Favorite pasta shape for mac & cheese?

[RUDisney]

Based on your comparison to Cento, it's a plain sauce as no specific seasoning jumps to the front. A nicely balanced sauce and no added sugar just the natural sweetness of the tomatoes. As far as overall seasoning, the label lists them in the following manner: onions, salt, garlic, basil, black pepper and oregano.

I'm going to have to try it. It's in the same price range as Cento, too.

I'm always afraid that I'm going to buy a Ragu tasting jar sauce. Those are way to spice heavy.

 

[Julie's Haircut]

Learned that there are people who thought Parmesan cheese only came in a green can....

We buy a chunk of it and grate it ourselves, then put it in a container that I've labeled Parma John.

Dececco was on sale at ShopRite last week for $1.49 a box.

Too rich for me. Stocked up on various Ronzoni for 59c during Shop Rite's Can Can sale.

We tried Rao's when it was on sale for $4.99. Good, but not $5 a jar good. Prego is fine if we don't have any homemade available.

 

[tvguy]

Agreed when using cheddar. When I make my company worthy version I pull out all the stops and use a combination of Gruyere, and extra sharp white Cheddar. Nothing wrong with using other cheeses as well.

I have also had it topped with crumbled blue cheese, pretty amazing.

 

[RangerPooh]

Call me boring but I prefer plain old Kraft Mac n' Cheese. I'm not a big cheese fan so this is about as good as it gets.

 

[mjkacmom]

If I don't have Mafalda on hand (made by San Giorgio, I use Cavatappi. Mafalda are little lasagna shaped macaroni.

I was wondering about Rao's sauce. If I buy jarred sauce, it's usually Cento Marinara. I like a plain sauce. Is Rao's highly spiced, or more of a plain tomato sauce.

When I'm making my own sauce, (always Sunday sauce) I use Sclafani tomatoes. They are a Jersey tomato that was recommended to me by the owner of an Italian specialty store. I was going to buy San Marzano, but the owner recommended Sclafani. My sauce has never tasted better since I've started to use these crushed tomatoes. I buy them now on Amazon (recurring shipment) to save money.

I just put a few cans of sclafani in my shoprite online cart so I don’t forget.

 

[Moliphino]

Call me boring but I prefer plain old Kraft Mac n' Cheese. I'm not a big cheese fan so this is about as good as it gets.

I also love Kraft. I do doctor it up a bit with extra shredded cheese and maybe a dash of hot sauce.

 

[mrodgers]

I believe those that say all shaped pasta is macaroni are correct. What others say is specifically macaroni isn't. They are ignoring the "elbow" part. The little curved tubes are elbow macaroni while others are specifically spiral macaroni, or other styles of macaroni.

As for me, I prefer shells with Mac n Cheese or macaroni salad.

 

[leebee]

Macaroni and cheese is my favorite food, and my homemade baked Mac and cheese is my very very favorite. I use ziti with lines, although rigatoni works well, too, and sometimes I'll use penne. I love to use orecchiette but it's hard to find where I live.

 

[DVCjj]

I make it like my mother who passed away at 98 several years ago. ONLY regular Elbow. Ever.

 

[bcla]

Call me boring but I prefer plain old Kraft Mac n' Cheese. I'm not a big cheese fan so this is about as good as it gets.

It's ubiquitous and predictable. I get it to some degree because the results are so consistent. It's almost impossible to mess up, while a white sauce can burn, overcook, etc. When I went backpacking I learned how to use their microwave version on a small stove. They've got a series of commercials where everyone is arguing about what to eat, but then Kraft cheese or mac & cheese s the choice that keeps the peace, with Enya playing in the background.

I also see Kraft mac & cheese on so many menus in casual dining restaurants. BJ's, Chili's, Applebee's, Denny's, IHOP, etc. all specifically have the Kraft version as a menu item. However, my kid has gotten to the point where Kraft doesn't seem to cut it any more unless there's nothing else.

The thing my kid really enjoyed was the time we were at Black Bear Diner. My kid had a regular kids meal and I wasn't that hungry and ordered a side of "premium" Mac & Cheese which was the corkscrew pasta with a sauce clearly made from scratch. We ended up trading. But a month later that was no longer on the menu and the mac & cheese on the kids menu was pretty much a boxed version made from a powder.

 

[gwynne]

Macaroni and cheese is my favorite food, and my homemade baked Mac and cheese is my very very favorite. I use ziti with lines, although rigatoni works well, too, and sometimes I'll use penne. I love to use orecchiette but it's hard to find where I live.

Orecchiette is my favorite pasta! I buy several packages when I find it.
Kindred spirits.

 

[bcla]

Orecchiette is my favorite pasta! I buy several packages when I find it.
Kindred spirits.

They're kind of thick and tough though. Not sure about their suitability for mac & cheese.

 

[cabanafrau]

I don't really make mac and cheese very often, it's not a huge favorite for us. I am picky about the pasta shape and brands I use in different dishes though because I believe even the shape changes the taste of the dish. One of my multipurpose favorites is radiatore with different sauces and in pasta salads. I also have a pasta salad that I only make with farfalle because that's what the recipe called for.

As for macaroni, Trader Joe's has a macaroni that I think is pretty good for several dishes.

 

[DLBDS]

Rotini

 

[bcla]

This time I tried ordinary house-branded medium shells. I previously tried Barilla medium shells which was kind of a disaster. It got rather soft quickly and the openings caved in. But this one was nice and firm where they maintained their shape.

I also used a different mix of cheese as recommended in another thread. I used Costco sharp cheddar along with a little bit of colby-jack to add a different flavor. And for added measure I used Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning instead of salt and pepper. I've seen some recipes that recommend a little chili powder.