Macaroni and Cheese

Variation on Fannie Farmer's Classic Baked Macaroni and Cheese Recipe
The "Fannie Farmer's Boston Cooking School Cookbook", published in 1946, is a classic of mid-century American home cookery. It’s what your grandma would have made if she could cook; it’s what your mother would have taught you if she wasn’t entirely dependent on the microwave—anything Fanny Farmer is nostalgia on a fork. So put your pearls on, and try my variation on Macaroni and Cheese. Why a variation and not straight-up Fanny? Well, frankly, because I tried it her way and mine has more flavor.
--AnglophileLV


35 min | 15 min prep
SERVES 4
• 8 ounces whole wheat Rotelle noodles
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons flour (1/2 mixed with 1/2c. beer)
• ½ cup beer
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup cream
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 drops Worcestershire
• ¼ tsp garlic powder
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• Cheese equaling 2 cups: good quality shredded cheddar cheese, Trader Joe’s Bavarian Beer cheese (or a white cheddar), Old Amsterdam, Parmesan, Swiss (be creative)
• 4 pieces of bacon, crumbled
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Cook and drain macaroni according to package directions; set aside.
3. Melt butter in a medium saucepan.
4. Mix flour with the salt, pepper and garlic powder
5. Mix 2tb flour with 1/2c. beer and add to the pan, stirring to mix.
6. Mix the other 2tb flour with the 1 cup milk and add to the pan, keep stirring.
7. Pour cream in, stirring constantly.
8. Bring to boiling point (stirring constantly).
9. Add shredded cheese little by little and simmer until cheese melts.
10. Add the Worcestershire and bacon bits.
11. Turn off flame.
12. Add macaroni to the saucepan and toss to coat with the cheese sauce.
13. Transfer macaroni to a buttered baking dish.
14. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
15. Bake 20 minutes until the top is golden brown.*
*You can put it under the broiler for 4 minutes to give it an added crunch.