Old Fashioned Escalloped Macaroni and Cheese

I got distracted for a few minutes yesterday and started going through my old blue binder. I came across this old treasure that I had not made in a long time and so I decided to make it for our supper last night. This was the old fashioned way of making macaroni and cheese. Simple, tasty and always welcome. I'll try to put it down so that you can understand it, as the original recipe is written only as a guideline of what to do, exact amounts having been left out . . . you know how it goes, much knowledge was taken for granted back then, it was expected that a girl would know these things off by heart . . .



Old Fashioned Escalloped Macaroni and Cheese
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

This is not like regular macaroni and cheese with a super rich thick sauce, this is old fashioned in both it's taste and it's appearance. It is good, plain and simple . . . every forkful taking you back to a simpler day and time. The leftovers are very good heated up the next day, and if anything it tastes even better! A lot of old recipes are like that!

1/2 pound of dry macaroni
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup of cream
a knob of butter the size of a walnut
8 ounces of cheddar cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
(Yesterday I used a mixture of medium cheddar and red Leicester cheeses for colour)
salt and black pepper to taste
1 cup soft fresh bread crumbs
another knob of butter, melted

Bring a pot of lightly salted water to the boil and add the macaroni. Cook according to the package directions and then drain well. Rinse in cold water and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/gas mark 4. Butter a 1 litre casserole dish and set aside.

Put the cream, milk and the first knob of butter into a saucepan and bring to a simmer, heating only until the butter melts. Put the cooked macaroni into the prepared baking dish. Stir in the cheese and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Pour the milk mixture over top. You should just barely be able to see the milk through the macaroni. Mix the fresh bread crumbs with the melted butter and then sprinkle them evenly over top.

Bake in the heated oven until bubbly and browned and the cheese is meltingly gooey. Delicious!!