I did it. I made Chrissy Teigen’s very own mac and cheese, found in her very first cookbook, Cravings.
For those of you who don’t know, Chrissy Teigen is one of the best young celebrities out there. She cooks, she models, she’s funny, and she’s talented. Her website is currently being redone and the homepage is her infamous 2015 Golden Globes crying face. Told you she was funny. Also, Spoon LOVES her.
Photo courtesy of Aubrie Pick
Choosing what recipe to make was like choosing what Netflix show to watch when you’re in bed at 8:00 pm. It was hard. I consulted Spoon to help me decide, but I went with the mac and cheese because there’s a picture of it on the back cover of her book.
The recipe was everything I hoped for. Here are some things I think you should know:
- Mac and cheese is labor intensive because of whisking. Whisking is when you take a closed head massager and stir stuff until your arm gets tired and realize it’s still not done.
- The result is WORTH IT. Always.
- Chrissy’s recipe calls for American cheese. Yep, like Kraft, for example. That melty stuff that you ate in your grilled cheese when you were five. The stuff that may or may not be as satisfying to eat as an adult. If you don’t want your final product to have that Kraft flavor, choose a different cheese, or increase the quantities of the other two cheeses to make up for the American cheese omission. I used the exact recipe this time (plus extra garlic – always extra garlic) because when Chrissy tells you to do something, you do it.
- Only make this for people you love since it’s pretty laborious and cleaning up a pot full of cheese sauce is not an effort you should reserve for acquaintances.
Gif courtesy of newsflow24.com
This recipe makes me feel like a real, grown-up cook, and for that, I thank you, Queen Chrissy.
Chrissy’s Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425° F.
In a large pot of water, boil pasta shells according to package instructions.
Drain pasta, rinse it, and coat with vegetable oil so it doesn’t stick together while it waits to be drenched in cheese.
Grease 9 X 13 baking dish with some butter.
Melt one stick of butter on medium-high heat in a soup pot.
Add flour to butter and constantly whisk for 5-6 minutes until the mixture is light brown and toasty.
Keep whisking and add the milk slowly. Bring the heat up and keep. On. Whisking. When it boils, decrease the heat and whisk for another 4-5 minutes to thicken.
It’s time for cheeeeeeeeese. Add all of the cheese, but save a handful of each to sprinkle over top later. Don’t forget to whisk it!
Whisk in two teaspoons salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and the cayenne pepper. (This step is necessary, the amounts are not. Keep tasting the sauce until it’s how you like it. After all, you just worked your whisking arm to a nub for this.)
Add the cooked pasta and more seasoning if desired. Combine it all, and transfer to greased baking sheet.
Cover the top with leftover cheese and the breadcrumbs (see recipe below). There are a lot of breadcrumbs, but if you work hard and believe in yourself you can fit them ALL.
Place in oven and cook for eight minutes until the topping is golden and crunchy.
SHE’S HERE. Wait as long as you can bear before eating because your impatience will cause you to burn your mouth.
Cheesy Garlic Breadcrumbs
Ingredients
Instructions
Grind bread in a food processor into fine crumbs.
Mince garlic, or process it in the food processor after the bread.
Melt butter over medium low heat in a large skillet. Add garlic and cook until it starts filling your kitchen with aromatic goodness.
Add the breadcrumbs and cook about seven minutes, until they are toasty.
Transfer breadcrumbs to a plate or bowl, and mix in the parmesan cheese.