KDs Find Ingredients for Success in the Kitchen
Houston Day alumnae chapter member Hilary Strong Purcell (pictured, right) subscribes to several cooking magazines, watches cooking shows on the Food Network and checks out recipes and tips on the Internet. Then she heads to the kitchen where she adapts recipes to her family’s tastes and combines the best ingredients to create new dishes. Her macaroni and cheese recipe is based on a Cook’s Illustrated recipe, and with her personal touches it became the “Best of Show” award winner in the Houston Chronicle’s 2010 Macaroni and Cheese challenge.
The Chronicle reported: “While there were many to admire among the groupings, some recipes immediately stood out for the ingredients and the sureness and clarity of their instructions. In the end, one recipe stood out for its overall excellence. Hilary Purcell’s version of classic home-style mac hit all the right notes: superior flavor, excellent moisture from a spot-on cheese sauce; perfect, gooey mouth feel; handsome appearance. It’s the macaroni and cheese that you envision when you think of the best virtues of the dish. Not only that, it would please kids as well as fussy foodies.”
Hilary has experience cooking for kids – two sons and a daughter – who love her mac ‘n’ cheese that is made with ingredients not found in the box variety, such as dried mustard, fresh garlic, cayenne pepper and freshly grated nutmeg. She also uses chicken broth in addition to whole milk in her cheese sauce.
Hilary, an alumna of Sigma Epsilon-Texas, told the Chronicle, “I love to cook, and I have three kids so my time is limited, but I hate using Velveeta and canned soup recipes. With a little more effort you can make recipes so much better.
“I love good food that’s made simply with lots of good flavors,” she added. “It doesn’t require a lot of flavors to make good food; you just need to find the right recipe.”
Hilary Strong Purcell’s Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Serves 8
Although the classic pasta shape for this dish is elbow macaroni, any small, curvaceous pasta will work. Do not use low fat or skim milk, as neither is rich enough to make a creamy sauce. Low-sodium vegetable broth can be substituted for the chicken broth to make this dish vegetarian.
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick)
2 cups fresh bread crumbs (see note below)
salt
1 pound elbow macaroni
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dry mustard, dissolved in 1 teaspoon water
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated is best
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 1/2 cups whole milk (see note above)
1 ¾ cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 pound Colby cheese, shredded (4 cups)
8 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (2 cups)
Ground black pepper
1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter and toss with the breadcrumbs.
2. Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a large pot for the macaroni. Stir in 1 tablespoon salt and the macaroni and cook until almost tender but still firm to the bite. Drain the macaroni and leave it in the colander.
3. Wipe the pot dry, add the remaining 6 tablespoons butter, and melt over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, mustard mixture, cayenne and nutmeg. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
4. Stir in the flour and cook until golden, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the milk and broth. Bring to a simmer. Cook, whisking often, until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 6 minutes.
5. Take off the heat, whisk in the Colby and cheddar until completely melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the drained macaroni, breaking up any clumps, until well combined.
6. Pour into a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with the breadcrumbs. Bake until golden brown and bubbling around the edges, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
To Make Ahead: Assemble the casserole as directed through step 6, but do not sprinkle with the buttered breadcrumbs or bake. Store in the refrigerator, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, for up to three days before serving.
The casserole can also be frozen, wrapped in an additional layer of foil, for up to two months. Allow the macaroni and cheese to sit at room temperature for one hour before baking. (If frozen, thaw in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours before letting it sit at room temperature.)
Bread Crumbs: Use good quality white bread (Pepperidge Farm Soft Hearty White bread is best); tear pieces of bread into quarters and pulse in food processor 8 or 9 times for coarse crumbs. Once slice yields about 1 cup.