A dandy retro-recipe that I’ve played with to bring it into 2018. I doubled the cheese, the amount of cooked pasta and zipped the whole dish up with some terrific very flavourful cheeses!

Adapted from Amy Vanderbilt’s Complete Cookbook, 1961

Serves 4

  • ¼ pound bacon, diced
  • 3 tbsp butter
  • 3 tbsp flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 cups grated cheese ( ½ c old cheddar, ½ c Gruyere, ½ c habanero, and ½ c smoked cheddar)
  • 1 tbsp prepared horseradish
  • 1 tsp mustard – ballpark or Dijon
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp pepper
  • 3 eggs – separated
  • 1 1/3 cups uncooked macaroni
  • Paprika, for garnish
  1. Cook bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towel. Cook the macaroni in lighted salted boiling water for 7 minutes. It will be slightly undercooked but it will finish cook while baking.
  2. Melt butter in a large heavy saucepan. Add flour and stir until smooth and bubbly. Add the milk, stirring over moderate heat until thickened. Add the cheese, horseradish and mustard. Stir until the cheese has melted. Season with salt and pepper. If mixture is too thick, add a few tablespoons of milk. Add the macaroni and bacon. Stir in the egg yolks, one at a time.
  3. Start oven at a moderate 325°F. Butter a 1 ½ quart casserole dish.
  4. In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff. Fold the egg whites into the macaroni-cheese mixture and then pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle the top with paprika.
  5. Set the dish into a shallow pan of hot water. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes.