Add a little milk to the saucepan when you are reheating the béchamel sauce to thin it to the desired consistency. But not to worry, with vigorous whisking when you reheat it, the skin will disperse into the sauce. To prevent a skin forming, place a sheet of wax paper or plastic on top, in contact with the surface of the sauce. The mixture will thicken while in the refrigerator. If you are making the sauce ahead of time, it should be refrigerated and used within two days.You stir in the macaroni and other ingredients (julienned ham, wild mushrooms), transfer to a shallow baking dish, top with more cheese and breadcrumbs, and bake. If it's too thin, you can thicken it up by adding a little more flour and melted butter premixed in another pan before adding to your sauce. This recipe runs in the opposite direction from the cheese-only camp, depending on Mornay Sauce, a Bechamel sauce flavored with nutmeg and Gruyere cheese, more about sauce than cheese. Just remember to keep whisking while you're doing this. If your bechamel sauce is too thick, add in some more milk until you reach the consistency you want.You need to stir it pretty much throughout cooking to ensure there aren't lumps, everything is blended together well, and nothing is scorching on the bottom of the pan.

Pay attention to your sauce as it cooks.And of course, fresh cauliflower is best, but in a pinch, you could go with frozen. Smoked applewood bacon (thick cut) is ideal. We love using traditional small elbow pasta for our mac ‘n cheese, but you can use whatever size of pasta you like. You can heat the milk briefly in the microwave or on the stovetop. We’re going with a classic bechamel sauce mixed with gruyere cheese and fontina cheese. The macaroni and cheese is baked for 20 minutes, with cheese and milk additions and a thorough stir every 5 minutes. Evaporated milk, hot red pepper sauce, dry mustard, eggs and a large quantity of cheese are stirred into the noodles.

Choose your side, but be sure not to start with hot or scalded milk. The hot, drained macaroni is tossed with butter in a heatproof pan or bowl. There is some debate over whether the milk should be cold, room temperature, or warmed.

You can use your preferred milk, although whole milk will result in a creamier sauce.

Gruyere bechamel macaroni