Rebecca Weger

I’m continuing my Crockpot experiments on the weekends as I have time.  Today, I needed some comfort food.  Something warm, creamy, simple and delicious.  Macaroni and cheese.

I’m using Make It Fast, Cook It Slow: The Big Book of Everyday Slow Cooking as a reference for this experiment.  The book is based on Stephanie O’Dea’s website and I looked there for additional guidance.  Apparently, her recipe garnered mixed reviews, but it seemed like the right place to start.  Here’s what I did:

Spray Crockpot with cooking spray

In a bowl, combine:

• 1 egg
• 5 c milk
• 2 t potato starch flour (cornstarch or other flour would work too)
• 1/2 t fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 t sea salt
• 2 t dried mustard
• 1/2 t onion powder
• 4 c shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 12 oz package Bionaturae gluten-free elbows

Pour mixture into Crockpot.  Cover, cook on high.

There were a few major themes in the comments on Stephanie’s website:

1. Curdling and separation
2. Pasta overcooking
3. Sauce too thin
4. Needing to stir regularly

I added the potato starch flour as a fisrt attempt to mitigate some of those concerns.  I started the Crockpot on high for the first 30 minutes, then stirred. Then I turned it down because I was nervous.  Stirred in another 20 minutes, when I stopped being wimpy and turned it back up to high.  Stirred at 15 more minutes. Wasn’t sure if it was too thin, so I made a quick slurry of water and 2t potato starch flour, stirred it in, and turned the heat down to warm.  I dug in a few minutes later.  I think.  It might have been closer to 1 1/2 hours total.

It was creamy and rich.  So substantive I couldn’t finish my bowl.