Macaroni and Cheese with Eggs, Milk, Onion

The beauty and ease of this mac-and-cheese is that there is no Bechamel sauce!

Here's one without the tomato. A little sour cream never hurt.

This old-fashioned macaroni and cheese is a "craft" made with a simple custard of milk and eggs. It’s a wonderful side for meatloaf or ham and good on its own with a simple salad and bread. I’ve used many different cheeses and have settled on the combination of soft Fontina (or Fontinella) and aged, sharp Cheddar, white or yellow (don't be afraid to add any cheese leftovers you might have on hand, especially some Mozzarella). But cheese has gotten so expensive that I now use Muenster and Cheddar and I really love the taste that the Muenster brings. Overall, I use about 2.5- just under three cups of cheese. Some people use all Velveeta.

In the South, this is sometimes called "Macaroni Pie" because it is really not as creamy as we are used to today. Instead, it kind of "slices." Generations grew up on this. When you look through cookbooks from the 1930's -1940's, this is most likely the recipe you will see. This is from my grandmother's old cookbook.

Use a variety of cheeses, if possible. Here, the tomatoes have been peeled
after being dunked in boiling water for about 20 seconds.

You don't have to top with the tomatoes, but it's a nice touch and it's something my grandmother would have done, especially in the summer months when tomatoes were in grandpa's garden.

It's a shame that so many generations have grown up thinking mac-n-cheese is something poured out of a blue box. Where's the "craft" in "Kraft?"

• 1 cup small, raw elbow macaroni (about 4 oz.)
• 8 oz. American or Velveeta Chesse
• 4 oz. grated sharp Cheddar
• Freshly Grated Parmesan, about 4 oz. and more for topping
• 1/2 stick butter, softened to room temperature, divided
• 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
• 1 can evaporated milk 
• 1/2 cup whole milk, extra, if needed
• 1/2 cup sour cream or whipped cottage cheese or a combination
• 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 4-6 drops Tabasco 
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• A few sprinkles garlic powder
• Several grates of fresh nutmeg, less is more (optional)
• 1 good teaspoon regular black pepper (or to taste)
• 3 tablespoons grated onion (red or yellow) or 1.5 - 2 tablespoons dried minced onion
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional, but I love it) 
• 6 drops Worcestershire sauce or to taste (less is more)
• Bacon Fat for buttering dish (or butter)

• 3-4 Roma tomatoes, skinned cut into 1/2-inch slices (optional)
• Bread crumbs. I prefer fresh but Panko works, too.
• Dried, Italian seasoning, a few shakes
• 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan
• 1-2 tablespoons melted butter or use olive oil, just enough to moisten crumbs

Butter or spray a 1.5 quart glass baking dish or an 8 x 8-inch baking dish or a 6-7 inch x 10-inch baking dish.

Bring a  pot of water to a rolling boil. Using a slotted spoon, drop in the tomatoes one at a time for about 20 seconds. Remove and run under cold water. Remove the skin. When all the tomatoes are skinned, bring water back to a boil and parboil macaroni in salted water. Drain. Add soft butter. Stir. Allow to cool a bit.

Over a small bowl, scrape a peeled onion over the large holes of a box grater until you have three to four tablespoons or, if using, add dried onion flakes to the bowl.  Stir in evaporated milk. Whisk in the egg, Tabasco or Cayenne, salt, dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce and, if using, smoked paprika. Taste for seasoning. If too sharp for your taste, and a few pinches of sugar. Now whisk in the eggs.

Pour milk/egg mixture over cooled pasta. Mix.

Gently stir in the cheeses until well-combined. Transfer mixture to greased baking dish. You want the liquid just a bit right beneath the surface. If necessary, add a bit more milk, but you do not want the surface covered with it.

If using, slice the tomatoes and arrange on top and, if using, sprinkle with some Italian  seasonings. Sprinkle with Parmesan or extra cheese and then sprinkle with a bit more smoked paprika or regular paprika.

Mix together the fresh breadcrumbs with the Parmesan. Add about one tablespoon melted butter and mix. Sprinkle over the tomatoes or tomato-less top. (Sometimes I just omit the breadcrumbs when I use the tomatoes and then top with more cheese.)

Here, I omitted the breadcrumbs and just used more cheese. I
also sprinkled the tomatoes with just a bit of Italian seasonings.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-40 minutes until the sides begin to bubble and the breadcrumbs are nice and brown.

Beautiful!

  I honestly do not remember how I made this particular one, but I liked it a lot.
Just a bit of extra cheese on top. I may have used only 8 ounces of cheese, total. But it is different
from the recipe above. At the last minute, just because I had it,  I did add just a bit
of Feta on the top which was delicious. The kids at work loved it.

To serve, place a generous portion on plate and lightly sprinkle with sea salt or Kosher salt and and a dollop of sour cream on the side or on top. At room temperature, the "pie" will solidify a bit and you can slice it with a knife. Some people top a slice of meatloaf with it.

A Note on Breadcrumbs: I'm not a fan of dried breadcrumbs. To make fresh, just cut the crusts off several pieces of a good hearty bread, tear into pieces and place in a small food processor. Whirl until fresh breadcrumbs form. Fresh makes all the difference. Or use Panko.

Update: I use the pressure cooker to do the pasta .... done in four minutes. Allow to cool.