Quite a few years ago I published a brutal recipe for mac and cheese, which sustained us for many years. This week I am under doctor's orders to eat nothing but soft food and nothing acid (don't ask). So I decided to fire up a super-soft mac and cheese.
While a one-pound (dry weight) boxful of macaroni is boiling in the pot, make a roux by cooking a few tbsp of flour in a few tbsp of butter until it just starts to change color. Add milk slowly, whisking to keep the roux from forming clumps. Then add about a pound (maybe less) of grated cheese. The milk-to-cheese ratio sets the texture of the dish; use your judgement. And you can use any cheeses you like here; I sometimes even use this recipe to clear the fridge of remainders of cheeses (as I did today). Heat the roux-milk-cheese sauce and add in the macaroni, preferably slightly before the pasta is truly done, with lots of pepper and salt to taste. Either eat it immediately (as I did today), or else top it with more cheese (and maybe breadcrumbs?) and put it in a 400 F (200 C) oven to finish the top.
Interesting fact though: When you bake it, it becomes far less creamy! I think it's probably because the macaroni absorbs some of the milk. So if you want it super-creamy, either don't bake it, or else go with way more milk than you think is sensible.
