Piccadilly Style Mac and Cheese

Remember Piccadilly Cafeteria Mac & Cheese? We don’t have Piccadilly here in Tucson anymore, but we always thought their mac & cheese was the best. I’ve had a copycat version in with my recipes for years, but I just found it and updated it with a few tweaks. I’ve added mustard powder and nutmeg which will really enhance the flavor of the mac & cheese. Thank you to one of my very best friends, Debbie, for giving me more tips on the mustard powder. She’s a great cook and I love her advice.

You can use either milk or heavy cream or both. I happened to have heavy cream on hand since I had just made scones for the cookbook that I’m writing. I ended up using half heavy cream and half whole milk. The result was a very creamy and delicious sauce.

Cheese: I used medium cheddar when I made this mac & cheese because the original recipe doesn’t specify - although most mac and cheese recipes call for sharp cheddar. Medium cheddar works just right for me but if you prefer sharp, use the sharp cheddar. Also, use the block cheese instead of the pre-shredded kind. It melts so much better because it doesn’t have all of those additives like corn starch, etc. You just won’t get that smooth cheesy richness if you use pre-shredded.

I find that this recipe is super tasty and reminds me very much of Piccadilly’s mac & cheese. I think this might be the best recipe I’ve used for mac & cheese, actually. Try it and let me know what you think and if you remember Piccadilly or if you still have Piccadilly Cafeteria where you live.

Piccadilly Style Mac & Cheese

Yield: 4

Author: Karen - Oventry.com

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Mac and Cheese - Piccadilly Style

Remember Piccadilly Cafeteria? My sons and I always thought they had the best mac & cheese. This is a copycat version of that yummy mac & cheese.

Prep time: 17 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 37 Min

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups elbow macaroni
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter (for adding to macaroni after draining)
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter (for roux)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 cups milk or heavy cream (or half and half)
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp mustard powder or Dijon mustard
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 2 large eggs
• 2 1/2 cups grated medium or sharp cheddar cheese (not pre-shredded)

Instructions

1. Butter a 9 x 9-inch casserole pan.
2. Grate the cheese and set aside.
3. Cook macaroni until almost al dente. (The macaroni will continue to cook in the oven). Drain, add the 1 Tbsp butter to the macaroni and stir. Set aside.
4. Preheat oven to 400° F.
5. In a medium saucepan, make a roux by melting the butter over low heat and then adding in the flour. Whisk the butter and flour for about 1 minute. Add the milk and continue to whisk until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat and add in the salt, pepper, mustard, and nutmeg. Whisk to combine.
6. In a separate bowl, beat eggs only slightly and add in a small amount of the sauce. Stir to combine. Then add the egg mixture to the rest of the sauce and stir until fully combined. The sauce will be thick.
7. Take 1/3 of the cheese and set aside for the very top layer. Add about a third of the macaroni to the buttered pan. Then add half of the cheese, another 1/3 of the macaroni, then cheese, then macaroni. Pour the sauce all over the cheese and macaroni. Lastly, add the rest of the cheese to the top.
8. Bake for 25 or 30 minutes or until done and the top is crispy.
9. Enjoy.

Notes

You'll want to use block cheese and grate it yourself. Don't use the pre-shredded cheese which has corn starch and other additives which causes it to not melt as well as block cheese. Your mac and cheese sauce will be much smoother and creamier with block cheese.