Just not in the prison cafeteria, that food qualifies as cruel and unusual punishment.
their “solitary” should be together, and in a special section of the kitchen so that they are constantly having to do the cook off until they realise they suck
Protip: The reason Velveeta and American cheeses melt so well is because sodium citrate is added to them. You can buy this yourself as a powder, and then add it to actually-good cheeses to give them the same properties.
My buddy bought a bunch of this to make queso dip. It works well for that
My entry.
Mac, Cheese, Peas, and Bacon:
Prison.
What’s the charge?
Eating a meal? A succulent American meal?
Peas are a hate crime.
Don’t knock it till you try it!
No one can convince me they actually like peas. They’re all paid off by big pea
Peas are just savory popping boba, what’s not to love?
They’re nutritious as hell and cheap. People just don’t know how to prepare/season them
Garden peas are my favourite vegetable, or petit poi in a pinch. Marrowfat peas less so, though obviously you need marrowfat for mushy peas, and sometimes mushy peas are a must.
Cheese apathy, book em
I dispute the charge! There’s plenty of cheese in there!
Inappropriate peaing
This is perfect, you can easily scoop up just bacon and peas to eat and skip the rest
Nooooo!
As an American, why bother with the peas?
My fellow American, peas are delicious! Not only does the flavor pair with bacon, providing an earthy, grassy savoryness that complements the salty, fatty deliciousness of the bacon to create a rich flavor, but the pop and mush of biting into a pea provides a firmament to the crunch and chew of the star that is bacon to form a heavenly texture
Electric chair.
And that’s how you get out of having to cook something for Thanksgiving
Learn the basics of sauces from a French cooking book/course.
Make a blonde roux, for 4 pounds of cheese, add 1.5 cups of milk and 2 cups of half and half. Add in the shredded cheese saving about a pound to a pound and a half for layering. Add 4 tsp of sodium citrate. Voila you have a cheese sauce that won’t break on you that pours into the pasta easily.
As a non-American, how much pasta goes with all that cheese? And how many serves do you get out of it?
Generally I use 1 pound of dry pasta (I prefer shells to macaroni) per 2 pounds of cheese. Four pounds makes a casserole dish that is 12"×8"×4" or 12-16 servings
Ok, thanks! I tried to make mac and cheese twice, years ago, and they came out pretty good, but even though I don’t remember the recipes I’m certain I went shorter on the cheese (it was 4-5 servings, not even close to a whole pound), shame on me. Next time I’m also trying with the citrate, I’ve been wanting to use it for some cheese sauces for quite a while but it’s not something they sell at any store here and I always remember when I’m about to cook. Also, what cheese(s) do you use?
I personally use 1.5 lbs ofCuba NY Extra Sharp White Cheddar, 1 lb of mozzarella, 1 lb of Gruyere, and .5 lbs of smoked Gouda.
Swap the Gouda for a nice buttery Parmesan if you have $$$
You could also swap the gruyere out for Monterey Jack, or Pepper Jack.
But the cheese in blocks and shred in a food processor. It’s cheaper that way.
I made a custard Mac and cheese last Thanksgiving and I liked it so much more than Roux style.
Can’t find any pictures, unfortunately.
Yea I used to use a roux, but honestly it’s not much better than melting the cheese directly into heavy cream. If price was an issue a roux would be the cheaper option.
I’m no chef, so look up a book if you want proper instructions, but here’s how tondo things:
- Mix equal parts (by weight) flour and butter in a saucepan over medium heat - this is your roux, and it’ll be a bit clumpy
- Add milk, very slowly, and mix thoroughly after each addition, consider adding nutmeg - this is a béchamel sauce
- Add grated cheese (and sodium citrate if desired and if your cheeses won’t melt well), cut the heat, and mix until smooth - and this is a mornay sauce
- Pour over pasta and enjoy!
It’s not that hard and the result will be better than anything you get from the store or eat at your aunt’s house.
I make a really good macaroni cheese and have never had the sauce “break” despite not using sodium citrate. No cream either, just full-fat milk. And a good spoon of mustard, yum. Maybe it’s the cheese? I use extra tasty cheddar.
Right: American cheese on top. That’s gotta be raw pasta underneath.
Left: “came away clean from the tray” in what I can only imagine is a congealed cheese+starch block.
These are terrible choices.
The only correct choice is not to play.
Mac n Cheese doesn’t belong at a Thanksgiving table.
You can take it from my cold, dead, cheese covered hands!
We don’t make it for Thanksgiving, but I wouldn’t turn my nose at a made from scratch baked mac. My granny taught me her recipe and there are never leftovers when we make it.
mac ✅
cheese ✅
i mean i don’t see the problem
The cheese part is debatable.
And the mac part doesn’t seem to exist anymore, it’s a solidified mass.
Mac And Plastic
Sodium citrate. It’s not plastic, it just makes cheese look like plastic.
I don’t want to live in a world where this is real!
It does look like prison Mac
They should be forced to eat nothing but the others “Mac and cheese” for eternity.
I make the most fattening mac&cheese, but it is delicious.
2T corn starch
2c half&half (or 1 cup milk, 1 cup whipping cream)
8oz cream cheese
8oz block of colby jack, grated
1lb elbow macaroni
Spices to taste (I use salt, pepper, allspice, nutmeg, paprika, oregano, and some nutritional yeast)Boil the elbow macaroni until it’s al dente. Whisk together the spices, corn starch and half&half, bring to a simmer. Melt the cream cheese into the sauce, then add in the grated cheese. Stir the noodles into the sauce.
If you undercook the noods a little, it holds up really well as meal prep for a week of lunches. My partner is chronically underweight, so it’s nice to have some calorie dense meal prep options too.
I’m very scared of your two-tonne corn starch mac
And you have to discover FTL travel for the half-and-half.
(it’s tablespoons, if anybody is genuinely confused)
Mac & Jail
