Written by: Maya

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Mac Sauce
recipe courtesy of The Mac + Cheese Cookbook

Ingredients:
3 cups whole milk
½ cup unsalted butter
½ cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt or 1 teaspoon table salt

DIRECTIONS: 1. Heat the milk in a pot over medium heat until just starts to bubble but is not boiling, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat. 2. Heat the butter over medium heat in a separate heavy-bottomed pot. When the butter has just melted, add flour and whisk constantly until the mixture turns light brown, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. Slowly pour the warm milk, about 1 cup at a time, into the butter-flour mixture, whisking constantly. It will get very thick when you first add the milk and thinner as you slowly pour in the entire three cups.
4. Once all the milk has been added set the pot back over medium-high heat, and continue to whisk constantly. In the next 2 to 3 minutes the sauce should come together and become silky and thick. Use the spoon test to make sure it’s ready. To do this, dip a metal spoon and if it doesn’t slide off like milk, you’ll know it’s ready. You should able to run your finger along the spoon and have the impression remain. Add the salt.
5. The Mac Sauce is immediately ready to use and does not need to cool. Store it in the fridge for a day or two if you want to make it ahead of time – it will get a lot thicker when put in the fridge, so it may need a little milk to think it out a bit when it comes time to melt in the cheese. Try melting the cheese into the sauce first, and if it is too thick then add milk as needed.

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Jalapeno Popper Mac
recipe courtesy of The Mac + Cheese Cookbook

ingredients:
½ pound dried elbow pasta
2 cups Mac Sauce (recipe above)
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
½ cup cream cheese
¼ cup stemmed, seeded and chopped jalapeno chiles, plus extra for garnish
½ cup panko crumbs

DIRECTIONS: 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until a little less than al dente. Drain, rinse pasta with cold water and drain it again.
3. Add the sauce, Cheddar, cream cheese, and chiles to a large, heavy bottomed pot and cook over medium heat. Stir until the cheese is barely melted, about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and stiff in cooked pasta. Take a taste to check the potency of the chiles – jalapenos can vary in heat, depending on the batch and season so you may want to add more to increase the fire.
4. Pour the cheesy noodle mixture into a large baking dish. Top evenly with panko and bake until you see the cheese sauce bubbling on the sides, 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Spoon into bowls and serve immediately.