In Quentin Tarantino's latest drug-laced, blood-soaked, profanity-peppered revisionist history masterpiece, food once again takes center stage alongside our singular protagonists. In a departure from his penchant for fictional brand names, a familiar box emblazoned in blue is shown as the preferred dinner of stuntman Cliff Booth. Can we improve on this childhood classic? Is there even a need to? Well, I decided to anyway. Sort of.

 

Ingredients

Mac and Powdered Cheese

  • 21 grams powdered cheddar cheese

  • 5 grams powdered blue cheese

  • 10 grams powdered parmesan cheese

  • 5 grams buttermilk powder

  • 20 grams butter powder

  • 170 grams elbow noodles

  • Leftover pasta (about ¼ cup)

Mac and Dehydrated Cheese Powder

  • 6 slices cheddar cheese

  • ½ cup parmesan cheese, shredded

  • ½ cup gruyere cheese, shredded

  • 6 slices white American cheese

  • 6 slices yellow American cheese

  • Kosher salt

  • 1 Tbsp buttermilk powder

  • 2 Tbsp butter powder

  • 300 grams all-purpose flour

  • 5 grams kosher salt

  • 1 large egg

  • 80 grams water

  • 10 grams olive oil

  • ½ cup leftover pasta water

Method

Mac and Powdered Cheese

  1. Add all powders together in a small bowl. Stir to combine.

  2. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add elbow noodles to water and cook for 5 minutes.

  3. Drain water from pasta, reserving about ¼ cup in the pot.

  4. Add the powder mixture to the pot. Stir to combine.

  5. Serve and enjoy!

Mac and Dehydrated Cheese Powder

  1. Arrange cheese in a dehydrator and let dehydrate for 12 hours at 120°F. Remove dehydrated cheese from their racks.

  2. Lay the cheddar cheese out on a baking sheet lined with a paper towel. Cover with another layer of paper towels. Put another baking sheet on top and press down to remove any excess moisture from the cheddar.

  3. Put the cheddar cheese in the freezer for 30 minutes.

  4. Add the cheddar to a high-powered blender. Blend on high speed for about one minute, until it is a fine powder.

  5. Add cheese powder to a plastic bag with a food grade desiccant. This will help keep the cheese powder stable in your fridge.

  6. With the rest of the cheeses (parmesan, gruyere, white American, yellow American), add each one individually to the blender. Blend on high speed for one minute, or until it is a fine powder. Store individually in labeled plastic bags with a food grade desiccant.

  7. Make your blend of cheese powder by combining equal parts cheddar, yellow American, and gruyere. Add half a part of parmesan. This will make for a nice balance of texture and flavor.

  8. Add a large pinch of Kosher salt along with 1 tablespoon buttermilk powder and 2 tablespoons butter powder. Stir to combine.

  9. Pass the powder mixture through a fine mesh sieve to get rid of any clumps.

  10. To make the homemade macaroni noodles, add the all-purpose flour, kosher salt, egg, water, and olive oil to the bowl of a stand mixer.

  11. Beat the dough over medium-low speed with the stand mixer’s paddle attachment. It should barely come together to form a cohesive dough. It should also be able to break apart easily.

  12. Press the dough into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

  13. Dust a baking sheet with plenty of flour. Break off a few walnut-sized pieces of dough and roll them into balls, using the floured baking sheet.

  14. Get your stand mixer ready with the bucatini pasta attachment on the highest speed.

  15. Feed balls of dough into the extruder. As pasta starts to come out, snip it off once it is the length of macaroni noodles.

  16. Every 50 or so noodles, be sure to toss them in flour and set them aside as you continue making the rest.

  17. Remove the excess flour from the noodles using a fine mesh sieve.

  18. Add pasta noodles to a pot of boiling water and cook for about 90 seconds, or until tender and al dente.

  19. Drain the pasta, reserving about ½ cup of pasta water on the side.

  20. Add your dried cheese powder mixture to the drained noodles. Stir to combine and add pasta water slowly as needed to help the sauce come together.

  21. Serve and enjoy!