Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh bread crumbs from French or Italian bread
- 2 teaspoons salt plus a pinch
- 1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter at room temperature
- 1/2 pound elbow macaroni
- 2 large eggs
- 12 ounces evaporated milk, heated until warm
- 1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard, dissolved in 1 teaspoon water
- 10 to 12 ounces mild cheddar cheese, grated
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place a 1 1/2 quart heat-proof dish, such as a soufflé© pan, in oven to warm. In a small baking pan, combine bread crumbs, a pinch of salt and the melted butter. Mix well and set aside. In a large pot, bring 8 cups of water to a boil. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and the macaroni, Cook until almost tender but still a little firm to the bite, Drain and transfer to preheated dish, stir remaining 4 tablespoons of butter. In a small bowl, combine eggs, 1 cup of the evaporated milk, the pepper sauce, 1/2 teaspoon salt, black pepper and the mustard mixture. Mix well. Pour egg mixture over macaroni, Add 3/4 of the cheese, and stir until thoroughly combined and cheese starts to melt, Place dish of macaroni and cheese in the oven, and bake for 5 minutes. Remove dish from oven and add about half of the remaining evaporated mil, and half of the remaining cheese, Stir well, and return pan to the oven, Bake 5 minutes longer, remove pan from oven, and stir thoroughly. If mixture does not look moist and creamy, add a little more of the milk and cheese, Return to oven for an additional 20 minutes, removing pan from oven halfway through stir in remaining evaporated milk & cheese. While macaroni is baking, add pan of bread crumbs to oven. Bake until bread crumbs are toasted and golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven & set aside. When macaroni has baked, sprinkle surface with toasted bread crumbs and serve immediately.