Foodie Friday- Baked mac and cheese

Sorry for being a little MIA, life is getting in the way of blogging. I haven't had any time to even write up a post, let alone do anything crafty. Things should settle down after Christmas, since my work involves school aged kids I'll get a few weeks off after next week and hopefully be able to pick myself back up again.

I have mentioned before that macaroni and cheese is my all time favorite food ever. (Like, in the history of my WHOLE LIFE.) I LOVE kraft mac and cheese from the box, but every so often I go through the trouble of making a delicious baked mac and cheese. I got this recipe from Alton Brown and tweaked it just a little. Keep in mind that this recipe is not a quick one, you'll be in the kitchen for little while but it is soooo worth the deliciousness.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound elbow macaroni
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon powdered mustard
• 3 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 large egg
• 12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Fresh black pepper

Topping:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup french fried onions, crushed

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente.
3. While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the bay leaf. Don't boil!!
4. Temper in the egg.* Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.
5. Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the crushed onions to coat. Top the macaroni with the crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving. (This is to let it set, don't skip this step!)

* Tempering in an egg means to very slowly incorporate the hot liquid into the egg. To do this, crack the egg into a small bowl and whisk it. Spoon (I mean like a teaspoon to a tablespoon) a little bit of hot liquid into the egg and quickly whisk it all together. Add another spoonful and quickly whisk it in. Continue until you've got a good cup of liquid into the egg and the mixture is hot. If it's not hot, keep whisking in more liquid. You want to do this very slowly so you don't end up with scrambled eggs inside of your mac and cheese. Yuck!!

 This is how delicious it is! No leftovers whatsoever!!

Om nom nom nom nom. I could eat this everyday!!!