Sauce and Pasta: Preparations

• The first step to making memorable mac and cheese is preparing the sauce and cooking the pasta. The sauce begins as a white sauce, which you will use as the base for your creamy cheese sauce. Make this ahead of time and keep it on hand for quick mac and cheese. Cook pasta for mac and cheese a minute or two less than the instructions for al dente. The pasta will be slightly underdone, which prevents it from over-cooking when you bake your mac and cheese in the oven. Rinse the pasta with cold water to stop the cooking process unless you are using it right away.

Keeping it Kid-Friendly

• Children's taste buds are more sensitive than adults, leading them to balk at spicy foods. This means keeping things mild for kids and saving the hot stuff for the adults in the household. Start with a basic mild cheese, such as mild cheddar or American, to please the palate of little ones. Add-ins for kids include cooked ground beef, sliced hotdogs, tuna or ham with mild veggies such as peas or carrots. Consider kid-friendly shaped pastas, such as wagon wheels, wacky macaroni or cartoon-character shapes to encourage little ones to eat their mac and cheese.

For Grownups Only

• Spicing up mac and cheese for grownups is easier than you may think. Begin with smoked cheddar and spice it up with black beans, corn and salsa to add a Southwestern twist to your mac and cheese. Alternatively, try using pepper jack cheese and adding a dash of marash pepper flakes to make spicy mac and cheese. For mac and cheese that mimics the flavor of jalapeno poppers, begin with sharp cheddar mixed with a little cream cheese and add chopped jalapenos to the mix.

Topping it Off

• You may have memories of homemade mac and cheese topped with crushed potato chips, but that’s not the only option. Breadcrumbs drizzled with melted butter make a tasty quick topping, too. For a topping that looks like it came from the pages or your favorite cooking magazine, brown panko breadcrumbs lightly before sprinkling them over the top. This creates an evenly browned topping to your mac and cheese without overcooking your pasta in the oven.