Best Macaroni & Cheese

Best Macaroni Cheese Recipe
A few days ago as we sorted our food and winery photos we found our easy best Macaroni & Cheese recipe and it made us really hungry and we both envisioned the warm, gooey and cheese taste.

And now we have to admit to our weakness for rich creamy and over the top cheese delicious goodness and macaroni & cheese gives you a free rain to use all that in abundance. We really needed a comforting dish at this point since for several weeks now we have been working on our new website, moving all the pretty and interesting recipes and deleting the not so interesting or pretty ones so you do not have to see them anymore. Looking at all those food photos really made us hungry, but since we were short on time and very hungry we decided to make something rather quick and easy. There is something so wonderfully satisfying about cooking a really simple dish that you know will turn out well.

Macaroni & Cheese

There are many Mac & Cheese recipes that excite us, not just because of the comforting delicious feeling you get when you take a bite of it. A simple mac & cheese brings you back to those carefree childhood days. Of course we have to add a splash of wine to this not so childish recipe to keep in theme with Wine Dine Daily! In this lighter version we do not use flour and the wine adds a little zippy, unique flavor.

Macaroni Longoria Cat

When we found a bottle of Longoria Chardonnay we knew it would be a treat to pair it with our dinner. The good acidity and lovely flavors of pears, apples, and brown sugar would be very satisfying with any creamy pasta dish.

Richard Longoria Wines Diana Longoria Wines

Longoria Chardonnay Cat

The bottle made us think back on a visit we had made some time ago to the Richard Longoria Wines tasting room in the picturesque town of Los Olivos, California. We sipped Chardonnay with Richard’s wife Diana in the garden next to the tasting room while a neighboring cat climbed the tree behind us and even jumped on the table to explore the scent of the wine bottle.

Best Macaroni Cheese ingredients

Macaroni Cheese Breadcrumbs

To make our  Mac & Cheese  more interesting we skipped the Béchamel sauce all together and added a little buttery Chardonnay. On top we just had to sprinkle our home made bread crumbs toasted with butter. Panko is good too but nothing else would have bee so satisfying.

Best Macaroni Cheese Recipe

We like to use Gruyère cheese because its mild flavor does not overpower the dish and melts fabulously. If you don’t like Gruyère, then a mild cheddar would be delicious too. A buttery Chardonnay with some acidity to cut the creaminess is just right for this dish or you can have a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.

 

 

Mac & Cheese stoneware

Best Macaroni & Cheese

Judit + Corina
Course Main

Ingredients
  

For the Pasta

  • 1 LB

    Whole Wheat Elbow Macaroni

    cooked and drained

  • Sea Salt

    use generously for the water

  • 2 cups

    Almond Milk

  • 12 oz 4 cups Gruyère Cheese shredded
  • 1/2 cup White Wine

    we used a buttery Chardonnay

  • 8 oz

    Sour Cream

  • Sea Salt and  White Pepper

    to taste

For the Breadcrumb Topping

  • 4 tbsp

    Butter

  • 1 cup

    dry Whole Wheat Bread Crumbs

    finely ground

  • 4-5

    Thyme Sprigs -leaves removed

    keep a few fresh leaves for decoration

Instructions
 

  • Preheating to 350 degrees.
  • Lightly butter a large baking dish and set aside
  • Cook the macaroni in plenty of salted boiling water until becomes al dente. Drain pasta
  • In the meantime heat  milk in a large sauce pan or pot over low heat. Add the Gruyère cheese and continue to stir until melted. Remove from heat stir in  the cheddar the white wine and sour cream. Season with salt and freshly ground white pepper.
  • Fold in pasta and gently stir until completely mixed. Pour mixture into the baking dish.
  • Melt butter in a small sauce pan and stir in breadcrumbs and toast until light golden in color. Add the Parmesan cheese, thyme leaves and  sprinkle over the top of your macaroni.
  • Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes or until nice deep golden and crisp on top.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Macaroni Cheese Pink Flowers

Food & Wine Pairing: Longoria Chardonnay from the Santa Barbara County with buttery acidity and a hint of lemon.judit-corina

Cat Longoria Wines

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  1. says: michael

    Beautiful photos, love the cat, he looks beautiful! ok, the mac and cheese looks so delicious, I like the idea of adding the Chardonnay!! I am going to try your recipe 🙂

    Michael

  2. Judit and Corina…you are amazing partners with wine selections, great comforting foods, and your photos are spectacular! I adore your mac & cheese recipe, and for sure I do want to try soon. The photos of this delicious and unique way of preparing it ‘speaks for itself’…now who owns the beautiful Longoria cat? The Longoria Chardonnay folks?…I love a good Chardonnay, and will look into the Longoria Chardonnay! Hugs,

    Thank you so much for your kind and caring words of condolence; it is greatly appreciated!

    1. Thank you so much Dear Elisabeth and hope that you are doing better! The friendly cat belongs to a neighbor and for years now is a permanent visitor at Longoria winery and spends most days lounging in the tasting room. Rick Longoria the wine maker and owner of the winery is one of the best with Chardonnay, Pinot Drigio and Pinot Noir. Rick’s wines are more European style and he is a brilliant but humble person. Here you can find more info about him Longoria Winery. You remeber in Hungary we had “Krumpli Nudli” with lots of crispy breadcrumbs, mmm… have to make it again soon.
      Take care and wishing you a lovely day:)
      J+C

  3. Wow, I can’t decide what I love more, your photography or this recipe! I love macaroni and cheese, and love your spin on it with adding in the chardonnay. Bet that gives it great flavor. And your photography is truly inspirational.

    And thanks for commenting on my blog because now I have found your blog! Can’t wait to see what you’ll be cooking up next : )

    1. Hello Natalie! Thank you so much for your kind comment and the Chardonnay does make this Mac & Cheese even more delicious. We do enjoy cooking with wine and our motto says it all ” With a Splash of Wine everything Tastes Better 🙂
      Cheers,
      J+C

      Your trip to Bodega Bay looked fabulous!

  4. says: Tina @ Tina's Chic Corner

    I love your photos! Mac and cheese is the real deal when it comes to comfort food and yours looks AMAZING!

    1. Hello Tina! Thank you for visiting. If we think about comfort foods Mac & Cheese is among our top choices too. Hope you will try our version with a little buttery Chardonnay.
      Cheers,

  5. What a fabulous idea to talk about wine pairings on your blog … and your photographs are incredible. I want that blue wooden (?) background! Very happy to have ‘discovered’ you … I’ll be back!

  6. I’ve always been a huge fan of Mac ‘n Cheese and this one sounds quite comforting. I love that you added a bit of Chardonnay to the mix to give it that added flavor. I’m sure if I sat down to a bowl of this I’d gobble it up and then go looking for the pot.

    This is my first time stopping by – great recipes, and beautiful photos!

    1. Thank you so much Vickyfor your lovely comment! The little Chardonnay does give a delicious layer of flavor to this Mac & Cheese and hope you will enjoy this recipe soon.
      Cheers,
      J+C

  7. says: marcie

    Ladies, I love your new blog design — it’s just beautiful! This mac ‘n cheese looks so delicious — I think gruyere, white cheddar, and sour cream sounds like a phenomenal combination. 🙂

    1. Thank you Choc Chip Uru! This darling kitty comes over from another tasting room and seems to like the Longoria winery garden. It is really creamy even withouth the Béchamel sauce.
      Cheers,
      J+C

  8. Such gorgeous photos, Judith and Corina! I have been in Los Olivos when I lived in California several years ago and was absolutely enchanted by the vineyards. The Mac and Cheese looks to die for… I noticed that it takes white wine. It has to be amazing! Wishing you both a great day!

    1. Thank you for the lovely comment Denise. So glad you had a chance to enjoy the Los Olivos wineries and perhaps you even dined at the Los Olivos Cafe! Yes the Mac & Cheese does have Chardonnay and it gives it a zippy flavor.
      Cheer,
      J+C

  9. says: Emma

    This is one delicious Macaroni & Cheese recipe! So enjoyed the beautiful photos and your visit to the winery.