Temple's Mac & Cheese

I have been trying for a while to come up with a mac and cheese that my kids would pick over the boxed one we keep on the shelf. That has been the actual benchmark here, not whether it is good in some abstract sense.

I found this version while browsing YouTube and gave it a shot. I have made it twice already, and that feels like enough to say it earned a place here. My oldest really liked it and is starting to lean slightly toward this one over the boxed kind, which is a meaningful result in this house.

My four-year-old made the opposite call very quickly and stayed loyal to the boxed version. Even so, everybody ate a lot of it and enjoyed it, so this one stays in rotation. I also recorded my own video version for the site if you want to watch the full cook-through.

Ingredients

• 450 g radiatore, cavatappi, fusilli, or shell pasta
• Kosher salt, for the pasta water and for seasoning
• 1 liter whole milk
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, sliced
• 4 to 5 sprigs fresh thyme
• 90 g unsalted butter
• 75 g all-purpose flour
• 300 g high-moisture mozzarella, divided
• 125 g full-fat cream cheese
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 150 g young Gouda, grated
• 150 g white cheddar, grated

Steps

1. Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Set out a 9 x 13-inch (23 x 33 cm) baking dish.
2. Combine the milk, sliced onion, and thyme in a saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, keeping the milk just under a simmer. Strain out the onion and thyme and keep the milk warm.
3. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until you have a pale, loose roux.
4. Gradually whisk the warm infused milk into the roux. Cook for about 7 minutes, whisking frequently, until the sauce thickens and falls slowly from the whisk.
5. Reduce the heat to very low or briefly take the pan off the heat. Stir in 150 g of the mozzarella, the cream cheese, and the Dijon mustard. Season to taste with kosher salt. The sauce should be very thick, about the consistency of cake batter. If it turns out stiffer than that, whisk in 50 to 100 ml more warm milk.
6. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until very al dente, a few minutes short of fully cooked, since it will finish in the oven. Drain without rinsing.
7. Mix the remaining 150 g mozzarella with the Gouda and white cheddar. Reserve about 120 to 150 g of that mixture for the top.
8. Put the drained pasta in a large bowl. Add the unreserved grated cheese mixture and toss briefly. Pour in the warm sauce and mix until the pasta is evenly coated. The sauce should still be warm, but not so hot that it instantly melts all the grated cheese.
9. Transfer the mixture to the baking dish loosely and do not pack it down. Sprinkle the reserved cheese evenly over the top.
10. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the center is hot and the cheese on top is melted and starting to brown. Serve right away.

Notes

Keep the pasta a little underdone on purpose. If it is fully cooked before baking, the final texture gets too soft.

The sauce is supposed to be thick. That is what gives the finished dish its creamy interior without turning it runny in the oven.