How to never make Mac and Cheese from a box again:
(Quickly and easily impress friends/family/significant others with your mad pasta skills)
1) Boil your Noodle of choice. I rather like Rotini and Penne instead of Macaroni.
2) Drain and remove noodles from pot (I usually leave it in the colendar for now, but you may want to put it in a separate container, and toss it with a bit of olive oil to keep it from sticking, and keep it from drying).
3) Melt 2-3 Tbsp butter in the pot, and combine with 2 Tbsp flour. Incorporate over heat until it becomes a nut-brown paste. This is called a Roux! (Pronounced "Rue". Say it if people ask; it's one of those cooking words that sounds impressive >_o)
4) Add 1 Cup milk and stir while heating until it begins to simmer and thicken. Your sauce has become a Béchamel! (Besh-a-mel, if I'm not mangling the French)
5) Add and melt a shit-ton of cheese into the sauce to turn it into a Mornay! I do about 1 Cup or more of shredded cheese, usually a mix of Parmesan, Sharp Cheddar, and a good soft Mozzarella.
At this point, you can add your pasta back to the pot and serve, or begin the BONUS ROUND.
OPTIONAL FANCIFICATION) Add any of the following to your sauce, but be careful not to overdo it:
a. Turn the sauce into a Rosa sauce by adding a can of thick tomato paste (which makes the sauce very heavy and rich) and/or a can of stewed tomatoes. I used the diced already seasoned Italian ones, because they've been sitting in the herbs for a while.
b. Make a poor-mans Allemande Sauce (Alay-mond, probably?) by adding an egg while the sauce is simmering, a bit of lemon juice, and mixing it like crazy. This also makes the sauce richer, and specializes it, so take care with what else you add!
c. Add 1/2 or more Cups of Spinach, and now you can add "Florentine" onto the end of your dish's name, which sounds HELLA fancy. You may want to wilt the leaves over heat first, unless you're using frozen pre-cooked stuff.
d. Add some chicken, shrimp, crab (the imitation stuff made from Pollock is fine), sliced brown mushrooms, asparagus (you'll want to cook this first), or whatever else strikes your fancy to further complicate the dish. It's probably a heavy sauce as it is, so some light ingredients can help a lot.
e. Sprinkle Panko Bread Crumbs, diced chives, or stick a sprig of parsley on top when serving, for added fanciness.
P.S. If you make it with Penne and Optional Step a., do not call it "Pene Rosa". It will not go over well with anyone speaks Italian.