ATK Recipe #36: stovetop macaroni and cheese

Since I’m challenging myself+my husband to make new recipes out of our new cookbooks throughout the year (at least one from each book per month), I decided to do mini-review posts of the recipes we make on the blog.  I will not be posting the recipe (you can get it yourself in whichever book it comes from), but I’ll post a photo (if possible) of our dish made from the recipe as well as a few bullet-point notes.   There’s a category on the blog for these posts called “recipe review 2013.”

~ ~ ~

Recipe:  Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese from The Complete America’s Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001-2013, (page 221)

• when did we make this?  Tuesday, October 29, for supper
• did we change anything?  I left out the hot sauce, since my little daughter was sharing it with me.  I didn’t use the remaining 1/4 of the cheese or the 1 c. of evaporated milk.  The sauce was very creamy and getting almost soupy, so I didn’t think it needed anything more.  I also added a bit of sugar (see below).  I also didn’t make the bread crumb topping (I was in a hurry!)
• what did we like?   This is a pretty easy recipe, and it is a very rich, comforting sort of meal. 
  
• what didn’t we like?  The mustard flavor is quite strong.  I had high hopes that my little (23 mo. old) girl would gobble this up, but I think the mustard flavor was what made her spit it out.  I added some sugar to take off the edge, which even I thought was a bit much. 
  
• will we make it again (any changes in the future)?  This actually is not the first time I’ve made this recipe… the first time was before I started my recipe review posts, so I couldn’t remember what I’d thought of it. I think I’d make a different recipe next time, though.  It is okay, but not my favorite.