@Harters
I used my mom’s method for cauliflower cheese for the mac & cheese: white sauce made with a ratio of 1 tbsp butter & flour per cup of liquid, but with half and half instead of my usual whole milk, which made the bechamel richer than usual.
For cheese, a mix of aged cheddar with some gruyere (say 3/4 cheddar 1/4 gruyere), plus Parmesan for flavor, and a 1" piece of Amul (Indian processed cheddar, similar to Kraft or Velveeta) to see if it would help emulsify the sauce because a lot of aged cheddar sometimes breaks the sauce in my experience. (Not sure I really needed it, in retrospect.)
Also re decadence – I used more cheese than I otherwise would (though probably not as much as most American recipes call for). Mixed half into the sauce, layered another quarter over half the sauced pasta in the baking dish before covering with the rest of the pasta, and the remainder went on top with an extra sprinkle of parmesan.
I didn’t use panko or breadcrumbs – I vacillate between wanting a crunchy top vs not, and this was lovely with just a cheese crust.
I assembled the dish the day before to be baked just before dinner, so after the sauce was made, I added another cup of milk to offset the natural thickening that otherwise occurs as white sauce sits in the fridge.
And perhaps not relevant to your preparation, but I didn’t boil the pasta beforehand, just soaked it in water until it was fully rehydrated, and then mixed with the sauce – it cooked fully while it baked to heat & brown.
Here are pics of the mac – baked as well as plated – from the Thanksgiving thread – I was pleased that it stayed saucy as I wanted, and cooked up perfectly with just the soak:
