Thursday, August 7, 2014

Macaroni Cheese : Bake-Along #66

Time for our Bake-Along #66, our theme is "Baked Pasta", selected by Lena and everyone is welcome to join us. 

Baked Pasta is one of my kids' favourite. I wonder why kids love Mac and Cheese so much! Baked Pasta is one of the most requested meals whenever my kids have their cousins staying over, and I've made some tomato based Baked Pasta for my son's birthday last July when he invited his friends over. And when I made this Macaroni Cheese two weeks later, both my son and daughter are all smiles! 


This yummy recipe is from Rachel Allen's "Favourite Food At Home". Rachel has suggested that small pieces of cooked ham or bacon can be added to the sauce, so that's what I did, I added some chopped ham.


Really easy to make, I cooked the sauce, by first sauteing the chopped onions until soft, add in the chopped ham, stir for a minute, then the flour, followed by milk, adding it gradually while whisking all the time. Add the mustard, and most of the cheese, whisking till the cheese are melted. Season with salt and pepper and I added a little more of the mustard, to taste, as we love mustard. Boil the pasta just until al dente, toss them together with sauce and transfer to a baking dish. About 30 minutes before eating, I scattered some cheese, which I've used a mixture of grated Cheddar and Mozzarella, bake in a preheated oven for about 25-30 minutes until golden and bubbling. Let stand for 5 minutes, then serve while still warm.


This is quite delicious! Creamy, cheesy and very tasty! 

Macaroni Cheese
(adapted from "Rachel's Favourite Food At Home", Rachel Allen)
75gm (3oz) butter
1 onion, peeled and chopped
75gm (3oz) plain flour
900ml (1-1/2 pints) boiling milk
1-2 tsp Dijon mustard
225gm (8oz) cheese (Cheddar, or even better, half Cheddar and half Gruyere), grated
salt and freshly ground black pepper
300gm (11oz) macaroni pasta
some chopped ham (my addition)

Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the chopped onions and cook gently until soft. Stir in the flour and cook for a minute, then gradually add the milk, whisking all the time, and the mustard. Whisk in three-quarters of the cheese and allow to melt into the sauce, then season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water with a teaspoon of salt, until just soft. Drain, then toss into the cheese sauce and transfer into a gratin dish, about 25cm (10in) square. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and pop under a hot grill for a few minutes to brown the cheese on top, or if you wish, put this aside for later. To reheat, put the dish into an oven preheated to 200C (400F), Gas mark 6 for about 25 minutes, or until golden and bubbling.

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To view all the delicious Baked Pasta that everyone has made, please visit Lena from Frozen Wings and Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids, and all our friends who has baked along with us in the linky below :

For our next Bake-Along, our bake is Plum Tartlets (recipe from Back In The Day Bakery Cookbook, pg 133 or here). Bake this Plum Tartlets and join us! The linky will start on 21st August until 30th August. Everyone is welcome! 


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A friendly reminder when linking to our blog hop :
1. Please mention Bake-Along event in your own post linking direct to any of the hosts' post (JoyceLena or Zoe)
2. Please link only new and current post, PLEASE FOLLOW THE BAKE OR THEME provided by us. Unrelated post will be deleted.
3. Feel free to display our Bake-Along badge in your post.

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and I'm sharing this post with :
Little Thumbs Up event organized by Zoe of Bake For Happy Kids, Doreen of My Little Favourite D.I.Y, and hosted by Diana of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe



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18 comments:

  1. Hi Joyce,

    What a coincidence that I have baked mac and cheese too!!! Your Rachel Allen's one looks like the classic kind. I have used the recipe from Alton Brown with panko topping which is a little scientific and fusion :p

    Zoe

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  2. I knew this mac and cheese would be a favorite, I was waiting for you guys to post so I can follow lol! Now to find the easiest recipe and cook this dish too! THis seems easy enough, no ham so have to omit...hopping over to see the rest:D

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  3. Joyce, my big kids don't really fancy mac. Think have to blame this mom cos whenever they were sick ... i will cook soupy mac or porridge for them. Hee hee ... when I made these meals they would say "mom we are not sick". Ok may sub other pasta as they like cheesy stuff.

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  4. i am ashamed because i love pasta but never seem to do anything about it... i am sure DH will love this recipe... thanks for giving me that push to do something about my "i-should-do-something-with-pasta" attitude

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  5. Hi Joyce! I am not into cheese and I notice that most kids seem to love anything cheesy!

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  6. I wanna bake this for my son's first birthday bash! Thanks for the idea! *ting!*

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  7. absolutely yumm!
    I go to Cook yours book now :))

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  8. I don't know what it is about macaroni and cheese but I think everyone loves it. It's pure comfort food. Love the Dijon in your bake and the tiny pieces of ham.

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  9. joyce, you know i nvr tried mac and cheese before. NOt only kids , a lot of adults also love it too...the creamy and the cheesy thing and also i imagine the mustard that gives the additional 'kick' to the sauce :)

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  10. Woo! I love the cheese on top and i can't resist to have it!

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  11. Your mac and cheese is perfectly baked! Love the creamy cheese;D

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  12. Hi Joyce, guess what I will be cooking tonight... baked pasta!! But mine will be in tomato sauce and with lots of cheeses. Will try this superlicious macaroni cheese on day yum yum! You have a great weekend. Thank you for introducing so many great recipes.

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  13. Creamy, cheesy, yummy!! Crazy for this kind of baked pasta! Yum yum!

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  14. Yummy! My favorite kind of comfort food. My 20 month old girl loves macaroni and cheese and she loves anything pasta. I've done baked pasta with cheese and my daughter will always eat it. I should try this recipe since I have gruyere and cheddar in the fridge, pretty much all of the ingredients. This would be scrumptious with bacon… hungry now! :)

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  15. Wow nice mac and cheese.... my kids love it too!

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  16. Damn Delicious !!!
    the photograph is trully seducing me, most comforting pasta ever!!!

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  17. This looks so delicious with all the cheese!

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