BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE BY ALTON BROWN

This is supposedly the #1 recipe currently (Oct 2014) on the Food Network. I don't like my macaroni and cheese this dry but I'm sure many of you will love this.

1/2 lb elbow macaroni
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
1 tbsp powdered mustard
3 cups milk
1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp paprika
1 large egg
12-oz sharp cheddar, shredded
1 tsp kosher salt
Fresh black pepper

Topping:
3 tbsp butter
1 cup panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta al dente.

In a separate pot while the pasta is cooking, melt the 3 tablespoons of butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it is free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer ten minutes and remove the bay leaf.

Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold in the macaroni and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a two-quart casserole dish. Top with the remaining cheese.

To make the topping, melt the butter in a saucepan and toss the breadcrumbs in the butter. Sprinkle over the top of the cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to rest five minutes before serving.

Alton says to be sure and save leftovers for fried macaroni and cheese.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

Food Network Photo