This looks soooo good! If I was to double or triple the recipe (to feed ~20), is it fine to do all in one go or would you recommend making the sauce in batches?
i have tripled the recipe before and made all in one batch :) (if i remember correctly though i did have to cook off the pasta in 2 batches) if you have a food processor use the cheese grating attachment and grate all your cheese that way, it will save you a ton of time!
as for quantity - if this is one of a number of sides (and especially if you have other carby sides) i think doubling this is enough for 20, but you can always err on the side of caution and triple it!
hi! i've made that recipe before too - our recipes have very different proportions of cheese:milk, mine has less cheese and more milk which leads to a more fluid cheese sauce, hers has more cheese and less milk which has a thicker filling - her recipe also includes sour cream/creme fraiche to help stabilize the sauce (which lends a flavor).
No - there is not sour cream or creme fraiche. I guess my point is, your readers do not need to buy a hard to find ingredient to make a good gooey mac and cheese.
it’s Paris’s recipe, and it works 🧡 I have also made Mac n cheese sans sodium citrate and it was great, albeit different to this recipe. This recipe was amazing btw! I would think of any online recipe as you would read a cookbook. you follow the instructions and ingredients (that you don’t have to btw - feel free to go elsewhere), and hopefully you reach the cook/chefs desired effect. Of course you can make MnC without sodium citrate but this is her own wonderful iteration of it & it’s beautiful. happy cooking ☺️
Thanks so much Paris, your work is always incredible. Do you have advise for gf folks? Just use a 1:1 flour and would you also cook that pasta for half the time? Thanks so much!
thank you for this question! i have to say i am a bit out of my depths here but have a few ideas
for the flour replacement i would actually use cornstarch, all flour blends are different and depending on what kind you use the thickening power could differ. with cornstarch generally it thickens at 2x the amount of flour, so since the recipe calls for 30g of flour i would make the roux with 15g of cornstarch - do not cook the roux for long though before beginning adding the milk as the longer cornstarch is cooked the more it looses it's thickening power.
for the pasta substitute i have not cooked with gluten free pasta but did a bit of research, it definitely looks like you should cook for half the time (as it tends to break down more than gluten pasta when cooked fully). and when you drain it when it's half cooked, i would recommend rinsing with some water to keep it from sticking.
This really works. The sodium citrate makes the cheese sauce that I have always aspired to make, thick and creamy and uniformly smooth. Like restaurants serve.
I have read online that original Alka Seltzer is sodium citrate, will try that once I use up my supply.
It’s only Alka Seltzer Gold that works, I discovered.
Seriously this was the best I’ve made. I used really inexpensive shredded cheese from Target so easy on the budget. I very proudly sent two neighbors each a piece drizzled with white truffle oil.
This looks soooo good! If I was to double or triple the recipe (to feed ~20), is it fine to do all in one go or would you recommend making the sauce in batches?
thank you!
i have tripled the recipe before and made all in one batch :) (if i remember correctly though i did have to cook off the pasta in 2 batches) if you have a food processor use the cheese grating attachment and grate all your cheese that way, it will save you a ton of time!
as for quantity - if this is one of a number of sides (and especially if you have other carby sides) i think doubling this is enough for 20, but you can always err on the side of caution and triple it!
what?! i have been making mac and cheese for years (I use this recipe: https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/05/marthas-macaroni-and-cheese/) and have never added sodium citrate. and my sauce has never split.
hi! i've made that recipe before too - our recipes have very different proportions of cheese:milk, mine has less cheese and more milk which leads to a more fluid cheese sauce, hers has more cheese and less milk which has a thicker filling - her recipe also includes sour cream/creme fraiche to help stabilize the sauce (which lends a flavor).
No - there is not sour cream or creme fraiche. I guess my point is, your readers do not need to buy a hard to find ingredient to make a good gooey mac and cheese.
it’s Paris’s recipe, and it works 🧡 I have also made Mac n cheese sans sodium citrate and it was great, albeit different to this recipe. This recipe was amazing btw! I would think of any online recipe as you would read a cookbook. you follow the instructions and ingredients (that you don’t have to btw - feel free to go elsewhere), and hopefully you reach the cook/chefs desired effect. Of course you can make MnC without sodium citrate but this is her own wonderful iteration of it & it’s beautiful. happy cooking ☺️
Thanks so much Paris, your work is always incredible. Do you have advise for gf folks? Just use a 1:1 flour and would you also cook that pasta for half the time? Thanks so much!
thank you for this question! i have to say i am a bit out of my depths here but have a few ideas
for the flour replacement i would actually use cornstarch, all flour blends are different and depending on what kind you use the thickening power could differ. with cornstarch generally it thickens at 2x the amount of flour, so since the recipe calls for 30g of flour i would make the roux with 15g of cornstarch - do not cook the roux for long though before beginning adding the milk as the longer cornstarch is cooked the more it looses it's thickening power.
for the pasta substitute i have not cooked with gluten free pasta but did a bit of research, it definitely looks like you should cook for half the time (as it tends to break down more than gluten pasta when cooked fully). and when you drain it when it's half cooked, i would recommend rinsing with some water to keep it from sticking.
Thank you so much. I love everything you do!!
This is something I’m really eager to try. I hate ordering anything online, just found it in Manhattan at Kalustyan’s on Lexington.
love kalustyans! was just there last week getting spices to give as holiday gifts!
This really works. The sodium citrate makes the cheese sauce that I have always aspired to make, thick and creamy and uniformly smooth. Like restaurants serve.
I have read online that original Alka Seltzer is sodium citrate, will try that once I use up my supply.
Yay - so happy to hear you like the recipe!! Thank you so much for sharing!
Love the alka seltzer tip, when you try it can you report back on how it goes? Super curious
It’s only Alka Seltzer Gold that works, I discovered.
Seriously this was the best I’ve made. I used really inexpensive shredded cheese from Target so easy on the budget. I very proudly sent two neighbors each a piece drizzled with white truffle oil.
yayayayayay!