Article: Throw a pinch of salt in the water before you boil it. You should have plenty of water in the pot to give the pasta enough room to cook and expand. Al dente pasta is cooked, but still firm. Read the instructions on the box of elbow macaroni to see how long it should be cooked. It should usually take around 8 minutes, but each type of pasta will vary so it's important to read the instructions. First, melt the butter in the pot and then whisk in the flour and mustard, continuing to move it for about five minutes. You can begin to make this sauce while you're cooking the pasta noodles to save time. Make sure to keep stirring the sauce to keep out any lumps. Simmer the mixture for about ten minutes. After you're done, remove the bay leaf -- it should have imparted its flavor already.  You'll use the rest of the cheese later. Add salt and pepper to the mixture to taste. Now that you've made the sauce, you have to carefully fold the macaroni into the mixture. Put the cheesy mixture in a 2-quart casserole dish. You can top the macaroni with the remaining cheese. This will give it an extra tasty flavor after it's baked. Just melt the butter for the topping in a pan and add the panko bread crumbs to the mixture. Stir the mixture to incorporate the butter and the bread crumbs. Now, pour the topping from the pan right onto the macaroni in the casserole dish. After that, it should be ready to go! Your oven should be ready to go at this point. Just put in the macaroni and wait for your tasty meal to finish cooking. When it's ready, you can take it out of the oven and let it sit for five minutes before serving it. Enjoy this tasty dish on its own or with a salad or a protein of your choice. And if you have any leftovers, the next time you want to eat it, you can just take it out of the fridge, put a bit of oil on a pan, and fry it up, making delicious fried macaroni and cheese!
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Preheat your oven to 350ºF (176ºC). Fill a pot with 4-6 cups of water and bring it to a boil. Cook the pasta to al dente. Combine the butter, flour, and mustard in a separate pot. Stir the onion, bay leaf, spices, and milk. Temper the egg into the mixture. Add 3/4 of the cheese into the mixture. Fold the sauce into the macaroni. Place the macaroni in a casserole dish. Make the topping. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake the macaroni for 30 minutes. Serve.