The Mac + Cheese Cookbook: 50 Simple Recipes from Homeroom, America's Favorite Mac and Cheese Restaurant

This book is amazing, and an awesome starting place for a Mac and Cheese recipe. My wife and I have a bbq catering company and use this as the basis for our mac and cheese. The mac sauce is the most crucial part to successful mac and cheese, and they break it down perfectly with pictures, step by step instructions and even common mistakes.I have read other reviews where people complain that their mac sauce makes 3 cups, but every recipe in the book calls for 2 cups of mac sauce, so you end up with left overs. We just use all the mac sauce and it is fine, because then you end with more mac and cheese...which is the best result in the world.There are a few things that we change slightly when we cook. First is we use all the mac sauce, that way no left overs. Second, is we add more noodles than they call for. The recipe will say 1/2 pound of noodles, which is 2 cups (and this is for 2 cups mac sauce). I find this to be not enough, so here is the ratio that works perfect for us: 3 Cups mac sauce, 3 cups cheese and 6 cups cooked noodles. Last, the cheese is the most important part of this whole process. We have used everything from super expensive 2 year aged cheddar Tillamook cheese to mild cheddar, and if you are only adding cheese then it makes a difference (although we feel that there is no difference in 12 month aged cheddar vs. 18 or 24 month aged cheddar). With that said, if you start adding things to the mac-like bacon, green chiles, jalapenos or cream cheese-then just use regular sharp cheddar and you wont be able to taste the difference. This is what has worked for us and our mac is pretty bomb now, thanks to this! (By the way, green chile bacon mac is amazing, and sometimes we actually put the finished mac on a smoker and let it get a smoky flavor-holy crap. Its spectacular!)Also, the brownies are the best brownies I have ever eaten and we always thought that Ghiradeli brownies were the gold standard but we were horribly mistaken. The banana pudding is super good too. We love this book

Super fun book! This is comfort food at its finest! I would go so far as to call it posh or classy mac.They’ve got a recipe for mac sauce at the front that’s used in every recipe. Then they deal with the satisfyingly crunchy topping. Those are both universal recipes used throughout the book. After that they get onto the individual bowls of deliciousness. The chapters are as follows: American Classics, International Relations (mac from around the world), Chemistry (unusual ones), Extra Credit (sides) and Finals (dessert). And they give beer and wine pairings with each mac. Nice.Pictured below:1) Gilroy Garlic Mac – p 39. Yes! We were lucky enough that the timing of our California road trip coincided with the Gilroy Garlic Festival. The whole town is filled with that intoxicating smell, and this tasted just like it. Awesome. They said this is their best seller, and I totally get why!2) Jalapeño Popper Mac – p 26. Delicious! I always wanted to have jalapeño poppers for dinner. 3) Smoky Bacon Mac – p 34. This is fantastic! There’s a full quarter pound of smoked bacon and two ounces of smoked cheddar and Monterey jack in each bowl. People were happy.4) Truffle Mac – p 63. Delicious. It’s filled with shiitake mushrooms and truffled cheese. My three closest grocers didn’t carry truffled gouda. I found both Italian truffle cheese and truffled cheddar at TJs. I tried the Italian truffle cheese and it was awesome. To my surprise, this is my youngest’s favorite so far.5) Mac Sauce conversion. It makes 3 cups and the recipes all call for 2. I suspect it’s because all of the ingredients are in nice whole numbers if you do 3 cups. You can pull out that extra cup of béchamel for whatever you want, or just go for it, and bring extra saucy mac to smiling people at the table. Here’s a conversion table if you want to change the amount. Use column 1 for 2 cups, column 2 for 2 ½ cups, or the original on the right for 3. We’ve determined that 2 ½ cups is our optimum sauciness level.Some others I have flagged to try are: Vermont White Cheddar Mac – p 31, Macximus (spinach and artichoke) – p 43, Croque Madame Mac (ham, swiss, and eggs) – p 44, Mexican Mac (chipotle and chorizo) – p 48, Deliciousmacken (cheddar, mustard, onions, and pretzels) – p 54, Patatas Bravas Mac (garlicky potatoes and paprika) – p 57, Dungeness Crab Mac – p 65, Mac the Goat – p 67, and Pesto Mac – p 70.

Wonderful recipes and who doesn’t love Mac and cheese.

I love this cookbook so much—it’s definitely the best purchase I’ve made during the pandemic. I lived near Homeroom for about five years, ate there all the time, and missed it so much when I moved away. Since I can longer regularly travel to Oakland for my Homeroom fix due to Covid, I was so excited to discover this cookbook. So far I’ve made the Gilroy Garlic and Jalapeño Popper and they taste exactly as they do at Homeroom. I’ve always been a bit intimidated by making béchamel sauce, but the cookbook’s step-by-step instructions make it easy.I can’t wait to try more recipes like the banana pudding, which I also love, but especially the ones that aren’t served at the restaurant like dungeness crab Mac.--Update-- I've now tried more recipes and I have to say the one for lime bars is kind of a flop, so I deducted a start. The crust needs nowhere near the baking time recommended (maybe 15 instead of 25). If you use the recommended 8 x 8 pan size the custard will burn before it's ready. It does work ok in a 9 x 12 pan.

I love this little cookbook. It's fun, cute, and easy. The photos are great, I wish there were more! I bought this for my husband who doesn't enjoy cooking and is intimidated by it, but wants to change that. He can make a few easy things and is looking for more to add to his repertoire, and this book fits perfectly. It's easy, family and novice friendly, and includes easy sides and desserts. Plus, it's Mac n Cheese!I also bought this for my friend who is a chef, (so am I) I know she will love it; we like easy fun things too!I really like this book, I think it's good value, and I recommend it.

The recipes in here make absolutely gorgeous macaroni cheese. They're a bit more fiddly than the normal recipes we use, but they really are worth it!

Es ist tatsächlich nur ein einziges Grundrezept, variiert mit verschiedenen Käsesorten. Dafür bräuchte man nun kein ganzes Buch (auch wenn die Soße so lecker schmeckt, dass man sich dran totfressen kann).Wenigstens gibt es im Anhang auch noch sehr gute Beilagen und Desserts, dafür lohnt es sich schon wieder.Perfect für American-Food Liebhaber.

Great, thanks.

So I bought this after seeing it pop up when searching for something unrelated. I glanced at the reviews and since I love mac & cheese thought I'd give it a try. I am SO PLEASED with this purchase. I've made a few things from the book over the past week - 2 macs, 2 sides and a dessert- and each one has received rave reviews from my family. The clarity of the directions is exceptional and the variations are enough to keep the "same dish" fresh. The wine and beer pairings were appreciated and certainly enhanced the overall experience. I cannot say enough good things about this book and having spent much more on other comfort food cookbooks, I'd say this is the best one in its class. Buy it if you love mac & cheese. Or if you love brownies - the recipe for brownies is dangerously good.