Woman makes dozens of mac and cheese recipes in search of 'one that slaps'

Palestrina McCaffrey knows a lot about macaroni and cheese. 

For the better part of the last year, the Los Angeles-based content creator has tested "at least 30" different kinds of macaroni and cheese for her TikTok and YouTube accounts, she told Fox News Digital in a Zoom interview ahead of National Mac and Cheese Day.

National Mac and Cheese Day is observed each year on July 14. 

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After working for other YouTubers as an editor or director for about a decade, McCaffrey created her own channel last year, naming it "Little Remy Food." 

"I was super inspired to do food content because I love food, but also just when I'm thinking about wanting to connect with people, I feel like food is a really great way to do that," she said, speaking to Fox News Digital during a vacation in Portland, Oregon. 

The macaroni and cheese series, which McCaffrey describes in the videos as an effort to find "one that slaps," began with her testing recipes published by celebrities. 

"I thought of mac and cheese, mainly, because when you go to potlucks — I'm really big at wanting to host and do a lot of things that involve community," she said. "So when I have people over, I want to make all the great things, all the great foods, that they would want to eat."

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She added, "And mac and cheese is always the go-to potluck you want to get." 

As a fan of the dish, McCaffrey said she wondered if she could figure out the best way to make it.

When making a sauce, McCaffrey finds that "evaporated milk is king." 

"When I thought of how to do [celebrity-created] mac and cheese, I got inspired by, 'OK, that's a really great way to connect with other people. People know celebrities.'" 

While McCaffrey is not quite ready to crown a victor in her mac and cheese odyssey just yet, she does recommend certain recipes. 

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The top version so far, she said, came from fellow content creator Tineke "Tini" Younger. The original and viral mac and cheese recipe, posted on Younger's TikTok account on Nov. 12, 2023, has more than 112 million views. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Younger to see if she had any tips on recreating her recipe. 

"Tini is still queen," McCaffrey said. "She is so unbeatable. I admire her so much. That girl can cook." 

Along the way, McCaffrey has made several discoveries regarding what she does – and does not – like in her macaroni and cheese.

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For starters, while the dish is called "macaroni" and cheese, she actually prefers cavatappi over macaroni. 

The corkscrew-shaped noodles, she said, "do a really good job, I find, because the cheese can really get inside, and it makes such a creamy texture." 

Additionally, when making a sauce, McCaffrey finds that "evaporated milk is king." 

She said, "It works so well. It creates such a creamy texture." Spices, too, play an important role in helping to enhance the flavors of the cheese.

The variety of cheese used in the sauce plays a role as well. While she said she is a "sucker for Velveeta," too much of it can overpower a dish, she said. 

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Her favorites, she said, are "smoked Gouda and Gruyère," along with Colby jack and sharp cheddar varieties. 

"You're going to get those real tastes of cheese coming out," she said, rather than using a processed cheese. 

"I always thought I was a stovetop mac and cheese girl until I started doing all the baked mac and cheeses."

And on the question of "stovetop vs. baked," McCaffrey said she likes either but has found that her preferences have changed since she began creating mac and cheese content.

"I always thought I was a stovetop mac and cheese girl until I started doing all the baked mac and cheeses," she said. 

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But it's with a caveat. McCaffrey's "secret touch" is that she will bake the mac and cheese for less time than the recipe calls for, she said. 

That way, "we see those nice cheese pulls." 

She added, "I understand people like it more dry and whatnot, but I personally just really love it when it's super creamy."

She has also been pleasantly surprised by some recipes that she's tried, particularly those using non-traditional ingredients. 

"Terry Crews' mac and cheese surprised me so hard because I hate cottage cheese," McCaffrey said. "I can't eat [cottage cheese] in anything, and I don't know how, but I'm obsessed with that mac and cheese." 

Rihanna's Caribbean-inspired mac and cheese recipe, which contained more vegetables than most mac and cheese recipes, was another hit, she said.  

But throughout her journey making mac and cheese, McCaffrey said she's found that both her cooking skills and confidence in the kitchen have grown. 

"One of my first episodes was, I was so worried to make a roux and [that] I would do it wrong," she said. She was afraid that people would stop watching her content and say she was a terrible cook.

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But dozens of recipes later, McCaffrey now has advice for fellow "amateur chefs" such as herself: Just give it a shot. 

"If you're intimidated by making [a recipe], just do whatever makes sense, whatever works," she said. 

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"Find somebody [who] has a good mac and cheese and try and work on it," McCaffrey said.

"It's going to taste great in the end."