The Recipe: Macaroni and Cheese
347,548
Published 2024-02-26
On the show we pull back the curtains on the recipe development process to show you how we arrive at our final recipes, and how you can make them your own. First up, stovetop mac and cheese.
Here's my 3-Ingredient Mac and Cheese recipe: www.seriouseats.com/ingredient-stovetop-mac-and-ch…
Here's Deb's Quick, Essential Stovetop Mac and Cheese: smittenkitchen.com/2018/02/quick-essential-stoveto…
I don't take sponsorships or do promotions of any kind, so joining my Patreon or purchasing my books is the best way to support my work. www.patreon.com/kenjilopezalt
You can get any of my books, The Food Lab, The Wok and Every Night is Pizza Night) wherever books are sold, or you can order signed and personalized copies to be shipped anywhere in the world from here: booklarder.com/search?q=kenji
All Comments (21)
-
I love that Kenji always gives Chef John credit for the cold milk trick. Respect.
-
Kenji, I cannot express how grateful I am for your videos and your wonderful presence as a chef through the screen. I love watching and learning from you!
-
We love the 3 ingredient version and make it regularly. It's simple enough that even the 9 year old can cook it well. We do scale it up to a larger version, but it really doesn't take much longer. 16oz of pasta, 16oz of shredded cheese, 1 full can of evaporated milk. We drop in some broccoli or smoked sausage and it is amazing. It even reheats pretty well if you add in some milk or half and half.
-
chef john would make a lovely guest for your podcast i think! his recipes are never the most advanced, but i think he is a one of a kind talent in making his recipes approachable and still high quality. hearing his process would be a dream
-
My favourite Prince of Persia streamer also does food videos now?! Nice
-
I have no strong interest in mac and cheese but I absolutely love listening to Kenji and watching him work. It's soothing, grounded, informative and refreshingly humble. Thank you so much!
-
Kind of interesting that Deb uses a more classic mac and cheese technique (roux/béchamel) with an more Italian flavor profile while Kenji uses a more Italian technique with a more traditional flavor profile. Something, something, great minds, and such.
-
I was so impressed by how quickly the cheddar & evaporated milk emulsified, will definitely be trying it out as a broke college student, thank u very much kenji!
-
Kenji, I think your channel is appealing because you do things your own way. Even those of us who are lifelong homecooks can find new ideas and learn new things from your takes on classics like mac and cheese. The originality is what keeps me coming back, including the use of the go-pro and the style of cooking.
-
Made yours last night with a ratio 2:1 Cabot 3 year Cheddar to Cooper Sharp, with some frozen peas, dijon mustard and hot sauce to kick things up. I think the citric acid in the American-style Cooper Sharp really helped get a perfect velvety cheese sauce. Thank you Kenji for this incredibly simple framework for killer mac and cheese! Can't wait to try Deb's!
-
Years ago, when I moved into my first flat on my own I started cooking properly. Every pasta video mentioned to reserve pasta water to thicken the sauce. I started thinking: "why not just add enough water to cook the pasta and then I have a sauce". Since then I cooked pretty much every pasta dish I made like that. And it surprised me that till this video none of the Youtubers I watch did the same technique. Its just so much better for me. Any sauce is much smoother and saucier. Can only recommend.
-
Yep I've been making that recipe over 30yrs. Was a single mom and evaporated milk is cheaper than regular milk! My daughters grew up on that! 👍
-
I’ve loved Deb’s recipe for a while, but I tried yours today and it’s delicious! You’re right, they’re very different, but equally tasty and satisfying. Yours is more like the Kraft Dinner I grew up with, in colour, texture and flavour, but heaps better. Thank you! It’s nice to have two easy, quick, stovetop mac ‘n cheese recipes.
-
Just listened to the first podcast episode! Love it! thanks so much for continuing to let us into your world ❤
-
Back around Thanksgiving I took 6 or 7 different popular online mac n cheese recipes (including yours) and went about trying to develop my own. Eventually I landed on a variation of yours (equal parts by weight cheese, evaporated milk, and pasta), with a gouda cheddar blend, and with just a bit of boursin and/or gruyere mixed in.
-
i've been making your 3 ingredient mac for a couple months now. I add a little of yellow mustard and love it.
-
Glad to hear the first episode is out. This my be the first podcast that both my wife and I listen to.
-
I just love that chef john's "hot rue, cold milk, no lumps" is so widely known lol
-
I understand people making a double batch in order to use the whole can of evaporated milk. Since I am cooking for one and am not wild about how this reheats: I make a single batch but substitute whole milk powder reconstituted with 60% of the water for the evaporated milk. It's easy to make any amount and I think it tastes the same.
-
Awesome! I have used Smitten Kitchen's recipes forever! What a fantastic coupling :)
