Mac & Cheese for Sonya

After posting on my Facebook page about mac & cheese (& getting all kinds of creative responses---including Jill's idea of using crushed BBQ potato chips in place of crushed Ritz/breadcrumbs on top! I want to try that!), my friend Sonya said she's been looking for a good "grown-up" mac & cheese. Here are my top 2, one baked, one stovetop, both ridiculously good:

American, Blue, & Cheddar Mac & Cheese

8 oz. macaroni (or other small, shaped pasta---you can go as big as cavatappi, if you want), cooked

2 tbsp. butter

2 tbsp. flour

Salt & pepper

1 2/3 c. milk

1 c. shredded American cheese

1 c. shredded extra-sharp cheddar (I like Cabot or Tillamook)

2 tbsp.-1/4 c. blue cheese crumbles (I lean toward the latter number and I like Maytag)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add flour, salt, & pepper, stirring until smooth. Add milk gradually, stirring constantly. Cook until thickened & bubbly, about 3 minutes, stirring the whole time. Add cheeses and stir until melted completely. Add pasta. Place in casserole dish. Bake 20-25 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Serves 4.

This is my favorite mac & cheese of all, really easy to make & quick, really good & gooey:

Simple Stovetop Mac & Cheese

8 oz. macaroni 

2 tbsp. flour

1 c. milk

2 c. shredded extra-sharp cheddar

(sometimes I add a smidge of Worcestershire sauce; also a shake of dry mustard is yummy; hot sauce is also very tasty with this, especially if you have leftovers---ha!---you are re-heating)

Cook the noodles al dente, then drain well. In still-warm pan, sprinkle with flour, stirring to coat noodles thoroughly. Add milk and cook over low heat until slightly thickened. Add cheese and cook until melted throughly. See if you can get it to the table before you've eaten the whole pan right from the stovetop with a wooden spoon. Serves 4. Well, or 2.