The Pioneer Woman Cooks - Macaroni and Cheese

Photo by Ree Drummond

4 cups dry macaroni
1 egg, beaten
1/4 c (1/2 stick or 4 tbsps) butter
1/4 c all purpose flour
2 1/2 cups whole milk
2 heaping tsps dry mustard
1 pound cheddar or other desired cheese, grated
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1 tsp ground black pepper

Cook the macaroni until very firm.  The macaroni should be too firm to eat right out of the pot (if you are in a hurry and don't want to bake the macaroni and cheese, cook it now until it's done) Drain.
In a small bowl, beat the egg.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter a large oval or rectangular baking dish.  In a large pot, melt the butter and sprinkle in the flour.  Whisk it together over medium-low heat.  Cook for 5 minutes, whisking constantly.  Don't let it burn.  Pour in the milk.  Add the mustard and whisk until smooth.  Cook 5 minutes or until very thick, whisking constantly.  Reduce the heat to low.  To tempter the egg, slowly pour 1/4 cup of the sauce into the beaten egg, whisking constantly to avoid cooking the egg.  Whisk until smooth.  pour the egg mixture into the sauce, whisking until smooth.  Add in all but 1/2 cup of the cheese and stir until melted.  Add the seasonings.  Taste the sauce and add more salt and seasoned salt as needed.  Pour in the cooked, drained macaroni and stir to combine.  Serve immediately or pour into the baking dish and top with the remaining cheese.  Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until bubbly and golden on top.

Sorry Pioneer Woman, but this was not a big hit with me.  I probably should have stopped after I had it all combined and not baked it in the oven.  To me, this just dried the whole thing out.  I like mac and cheese that is creamy and cheesy and this was very dry and didn't have a lot of taste to me.  It was fine when I tasted it before I baked it.  I could have made a mistake while preparing it but then I don't recall ever having made mac and cheese from scratch before so it is very possible that I screwed it up, I just always used a box.  So the fact that I didn't care for this recipe is probably from my lack of experience in cooking homemade comfort foods OR it could be because I have a sister in law who makes the best mac and cheese I have ever tasted.  Yes, Gayla, I'm talking about you!  Gayla is my husband's youngest sister and she can cook homemade comfort food like no one else I know!  Matter of fact, I ate some last night at a party she was having and it was the biggest helping on my plate!