I was at a nursery yesterday that had gallon pots of Mac n cheese... 4 pots in bloom. One looked like the photo.. no quilling... nice flowers. The others looked like Tiki Torch. Not even close to a yellow.. just orange. Hopefully just mislabeled pots. And they had a Tomato Soup gallon that had a single bloom... again a very nicely formed flower... and the red actually matched the label... nice and vibrant red. It will be interesting to see if they hold their color though for very long.

Is this it? posted by: jessyf on 11.14.2009 at 04:57 pm in Cooking Forum Here is my version of Cook's Illustrated - I omitted the bread crumbs because I'm lazy. Its our dinner tonight, matter of fact! I think subbing evaporated milk for fresh is a big improvement for any M&C recipe. Cooks Illustrated Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese Ingredients 12 oz Canned evaporated milk 2 lg Eggs 1/4 ts Hot red pepper sauce 2 ts Salt 1/4 ts Ground black pepper 1 ts Dry mustard, dissolved in: 1 ts Water 1/2 lb Elbow macaroni 4 TB or 1/4 cup Unsalted butter 12 oz Sharp Wisconsin cheddar*, (or any cheese - Monterey Jack, etc., or a mix) Preparation Mix eggs, 1 cup of the evaporated milk, pepper sauce, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, pepper and mustard mixture in small bowl. Set aside. Heat 2 quarts water to boil in large heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven. Add 1-1/2 teaspoons of the salt and macaroni; cook until almost tender, but still a little firm to the bite. Drain and return to pan over low heat. Add butter; toss to melt. Pour egg mixture over buttered noodles along with three-quarters of the cheese; stir until thoroughly combined and cheese starts to melt. Gradually add remaining milk and cheese, stirring constantly until mixture is hot and creamy, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

I disagree...pasta sitting for even a couple of hours in sauce, absorbs moisture from the sauce and the pasta becomes "over cooked" and not as saucy as it was....and if you add milk you will dilute the sauce, and the flavor. I would cook the pasta and add the melted butter to it, so it doesn't stick together, then mix the cheeses and set aside. When you are ready to make it, warm the pasta briefly in the micro, to remelt the butter, mix in the other sauce ingredients and put into your pans. It takes no longer to bake 3 or 4 same size pans in the same oven as it does to bake one. if they are ice cold when you put them into the oven, it may take a bit longer for the oven to come back to temp....but not more than 3 or 4 minutes. If you use a huge dish, that will take longer to bake and may get too dry on the top before the inside is done. I do funeral meals for my church and many times we bake 6 or 7 8 by 10 casseroles at a time....the timing is no different, but I have learned not to make a casserole with a creamy sauce the day before, better to have extra help in the morning and assemble right before baking.

I also think it would freeze well, all that fat from the cheese, sausage and the dairy helps. I'd probably add the hash browns after the dish thawed and just before baking, but that's just me, I'd want them crunchy and not at all mushy, which would be my fear if they are on top of that casserole . So, if you don't want to do that, I'd assemble and freeze, then thaw in the refrigerator and cook. You'll have to add cooking time because your dish will be cold, not still warm from being freshly made and assembled. Just be sure it's hot in the middle before the broil step and you should be fine. Annie