Macaroni and Cheese (J. Alexander's Restaurant Version)

20m
Prep Time
60m
Cook Time
1h 20m
Ready In

Recipe: #716

October 17, 2011

Categories: Oven Bake,



"I love the macaroni and cheese served at J. Alexander's Restaurant. I went searching for the recipe, and from what I've been able to find out, the restaurant uses a modified Joy of Cooking recipe. gruyere cheese, heavy cream, no milk, and pipette pasta (little pipe). Definitely NOT a diet recipe, but OMG it's fabulous! It seems that I'm always making this recipe when we are having a buffet dinner. To make things easy for me, I don't bake it in the oven, but cook it in a crock pot on low for about an hour and serve it right from the crock pot."

Original is 5 servings

Nutritional

  • Serving Size: 1 (228.8 g)
  • Calories 856.2
  • Total Fat - 58 g
  • Saturated Fat - 29.9 g
  • Cholesterol - 165.1 mg
  • Sodium - 423.5 mg
  • Total Carbohydrate - 56.5 g
  • Dietary Fiber - 7.4 g
  • Sugars - 2.7 g
  • Protein - 30 g
  • Calcium - 812.7 mg
  • Iron - 1.4 mg
  • Vitamin C - 1.4 mg
  • Thiamin - 0.3 mg

Step by Step Method

Step 1

Boil 6 cups water and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt to a boil in a medium pot. Add macaroni and cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain and put in a large bowl.

Step 2

Melt 2 Tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Heat oven to 350°F Whisk in flour and cook 3 minutes, whisking constantly.

Step 3

Gradually whisk in heavy cream.

Step 4

Stir in onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer 15 minutes, stirring often.

Step 5

Remove from heat and stir in 1 1/2 cups gruyere. Season to taste with salt and pepper and remove bay leaf.

Step 6

Stir in pasta.

Step 7

Pour HALF of the pasta mixture into a deep 1 1/2-quart, buttered baking dish. Sprinkle with HALF of the remaining cheese. Top with remaining pasta mixture, then add the remaining cheese.

Step 8

Melt 1 Tablespoon butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add bread crumbs and toss to coat. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top of macaroni and cheese.

Step 9

Bake 30 minutes or until bread crumbs are lightly browned. Cook 5 minutes then serve.

Tips


No special items needed.

2 Reviews

DanD

Great mac and cheese recipe, I thank you KathyD

5.0

review by:
(27 May 2013)

MeganMuffins

I doubled everything so we would have plenty for leftovers. Tomorrow is a busy day for me so it's ready to go with some grilled ham steaks on the side. The cheeses were a real hit with its ooey gooey goodness!

5.0

review by:
(3 Mar 2012)

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