Fannie Farmer Macaroni and Cheese

I've been feeling under the weather the past few days, and Mr. Ommy Noms has been taking great care of me.  He's been requesting homemade macaroni & cheese for awhile, and I made it tonight as a "thank you" for all the medicine- and blanket-fetching he's done.  I found this recipe on Mocha Me, but it actually hails from a 1946 Fannie Farmer cookbook.  I enjoy trying old recipes, so I decided to give it a go.  It turned out so good!  I'm looking forward to having it again tomorrow night with some seared tilapia!

I didn't really know what "buttered breadcrumbs" was supposed to mean, so I just double-toasted a couple slices of bread and crunched them into crumbs.

As seen on Mocha Me; originally from the Fannie Farmer Boston Cooking-School Cookbook, 1946 edition

INGREDIENTS
1 (8 ounce) package macaroni

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons flour

1 cup milk

1 cup cream (I used half & half)

1/2 teaspoon salt

fresh ground pepper, to taste

2 cups cheddar cheese (buy the block and shred it yourself)

1/2 cup breadcrumbs, buttered

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Cook and drain macaroni according to package directions; set aside. In a large saucepan, melt butter. Add flour mixed with salt and pepper, using a whisk to stir until well blended.

Pour milk and cream in gradually; stirring constantly. Bring to boiling point and boil 2 minutes (stirring constantly).

Reduce heat and cook (stirring constantly) 10 minutes.

Add shredded cheese little by little and simmer an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese melts.

Turn off flame. Add macaroni to the saucepan and toss to coat with the cheese sauce. Transfer macaroni to a buttered baking dish. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs.

Bake for 20 minutes until the top is golden brown.