Macaroni (1870) ★★★★

Original Recipe: 

MACARONI.
Put four or five ounces of macaroni in water, and boil for twenty minutes, until tender. Mix into half a pint of milk a little flour, and a small piece of butter, half a tea-cup of cream, half a tea-spoonful of mustard, salt, pepper, and cayenne, and four ounces of good fat cheese grated very fine; stir all together and boil for ten minutes. Pour this over the macaroni, after draining it from the water boil five or six minutes and serve.

The Verdict:
We decided to double the recipe, because five ounces of pasta didn't seem like enough for my hungry man. I think that five ounces would be okay for a side dish. This macaroni came out super creamy. There is a lot of sauce, but the sauce is delicious and I really enjoyed it that way. If you don't want it to be so saucy, I would suggest decreasing the amount of milk, or perhaps reducing the sauce ingredients by half. The flavour is simple, but really nice. This was dubbed the "best macaroni & cheese recipe" by my man, so I will definitely make it again. I liked how easy it was, too.

Modernized Recipe:
(Adapted from Jennie June's American Cookery Book)

10 ounces MACARONI
2 cups MILK
4 tablespoons FLOUR
4 tablespoons BUTTER
2/3 cup CREAM
1 teaspoon MUSTARD POWDER
1 teaspoon SALT
1 teaspoon PEPPER
CAYENNE, to taste
8 ounces OLD CHEDDAR, grated

1. Set a large pot of water to boil and cook the macaroni until tender. Strain the water and return the macaroni to the pot.
2. While the macaroni is cooking, mix the milk, flour, and butter in a medium saucepan. Stir until combined and butter has melted.
3. To the sauce, add the cream, mustard, salt, pepper, cayenne, and cheese. Mix together and simmer for ~5 minutes or until thickened.
4. Add finished sauce to macaroni and stir, cooking until evenly heated.