I legit feel like the spirals taste better than the elbow Mac, but they fill you up less… and if I made blue box I am not making it as a side dish lol.
Bottom left or middle right side
Fusilli Mac is crazy, the ridges would catch so much cheese sauce… Might have just talked myself into make it sometime
None of these has a layer of grated cheddar on top that’s gone all brown and delicious in the oven. You start with a very buttery roux while the macaroni elbows are cooking. Make a super cheesy sauce with a spoon of mustard in it, using full cream milk. Drain the macaroni, add the sauce, and pile it into a buttered oven proof dish. Cover with that layer of cheese. Slide it into the preheated oven and distract yourself somehow for ten or fifteen minutes. (I mean, you could use that time to make a salad but who are we kidding.)
So good.
Second row, third column
Of course Dennis would like Dennis
I like the one with the cheese and pasta.
Whereas I like roux gravy of all kinds, I’m less fond of cheese sauce made that way - typically used to make super creamy mac and cheese where you make a cheese sauce and add pasta. It’s fine, some I like a lot, but a lot of them fall flat for me.
Oddly, I do like the boxed stuff. But the included pasta tends to be lame. So a while back I figured out that Amazon among others sell bulk cheese powder.
These days, I like to cook up either radiatorre or mini farafelle, then take butter, heavy cream, fresh ground pepper, and some cheese powder ot make my own “boxed”-style mac’n’cheese. I, frankly, enjoy the absolute fuck out of that.
No hate for however people like to make it. If you make something you think is great, I’d probably like it too, as if my opinion matters, but it’s important that you like it, and I respect that. :)
I do also like the old baked version we had growing up - an old Southern recipe that basically involves spaghetti, milk, eggs, cheddar cheese - it’s baked and often pulled out in rectangles almost like lasagne or whatever. Usually not very cheesy, but it is a comfort food because I grew up with it. A terrible failure as mac’n’cheese, mind, but still comforting and tasty anyway. lol.
Cavatappi pasta is probably my absolute favorite choice for mac & cheese, or anything saucy really. It’s got ridges to hold sauce, it’s spirally enough to hold sauce inside, and has enough bite to it to work well with the attached sauce.
Top right. Looks the cheesiest
This may be a spicy opinion, but Mac’n’Cheese is just sad loser food. Like come on. It’s not that difficult to cook something, much less a half decent pasta dish that’s more than just cheese. At least try making it a cabonara.
Skill issue.
Carbonara diverts too much attention, a simple mac and cheese is a much better side dish.
If you disagree, you’re not adding enough carmelized onions and butter to your cheese sauce.
My favorite is 1-9
Which one’s got the most spam in it?
Or tuna fish
Broccoli. Or chives/green onions!
Yes
