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Three-Cheese Mac 'n' Cheese with Sour Cream

Source of Recipe

From "A Real Southern Cook in Her Savannah Kitchen" by Dora Charles


Recipe Introduction

"This dish turns up, *must* turn up, on almost every Southern feast table, even at Christmas. You can't serve ham without it, but it can also be dinner all by itself, with a salad or some good sliced tomatoes on the side. My version is very creamy and also very easy. You don't have to make a sauce, but you do have to watch a couple of points in the process. These are clear in the directions, and they're not fatal mistakes. But to get a really creamy, thick sauce with just the right seasoning, they're good tricks to know."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ Salt
â—¦ 1 pound elbow macaroni
â—¦ 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
â—¦ 2 cups mixed shredded mozzarella and Monterey Jack cheese
â—¦ 1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
â—¦ 1 to 1 ½ cups milk, as needed
â—¦ Ground black pepper to taste
â—¦ 4 large eggs, beaten well with a fork



Recipe

Set the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 by 13-inch casserole dish.

Set a large pot of water on to boil. When it boils, add a little salt and then the macaroni. You want the noodles to cook until they're just soft all the way through, as though you were making a macaroni salad—firm-soft. If you overcook them and they're all floppy, it's not the end of the world, but the dish won't be quite as good. When the noodles are firm-soft, dump them into a colander in the sink and drain thoroughly.

Put the macaroni in a large bowl and stir in the cheddar cheese. Mix well, then stir in half the mozzarella and Jack mixture. Stir well, add the sour cream, and mix well again. Stir in 1 cup of the milk—if the noodles are a little undercooked, they'll gobble up most of the milk and you'll need to add more.

Add salt and pepper to taste, starting with about 1 teaspoon salt. It's okay if it tastes a little salty—when the eggs go in, they'll temper any extra saltiness. Stir in the eggs.

Pour the macaroni into the casserole dish and scatter the remaining 1 cup mozzarella and Jack over the top. Bake until the casserole is bubbling and the cheese on top is golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Serve hot or warm.

Serves 6 to 8