Mac and cheese—simple enough when you’re following directions. But what if you weren’t given a recipe and had to make one up on the spot? Novice chef Joe, home cook Diane, and professional chef Saúl Montiel find out who has the kitchen experience and culinary creativity to pull it off. 3 chefs, no recipes—and lots and lots of Mac and cheese.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00 (upbeat music)
00:01 - This might be a disaster, but you know what?
00:03 I'm having fun.
00:03 - This is gonna be good.
00:04 There's like a pound of butter and cheese,
00:06 so there's no way it's not gonna be good.
00:08 - I don't have no recipes.
00:09 My recipes are in here and here.
00:11 (upbeat music)
00:14 (explosion)
00:25 (upbeat music)
00:28 (upbeat music)
00:30 - What are you making?
00:31 - Shells, three cheeses.
00:33 It's definitely mac and cheese.
00:34 - I see mac and cheese.
00:37 Mac and cheese.
00:38 - I love big shells.
00:39 It like catches the cheese the best.
00:40 - Elbows, number 81.
00:42 Took 'em a lot of tries, but they got it right.
00:44 - Ooh, evaporated milk.
00:45 That'll be fun.
00:46 - Why not a little bit of Velveeta?
00:48 Classic American cheese stuff.
00:50 - And for my crumbs, I'm gonna use this.
00:54 This what I'm gonna use
00:56 because I have so many at home,
00:58 I don't even know what to do with them.
00:59 - I'm taking this over here.
01:00 We're gonna get started.
01:02 - It's not all fitting on the tray.
01:03 - I make mac and cheese for my daughters every day, all day.
01:06 No, no, no, not all day.
01:07 - I haven't made a lot of mac and cheese.
01:10 In fact, I never do, but I have some ideas.
01:13 - Okay, let's cook.
01:14 Let's do this.
01:14 - So first, I'm gonna start the cheese sauce.
01:18 I got my sauce pan.
01:19 It's a perfect pan for sauce.
01:21 I'm gonna add some butter.
01:22 I'm gonna do half a stick.
01:23 And I'm gonna throw some flour in.
01:24 I'm not measuring anything.
01:26 This is probably a bad idea,
01:27 but that's how we do it at home.
01:28 I love mac and cheese.
01:29 I don't really make mac and cheese.
01:31 I know what's supposed to be done.
01:32 I just don't know if I'm doing it right.
01:35 - The first thing I'm gonna do
01:36 is just cut my veggies and grate the cheese.
01:38 This is all gonna go into the cheese sauce that I'm making.
01:41 - First, pasta in the boiling water.
01:44 I'm using a little bit of kosher salt,
01:46 and then I'm using this pasta cavatappi.
01:48 Why I choose this?
01:49 Because it looks fancy,
01:50 and that's what professionals do.
01:51 We use fancy stuff to impress people.
01:54 Basically, it's like two elbows in one.
01:57 Throw this.
01:58 I have all my ingredients here
02:00 because I'm gonna use them very quickly.
02:02 - Yeah, there's some milk.
02:03 Now, I don't know if I'm adding the right amounts
02:05 of any of this stuff.
02:07 I chose cayenne pepper and garlic powder
02:10 as my seasonings, along with some salt.
02:12 - I'm gonna use jalapeno peppers and red Fresno pepper
02:15 'cause I love spicy things.
02:16 I'm gonna do two different colors
02:17 just so that it's a little more fun to look at.
02:20 I'm gonna do garlic and some parsley.
02:22 I'm gonna mix it in with the panko.
02:23 I'm actually gonna add in some of the Velveeta.
02:26 Velveeta got me through my younger years.
02:30 - What is this?
02:31 Milk?
02:32 What the [beep]?
02:33 Oh, it's a cheese product.
02:34 I'm not using this cheese product.
02:37 - Velveeta will add just the general cheese flavor.
02:42 It'll be something where you'll taste it,
02:43 and you'll be like, "I recognize this.
02:45 "This is food."
02:48 - I'm gonna grate my cheeses.
02:49 I'm gonna start with the Gruyere.
02:51 We'll do the aged cheddar.
02:52 Then I'll probably finish off with the Parmesan.
02:54 Yeah, that's a good amount of cheese.
02:56 - My pasta's in the water.
02:57 Now it's time to make the sauce.
02:58 We're gonna start with onions.
03:00 - I'm gonna sweat out my garlic and onions
03:03 with a little bit of the butter,
03:05 a little bit of salt.
03:06 - Ooh, this onion's spicy.
03:07 I'm gonna sweat the onions,
03:11 and that's gonna add some sweetness.
03:12 I'm gonna put some salt and some olive oil.
03:15 This looks pretty good.
03:16 It looks awfully thick, thicker than I was expecting.
03:19 I don't want it to be too much.
03:22 This might be a disaster,
03:23 but you know what?
03:24 I'm having fun.
03:25 - I don't know if this is the way I should've done it,
03:29 but we'll see.
03:30 I really think the thing about cooking
03:31 is to not be afraid,
03:32 and to just try it, you know?
03:34 - I'm gonna add garlic.
03:35 My daughters, they don't love garlic.
03:36 They don't love onion.
03:37 So when I do this part, I kind of hide,
03:39 'cause I don't want them to be like,
03:40 "I don't like onion, Daddy."
03:41 That's how you get vegetables into your kids.
03:43 By lying to them.
03:44 The garlic is just gonna make this pasta delicious,
03:46 'cause that's what the flavor is, you know?
03:50 - We're gonna put a little bit of butter.
03:51 The nutmeg is gonna add a nutty flavor,
03:55 'cause you know, nutty's good.
03:57 I want the nutmeg to release all the flavors
03:59 into the butter.
04:00 Okay, now, very important thing right here.
04:02 We're gonna lower the heat.
04:04 Remember, you control the heat.
04:06 The heat doesn't control you.
04:08 - I'm going to add a little bit more butter
04:09 and some flour to make a roux,
04:11 which will be a thickener to make this nice and creamy.
04:13 - The flour is gonna make the sauce thicker.
04:15 - I don't really measure anything.
04:16 I kind of just eyeball it.
04:18 I know that with roux,
04:19 you're supposed to get it to sort of smell like bread,
04:21 and that's when you know it's kind of done.
04:23 - We're gonna stir, stir, stir,
04:25 and then we're gonna add some latte.
04:27 - So I'm adding my evaporated milk,
04:29 and I actually just read about this recently,
04:31 that evaporated milk makes it creamier,
04:33 so I'm gonna try it.
04:34 - So we're gonna add the milk as we go, little by little.
04:38 See, but you have to keep moving it,
04:40 'cause otherwise you will have crumbled sauce.
04:43 So we already cooked the flour.
04:44 The sauce is getting thicker and thicker and thicker.
04:47 - I'm gonna add a little bit more pepper.
04:49 - Of course black pepper.
04:50 - And I'm gonna add a little bit more salt.
04:52 I'm gonna add some fresh nutmeg into the sauce.
04:55 Oops, my little nutmeg.
04:58 - I can hear my daughter be like,
05:00 "Daddy, is the food ready?
05:02 "I don't want no onion."
05:03 While this is cooking, I'm gonna add a little bit of heat.
05:05 Fresno has a peppery jalapeno taste,
05:08 but without being too spicy.
05:09 - And now I just need my Mac, elbow macaroni number 81.
05:14 (upbeat music)
05:18 - I like to use the larger shells
05:19 because I think that it'll be a better way
05:21 to catch the sauce.
05:22 I definitely prefer it actually to macaroni,
05:26 which I know is mac and cheese,
05:28 but I think that the shells are gonna be
05:30 really, really great.
05:31 - Pasta cooks for five minutes according to,
05:34 according to them, it cooks for five minutes.
05:39 I don't know how to say that.
05:40 - I am actually gonna set the timer a little bit less
05:43 than what it says on the package,
05:44 because I'm gonna bake this in the oven as well,
05:45 so I don't want it to get too overcooked.
05:47 - Now I am checking in on my sauce.
05:50 It's looking pretty good and thick.
05:52 I tasted it and I feel like it needs a little more
05:55 velveeta.
05:56 I don't know who else cooks like this,
05:58 but I just kind of keep tasting things
06:00 until it tastes like how my mouth wants it to be.
06:03 - The pasta is about to come out.
06:05 Now, a ver.
06:07 We want this al dente.
06:08 If you see this white part right here in the middle,
06:12 that means it's al dente.
06:13 - Definitely al dente.
06:14 - Now we're gonna shut it off,
06:15 'cause we don't want this to be cooked anymore.
06:16 We're gonna add the pasta with a little pasta water.
06:20 Oof.
06:21 I'm gonna wait for the cheese to add it in the end,
06:25 'cause I don't want the cheese to break down.
06:27 - I'm doing this double strain thing
06:28 to make sure I get as much water out of this as possible.
06:31 - Since I'm baking this, I want this to be nice and saucy.
06:35 I don't want this to be all dry,
06:37 'cause otherwise it will break.
06:38 - Time to add some cheese.
06:40 I'm using Kraft sharp cheddar and Cabot extra sharp.
06:45 - I'm keeping it simple.
06:46 I'm going straight down the middle.
06:48 You know, what you expect from, you know,
06:50 if you ever had a parent who didn't know how to cook.
06:53 - Now I am ready to add the cheese.
06:56 I'm gonna fold all of this in.
06:57 - So I have H cheddar cheese, my Parmesan cheese.
07:00 I think I need one more cheese, so I'm gonna,
07:03 I'll be right back.
07:04 I'm gonna mix two cheddars,
07:06 this simple cheddar and this cheddar.
07:10 Let's see how good it is.
07:13 Mm, ooh, sharp, beautiful, sharp, delicious.
07:17 - You need a lot of cheese for this.
07:20 It's the only way.
07:22 - Ooh, look at this.
07:24 It is super gooey.
07:25 Look at that, it's so thick.
07:27 It's gonna be good.
07:28 - All right, let's check on my noodles.
07:31 I mean, they look, you know, they look like noodles.
07:33 All right, I'm gonna start taking my noodles out.
07:36 - Now I'm going to marinate the pasta with those cheeses.
07:42 Throw in some regular sharp cheddar,
07:45 and we're gonna mix it around and let these cheddars melt.
07:48 Look at that, cheese is melting up beautifully.
07:51 This looks really good right now.
07:53 - Okay, before we bake it,
07:55 we're gonna make sure you try it.
07:56 Oh my gosh.
07:59 - On the rare occasion when I cook mac and cheese,
08:03 I don't have fancy cheeses, and now I do,
08:06 so I'm gonna choose to add a fancy cheese
08:09 because I wanna win.
08:10 So I'm gonna go with the Gruyere.
08:12 When Chef Saoul tastes mine and he's like,
08:14 "Why is it so fancy?"
08:14 I'm like, "I don't know, it's just a thing I do."
08:18 Don't worry about it.
08:19 - So now I'm gonna add in my diced jalapeno peppers
08:22 and Fresno chilies.
08:23 I'm gonna sort of slowly fold in my sauce.
08:26 [coughs]
08:28 I'm okay, just sometimes, you know,
08:31 takes a little muscle to cook.
08:32 Who says that you're not working out a little bit?
08:35 So I'm adding this all now together,
08:38 and actually, I was thinking a little bit
08:41 of fresh herbs would benefit this.
08:43 I think it'll be just really nice in there.
08:44 - I'm gonna add an egg yolk.
08:45 The reason why I add an egg yolk,
08:46 just in case the pasta gets overcooked,
08:49 this will hold it together.
08:50 Yeah, I'm crazy, so what?
08:52 You don't wanna add egg?
08:53 Don't add egg.
08:54 Let me be.
08:55 Did I tell you how you live your life?
08:57 No.
08:57 This is how I eat my pasta.
09:00 - This looks really good, dare I say, perfect,
09:05 and it's ready to go into the oven
09:07 with some bread crumbs and get baked.
09:08 I have a baking dish right here.
09:09 I'm gonna scoop my mac and cheese into there.
09:11 I don't know how everybody else eats their mac and cheese,
09:13 but I like it.
09:14 A lot of cheese, real sticky, real thick.
09:17 - I'm going to place this into a buttered dish.
09:20 Kind of spread it around evenly.
09:22 - Now I'm gonna put this in a cast iron pan.
09:24 I'm gonna add a little bit more cheese,
09:26 just a little bit more,
09:28 and now the parmigiano reggiano.
09:31 This is gonna add, I will say, a salt element.
09:35 - I have had the oven preheated to 375.
09:37 I'm gonna pop this in there.
09:38 I got bread crumbs, Italian style.
09:41 I'm gonna add them to the macaroni
09:42 to give it that authentic Italian flavor,
09:44 just to give it a little bit of a variety and texture.
09:47 That might be a little too much, but you know what?
09:49 When you mix it in, it's gonna be just right.
09:52 Nothing can go wrong for me.
09:53 - So I have my panko,
09:55 and I am just gonna add actually some dry spices now,
09:58 and because I want everything to be spicy.
10:00 - And my bread crumbs.
10:01 Ooh.
10:04 Ooh.
10:06 Ooh.
10:08 Like I said, I don't really measure anything.
10:09 I just kind of go with what I think looks good,
10:12 and then I'll just taste it.
10:13 - Oh, wait.
10:14 There is more.
10:16 It needs a little color.
10:17 - After the mac and cheese has been in the oven,
10:19 I'm gonna spread this on top
10:20 and then toast it in the broiler for about two minutes.
10:23 Oh, it looks good.
10:24 I'm gonna try one.
10:25 It's really good.
10:27 I'm really happy.
10:28 This will just add a nice crunch to it, the top.
10:30 I'm gonna kind of watch it
10:31 just to see how long it takes to toast.
10:32 I'm sort of unfamiliar with what it's gonna look like,
10:35 so I'll take a look and see how it goes.
10:37 Got it in the baking dish.
10:39 This is ready to go in the oven.
10:40 I'm gonna put it in at 350 for, you know, a while.
10:45 - I'm gonna broil this for like three, four, five minutes.
10:47 You have a nice caramelized crust.
10:49 Then dinner is ready.
10:51 - Guess what?
10:55 It's time to get my mac and cheese out of the oven.
10:56 It's ready.
10:57 - It looks so good.
11:01 I'm really excited.
11:02 It's exactly the kind of like browning
11:04 that I wanted it to have.
11:06 I wanted the breadcrumbs to get browner.
11:09 They didn't get as brown as I would have liked,
11:11 but I didn't want to overcook the mac and cheese itself,
11:13 which is the star of the show, so I had to pull it out.
11:16 I think they'll still be nice and crunchy.
11:18 - Hello.
11:18 There you are.
11:20 Look at this.
11:21 Look at this.
11:22 Coming through.
11:23 Caliente.
11:24 It looks like a mac and cheese cake.
11:25 Now I just have to plate this and eat it.
11:29 - And then we go into the competition.
11:31 - It's not a competition.
11:32 - It's not a competition, but I'm gonna win.
11:34 My plating method is called the slop.
11:36 I learned it at La Cordon Bleu.
11:38 I just take the spoon, I take it out, and I just slop it.
11:40 - I want some of the crispy stuff.
11:42 That looks awesome.
11:43 I'm so happy with it.
11:44 - Oops.
11:47 Sorry.
11:47 - Wow, look at you guys.
11:54 - Yeah.
11:55 - Wow.
11:56 - Hey.
11:57 (laughing)
11:59 - All right, Joe, let's start with us.
12:00 We go first.
12:01 - All right, judges, I've prepared for you
12:02 a mac and cheese with breadcrumbs.
12:04 - Sounds like what I did.
12:05 - Yeah, all right, so see, I'm like a chef.
12:08 - You have kids?
12:09 - I don't have kids.
12:09 - Well, I think you're ready to--
12:11 - Yeah?
12:11 - Yeah, I mean, they will be very happy with this.
12:13 - We're gonna try mine now.
12:14 I can't wait for you guys to try this.
12:16 - Wow, that is really good.
12:17 - Yeah?
12:18 - Oh my God.
12:19 - Yeah?
12:19 - I love the spicy.
12:20 It's my kind of mac and cheese.
12:21 - This is amazing.
12:22 - This makes me feel so good.
12:23 - All right, my turn.
12:24 I make this for my daughters all the time.
12:25 Also, I did a rich breadcrumb.
12:27 - I didn't even know what to do with those.
12:28 - And even though it looks spicy,
12:29 but I don't think it's spicy.
12:31 - It's really good.
12:32 - That's so good.
12:32 - And it's like perfect creamy.
12:34 - And I used the double elbow pasta
12:35 because it looks like that one.
12:37 - But it's twice as good.
12:38 (laughing)
12:39 I don't know about you guys,
12:40 but I really appreciate mac and cheese on a new level now.
12:43 You cook it a lot, but maybe for us--
12:44 - Yeah, I think I might add this.
12:46 - You putting it in the repertoire?
12:47 - Yeah.
12:48 - I probably won't.
12:48 (laughing)
12:49 I'm going back to the box after this,
12:51 but I'm real proud of myself.
12:52 - Yeah, it's really good.
12:53 (upbeat music)