Lisa's Mac and Cheese Yum

From a friend/colleague Jeanne used to know at Chrysalis. We house-sat for her one weekend, and to thank us, she made us this HUGE casserole and gave us the recipe.

NOTES:

1. The full recipe makes enough mac-and-cheese for literally 12-15 people, so what follows below is HALF a recipe, with full-recipe amounts in parentheses.

2. If using a full recipe, use a 9"x13" dish AND an additional large dish (or two smaller ones).

3. When making the cheese sauce, the original recipe didn't clarify to sauté the onion and celery before adding the other ingredients, so we're making that clear here.

4. A few other clarifications include amounts for the seasoning salt; salting the water for boiling the macaroni; technique for browning bread crumbs; approx time for mixing; etc.

5. The bread crumbs, vegetables, and cheese can be prepared one day ahead of time; otherwise, allow 3-4 hours of prep time, plus one hour to cook. And there'll be LOTS of bowls and dishes to deal with.

6. The full recipe requires boiling and mixing macaroni in a very large stock pot. The halved recipe might work in a dutch oven, but it'd be safer to use a small or medium stockpot.

7. Because we enjoy the topping so much, we've basically doubled the original amounts.  These modified amounts are already included in the recipe.

8. Allow a couple of hours to assemble the whole dish before baking.

9.  TOTAL AMOUNTS for butter, onions, seasoning salt

• 1-1/2 sticks of butter, plus 2-3 Tbl for noodles (3 sticks, plus 4-5 Tbl)
• 1-1/2 onions (3 onions)
• 1-1/2 tsp seasoning salt (3 tsp)

ADVANCE PREP (one day ahead)

• Bread crumb topping
• Chopping onions and celery
• Grating the cheese

INGREDIENTS

Bread crumb topping

• 2 stick butter (4 sticks)
• 1 onion (2 onions)
• 3 cups bread crumbs (6 cups)
• 1-1/2 tsp seasoning salt (3 tsp)
• 1 Tbl chopped parsley (2 Tbl)

Cheese sauce

• 1/2 stick butter (1 stick)
• 1 onion (2 onions)
• 2 stalks celery (4 stalks)
• 1-1/2 Tbl yellow mustard (3 Tbl)
• 1 Tbl horseradish (2 Tbl)
• 3/4 tsp seasoning salt (1-1/2 tsp)
• 3 Tbl flour (6 Tbl)
• 2 cups milk (4 cups)
• 1 (10-3/4 oz) can of cheddar cheese soup (2 cans)
• at least 3/4 lb. sharp cheddar cheese (1-1/2 lbs)
• 2 Tbl butter (4 Tbl)

Macaroni

• 1 lb macaroni elbow noodles (2 lbs)
• salt for the water, optional
• oil for the water, optional

PREPARATION

Bread crumb topping

1. Chop the onion and parsley. Set aside.
2. In a large skillet, melt the butter on medium heat.
3. Stir in the onion, bread crumbs, seasoning salt, and parsley.
4. Using a flat spatula, occasionally flip the bread crumb mixture, being sure to turn over the crumbs in order to brown evenly. (Stirring with a spoon doesn't allow for that.)
5. As the bread crumbs begin to brown, they will need more frequent flipping.
6. After 20-30 minutes, when bread crumbs are golden brown, remove from heat and place in a medium bowl if using same day, or allow to cool and then store until the next day.

Macaroni (do NOT make ahead of time; they will be mushy)

1. Add noodles to stockpot of boiling water (can add salt and oil to water as it's boiling).
2. Cook until al dente, about 7-8 minutes.
3. Drain noodles and run cold water over them to stop them from cooking. Set aside, reserving stockpot for preparation of cheese sauce.

Cheese sauce

1. Chop the onion and celery. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the mustard, horseradish, and seasoning salt. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk and cheddar cheese soup until blended. This will help incorporate it into the cheese sauce later.
   
4. Oven to 375; rack on medium-low shelf.
5. In stockpot used for macaroni, on medium-high heat, melt butter and sauté the onion and celery.
6. Stir in the mustard mixture
7. Stir in the flour gradually. After about a minute, mixture will suddenly thicken.
8. Stir in the milk mixture. At first, the entire mixture will be on the thin side, but it will thicken after a few minutes.
9. In large handfuls, add the grated cheese, stirring to help incorporate it.
10. Alternating between adding a tablespoon of butter with a batch of cooked macaroni, stir in the noodles to the stockpot until macaroni is covered evenly.
11. In an ungreased 9"x13" casserole dish, put the noodle mixture and level with a spatula or spoon.
12. Top with prepared bread crumbs.
13. Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 30 min. Then remove foil and rotate dish. Bake for another 30 min. Mac and cheese should be bubbly and sizzling when done; topping should be dark brown.