Pastas and Grains
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[Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]

About the author: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt is the Chief Creative Officer of Serious Eats where he likes to explore the science of home cooking in his weekly column The Food Lab. You can follow him at @thefoodlab on Twitter, or at The Food Lab on Facebook.

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Ingredients

  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 pound elbow macaroni
  • 6 ounces block American cheese, roughly grated or diced
  • 6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, roughly grated or diced
  • 1/4 cup Frank's hot sauce
  • 1 to 2 cups shredded cooked chicken meat (from 1 rotisserie or leftover chicken)
  • 1/2 cup sliced scallion greens
  • 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

Procedures

  1. Combine cornstarch, evaporated milk, and eggs in a medium bowl and whisk until homogenous. Set aside.

  2. Cook pasta in a large stock pot in salted water according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking water. Return to stock pot and add cooking water, evaporated milk mixture, cheeses, and hot sauce. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until cheese is melted and sauce is creamy and smooth. Stir in scallions, reserving some for garnish. Transfer to serving bowl, top with blue cheese and scallions, and serve immediately.