Mac N Cheese

This recipe comes from me.  It's my go to mac n cheese recipe.  I switch up the noodles- sometimes elbow macaroni, sometimes shells- usually those two, but you can use whatever you want.

I still have such a hard time estimating how much sauce to make and how much dry pasta to cook up. 

I ESTIMATE this recipe is good for 4

Ingredients:

2-3 tbsp butter
2-3 tbsp flour
1 garlic clove
1/4 tsp red chili flakes
3 c milk (whatever you drink)
2-3 c sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 c parmesan (optional)
cayenne
salt
pepper
broccoli, cooked (roasted or steamed)

Directions:

-bring a big pot of water to a boil, salt it well (should taste like the sea)
-in a medium pot, melt the butter then add the garlic clove (I use my microplane and grate it over the pan, you could mince it, too) and red chili flakes...cook on low-medium heat for a few minutes, infusing the butter with the garlic and spice
-add flour, whisk to combine, allow to cook for a minute to get rid of the raw flour taste
-add milk (not cold) and whisk almost constantly till thickened (because I use 1%, I have to wait a good 10 minutes for it to thicken up...the higher the fat is in your milk, the quicker it will thicken- if you use cream, you don't need the rue to thicken it)
-cook your pasta in the boiling water- take it out a minute or two before it's done...it'll finish cooking in the oven
-add cheese to milk sauce (I find if you use a little parmesan in the beginning, you will need less cheese to create a rich flavour...I don't always do this, though)
-add some salt, pepper and cayenne to taste
-when pasta is cooked and drained, add it to the sauce, add broccoli in as well
-transfer to baking dish
-sometimes I make a bread crumb topping by mixing bread crumbs with herbs, parmesan and melted butter, sometimes I just top with cheese, sometimes I top with nothing but then I use a tinfoil cover so that noodles don't get too crunchy on top- unless you like that
-bake at 350 for about 15 minutes

I love broccoli with mac n cheese, you can add whatever veggie you like, or none at all.  Leave the broccoli a little al dente so it's not mushy once it's been baked.  If you want to roast it first, scatter broccoli florets on a baking sheet, toss with oil, salt and pepper and place on lowest oven rack at 400 for 15-18 minutes.