Mac and Cheese for Fourth of July
Happy Fourth of July to all my American friends and family! I hope you are all keeping well and staying safe this holiday weekend.
Why do we celebrate the Fourth of July?
The short answer: it’s Independence Day. Happy Birthday, America! Fourth of July commemorates the Declaration of Independence Day from the British monarch, King George II in 1776. It’s a patriotic holiday celebrating all things American. Families and friends gather together for BBQs, picnics, pool parties coupled with parades and fireworks. It’s one of the mid-summer events I’ve always looked forward to as a child growing up in my native California. Lady Yeya may be British-born, but she is Californian at heart with her bubbly personality. In our home, we make an effort to celebrate all of our cultural and national holidays from Lunar New Year to Diwali and Thanksgiving and Fourth of July.
Family-Friendly Celebration
We hosted a family-friendly Fourth of July BBQ in our garden with our oldest American friends in London and their toddler boys. “Family-friendly” means getting things started 3:30 pm after the kid’s post-lunch nap and finishing up by 6:00 pm to head home for bath and bed. In total, there were three toddlers under four. This is vastly different from our pre-kids days lingering out and about Clapham Common until the sunset. In typical British fashion, it was drizzling just as we started grilling. This is British summer for you.
To make an enjoyable afternoon for parents and toddlers alike, I like to keep things simple and fuss-free. Toddlers are notoriously picky eaters with a love for all things “beige”. My go-to recipe is the classic mac and cheese — it’s easy and a crowd-pleaser for both toddlers and adults. On this Fourth of July, I kept to the All-American classics: burgers, hot dogs, classic potato salad, mac and cheese and brownies served with vanilla ice cream.
Here is a mac and cheese recipe I adapted from one of my favourite food websites Epicurious.
Classic Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter plus more to grease the baking dish
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese divided
- 6 cups sharp or extra-sharp Cheddar grated
- 1 pound elbow macaroni
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup double cream
- 2 1/4 cups whole milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pep
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter a 9- by 13-inch baking dish.
- In a medium saucepan over moderate heat, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter.
- Put the panko bread crumbs in a small bowl, drizzle with the melted butter, and toss to combine. Add 1/4 of Parmesan cheese to the bowl, toss to combine, and set aside.
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the elbow macaroni until al dente. Drain the noodles, without rinsing, then return them to the pot.
- In a small saucepan over moderate heat, warm the milk just until it starts to steam and form tiny bubbles around its edges. Remove from the heat.
- In the same medium saucepan over moderate heat, melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. Saute the minced garlic for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the flour. Use a flat-edged wooden spoon to stir the mixture together, scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent burning, just until it starts to turn a light brown color, about 3 minutes. This will “cook” out the flour flavour.
- Slowly add the warm milk and stir constantly until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the dry mustard, salt, and pepper.
- Add the Cheddar and Parmesan cheeses. Stir until it's completely melted. Adjust the seasoning to taste.
- Pour the cheese sauce over the cooked elbow macaroni and gently stir to coat the noodles in the sauce.
- Pour the macaroni and cheese into the prepared baking dish and top with the panko-cheese mixture. Bake until light golden brown and bubbling, about 30 minutes. Serve hot.
Notes
