Baked Macaroni and Cheese

By norsegal8

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound elbow macaroni
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon powdered mustard
• 3 cups milk
• 1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 large egg
• 12 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• black pepper
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs

Details

Servings 6

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta to al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about 5 minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf and paprika. Simmer for 10 minutes and remove the bay leaf.

Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with the remaining cheese.

Melt the remaining butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and rest for 5 minutes before serving.