The comfort that is Mac & Cheese

I have actually never been a big fan of mac & cheese, and that is mostly because the ones I've had were all made with fake neon orange cheddar sauce. They were never too appetizing, and more often than not, too salty or too bland. I have, however, been completely won over by the comfort food of all times after I'd learned how to make the real thing. Like many other dishes, I picked this up because of a guy. Even though the guy might not be around anymore, I guess I'll always have mac&cheese.

Recipes adapted from various different ones found on the world wide web

Ingredients

• half a package of macaroni
• 4 table spoon     butter
• 4 table spoon     flour  (approx)
• 1 cup                 milk
• 1 cup                heavy cream (18%)
• 1/2 teaspoon     salt
• 1/2 teaspoon     pepper
• 2 cups              creamy cheddar cheese, chopped into small chunks
• 4 cloves            garlic (finely chopped)
• 1 whole            shallot (finely chopped)
• 3 slices             bacon (or more, cut into pieces)  - can substitute with pancetta
• few drops         truffle olive oil  [optional]

Tools

• pot  (for macaroni)
• strainer
• large pan with depth

Procedure

1. Bring a pot of water to boil. Add some salt and some oil.
   Cook and drain the macaroni. Make sure the macaroni is slightly undercooked.
   Add a few drops of truffle oil to the macaroni for extra flavour.
2. Take the milk and cream out of the fridge and let it cool to room temperature. 
3. Melt butter in a large pan in LOW HEAT.
   Sautee the garlic, shallot and bacon.
   Remove the bacon from the pan. 
4. Gradually add flour to the pan. Mix it into the oil to make a slight paste.
   If a thicker sauce is preferred, add flour until all the oil in the pan is absorbed.
   For normal thickness, add flour until most of the oil in the pan is absorbed.
   Stir constantly until the paste is nutty brown ( ~5 minutes )
5. SLOWLY stir in the room temperature milk and cream, 1/4 cup at a time. Mix well each time.
6. Turn the heat to medium until the mixture bubbles, then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue stirring until it thickens. Add the salt and pepper.
7. Add cheese in bit by bit and simmer until all the cheese melts. 
8. Turn the heat off, add macaroni, toss to coat.

Notes

• If the paste in step 3 is under-cooked, you may taste a floury taste in the final product. 
• Try using different types of cheese to mix with the cheddar. 
• You can substitute butter with other fat, or pancetta
• You can substitute the milk and heavy cream with the same amount of single cream