Charleston Receipts' Macaroni Pie - Everyday Cooking Adventures

Last night I made this Southern classic that has more versions than you could probably count. I tried this old-fshioned one from a 1950 cookbook from which I had gotten a delicious Irish Scalloped Potato recipe from a few months ago. I made one mistake and that was that I used penne and forgot to break it up before cooking it. I didn’t have macaroni noodles so I hoped these would work instead. But when I went to type up this recipe for you I saw the “broken” description…oops!

©EverydayCookingAdventures 2013

The prep was very minimal, as I only had to chop up the Gruyere cheese that I used. You could also do a combination of sharp cheddar and Gruyere/Swiss or just shredded cheddar. The top layer of my macaroni and cheese got a little crispy because it wasn’t covered enough with cheese or milk. So next time I think I might put a thicker layer of shredded cheddar cheese on top and still use the Gruyere for the inside of the pie.

Ready for the oven ©EverydayCookingAdventures 2013

I recommend tossing the macaroni and cheese and milk thoroughly so that every piece of pasta gets a nice coating and then top with the shredded cheese on top. Also use a longer baking dish than I did (I used 8″x8″) because that will help everything cook more evenly. Besides my too hard top layer, the under layer was very tasty. It tasted like down-home cooking and is perfect for a holiday or dinner party since it makes enough for a bunch of people. We will have leftovers for a few days! Here’s my mac ‘n cheese: #southern

Macaroni Pie ready for eating! ©EverydayCookingAdventures 2013

Macaroni Pie

From: Charleston Receipts, compiled by Junior League of Charleston, 1950

Recipe by: Lewis Murchison

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1/4 lb macaroni, broken
1 heaping tbsp butter (plus a little extra to dot on top of pie)
1 cup sharp cheese, cubed (Gruyere/Swiss/cheddar)
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1 egg
1 pint milk
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Cook macaroni in rapidly boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain.

2. Stir butter and cheese into the hot macaroni leaving about 1/4 cup of cheese to sprinkle over top of pie.

3. Beat egg into mixture, add milk and mix well. Put in greased 9″x13″ baking dish, sprinkle top with leftover cheese, salt and pepper, and dot with butter. Bake in 350ºF oven about 40 minutes.