Carla Hall's Legendary Mac And Cheese Ditches The Breadcrumbs For This Tasty Topping

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Former "Top Chef" contestant and cookbook author Carla Hall is known for her joyous, enthusiastic personality as well as her Southern cooking, linked back to her childhood in Tennessee. Hall loves to put a southern spin on classic recipes, like her sweet potato tarte tatin or festive chicken and greens. Her recipe for four cheese mac and cheese calls for cheddar/parmesan cheese crackers as the topping in place of regular or panko bread crumbs, like these Cheez-It Duoz Sharp Cheddar and Parmesan Crackers available at Amazon. In the past, Hall has discussed how popular dishes have often been born out of necessity, and while we can't quite deduce that this topping swap was made out of dire need, we're very happy that her dish includes this pivotal ingredient swap. 

Breadcrumbs are a classic topping for good reason, with their porous and uneven surfaces able to eagerly absorb fat and flavorings like butter, garlic, and salt, especially panko breadcrumbs toasted in bacon fat. The benefit of using Cheez-Its in place of breadcrumbs is that they come fully seasoned and packed with flavor. Hall uses a food processor to break down the crackers with little effort, and then adds melted butter to coat them in fat so that they can brown nicely in the oven while the decadent pasta dish bakes. 

Hall's macaroni and cheese recipe employs a unique blend of four different cheeses for more depth of flavor, including both yellow and white sharp cheddars, smoked provolone, and even an apple-smoked cheddar. The cheeses are shredded and added via a traditional béchamel method, ensuring that the cheeses can melt properly into a creamy, rich sauce without the risk of separation as the dish bakes in the oven. Like Hall, we too believe that mac and cheese is better when baked, where a crunchy topping sets the pasta dish apart from the stovetop version. 

Another less commonly seen ingredient that Hall includes in her mac and cheese recipe is the addition of a whole tablespoon of mustard powder, which helps to balance out the dish by bringing acidity to the rich cheese and pasta. The mustard powder, in addition to a bit of paprika, also adds a slight touch of pleasant color to the dish, especially when compared to the too-vibrant neon orange of a certain popular boxed version of mac and cheese. While the recipe calls for classic elbow noodles, a slender, curly noodle like gemelli would make an excellent vehicle for the creamy, savory sauce to seep in through the small crevices in the pasta.