. Don't overcook the bacon.

It's not like it's hard to make a homemade sauce with a roux and use whatever other kinds of cheese you like, but I've tried it, and the sauce keeps turning out floury tasting and hardens as soon as it cools a little. I don't want to buy really good cheese and end up wasting it.

make him eat it off your muff

mm

Forgot to mention: The basil and oregano goes in with the black pepper.

That is not mac and cheese. That is just like a generic white cheese sauce pasta dish at that point.

It contains both macaroni AND cheese, and the can says "macaroni cheese." I will continue calling it Macaroni Cheese despite your objection. I obviously don't compare it to Mum's homemade dish but technically I think it qualifies. I can grate some cheddar over it at the end if you like.

If you want to complain about inaccurate naming, look at OP's pic, centre right: That's fusilli, not macaroni.

So if I make macaroni with alfredo sauce, that's macaroni and cheese as well?

Just make white sauce and put plenty of cheese in the white sauce while making it. Then put that with pasta.

I also add a can of tuna to mine (and cooked onion and garlic). It's way better than mac and cheese, mac and cheese gets old after like 4 mouthfuls.

Also put a bit of mustard in your whitesauce, my secret ingredient.

>I've tried to make it myself a few times and no matter what I do it's always just so bland
Yeah, no shit. It tastes bland because it's always fucking bland. It's basically pasta and cheese, of course it's not some culinary masterpiece. That's why it's a dish for kids, it's plain so it doesn't offend their delicate taste buds.

Technically yes, although macaroni alfredo is obviously a better name for that because it more specifically describes the sauce. Just like "macaroni" is a better word for macaroni than "pasta."

Oy vey!

I mean the fake stuff is for kids. But if you are trying your hand at something with 3 or more different types of expensive cheeses to get a specific cheese flavor, I wouldn't waste those efforts on children that just want something yellow and salty.

All of these are disgusting.

Do this. Just use some salt, a little pepper, and cheddar.

It'll take practice to perfect the cheese sauce. Keep tasting it as you build the sauce.

I had Lobster Mac and Cheese at The Plaza Hotel in downtown Boston. It was very good. But not worth $40 room service prices good.

The next night went like three blocks over and had a giant plate of fresh mixed seafood for like $28 bucks. It was glorious.

I was actually hoping to be outclassed in this thread... mac and cheese is a basic dish that can be jazzed up to a lot of different tastes

Get some pasta, really whatever style you want.

Make a cream based cheese sauce, heat the cream, melt the cheese of your choice so its nice and thick. Bake it, add bread crumbs, add garlic powder, salt, pepper, really any spice will improve the dish its one of those classics you can really develop into your own thing.

YO DO YOU DO THIS? I THOUGHT I WAD THE OBLY ONE. THAT SHIT IS BOOOOOMB

Its pretty goddamn easy to google up a proper mac & cheese recipe, they are all basically the same. You want the one that calls for a flour and butter roux, then milk to make a sauce, then melt in your cheeses. Getting the balance of noodles to cheesiness and creaminess is important. Also the texture contrast of a butter-panko-parmesean topping, browned just right. The devil is in the details.
Forget about boxed anything and processed cheese or premade sauce. Those are only for making it super fast, not super good.
Remember one thing and you'll be way ahead: the ONLY flavor here is CHEESE. That means you need a lot of good quality and flavorful cheese. Don't think of this as an inexpensive dish you can make for $2, you cant. The quality cheeses will cost you, but that's the whole fucking point.

I don't like mac and cheese

There's nothing complicated or subtle about mac and cheese.The more fat you add, the better it is. Use some sharper cheese so the flavor cuts through. That's all there is to it.

can't make mac and cheese...gtfo

Pro tip

If a recipe says anythings along the lines of
>roux
>cheese sauce
>one pot
etc, its a garbage recipe

If it mentions something like
>...then bake at...
Its on the right track.

Mac and cheese can be a meal but its much better as a sauce. Keep those tips in mind and you'll be fine. Just make sure you use a cheese that doesn't completely liquify. Had that problem a few times when trying to make it abroad

Jesus....even for Veeky Forums, this thread is a train wreck of trailer trash/white trash autism

Fuck yeah man. I don't get why people are so grossed out, especially when they use the included powder packet.

Mac and cheese is literally dirt cheap poor people food. The fuck do you expect?

OP is asking how to make her American boyfriend Macaroni & Cheese. He's fucking asking for Kraft brand powdered mix but she obviously doesn't have that so she should be trying to approximate it. Trying to make some fancy shit is a stupid waste of time. She needs to find a pasteurized American cheese product.

That's the thing, there is no substitute for fake cheese unless you try really goddamn hard and use some insane blend of Red Leicester, Gruyere and Fontina. The consistency and saltiness of the fake stuff is almost impossible to replicate using flour, butter, milk and some cheap store brand cheddar cut with petroleum or some shit.

I'm sure it exists there somewhere probably labeled as "nacho cheese" or "cheddar cheese dip"

Hell. Make the sauce with whatever and add Easy Cheese. Mac and cheese is gross food, people who try to dress it up for "adults" have their heads up their asses.

Do you really think Australia doesn't have Kraft brand mac n cheese? It's not Zanzibar Land or Somalia, man.

This. Except make it white cheddar and don't use any milk. GOAT macaroni and cheese.

They don't seem to have Sharp Cheddar Velveeta so...

Use Amazon?

Go to your local grocery store/deli and ask for "assorted cheese ends" just take whatever they give you, while pasta is boiling mix 2-3 tablespoons of butter with an equal amount of flower, cube cheese and add into it. When pasta is done strain and add the cheesy goodness, add some thin sliced ham or bacon or if you really want to get adventurous taco meat. Cover in crushed Frenches onions and bake until bubbling. Heat up a can of stewed tomatoes to go top of each serving and wala

Make your own and add cauliflower and bacon

Do this, and if you want, you can add almost any meat.
Onions, jalapenos, broccoli, whatever

Make sure you use some cheese with bite.

>Make a roux sauce as a base for the sauce

Tell him to grow up and eat some real food for adults.