If you haven’t been riding out the quarantine with Ina Garten, we suggest you join the club. The contessa has been sharing inspirational pictures of flowers, peeks inside her fridge and pantry-friendly recipes galore. (The only thing she’s not sharing is that cocktail.) And then last week, the queen of chambray posted a mac and cheese recipe so good, it practically broke the internet—or at least her website.
“Mac & Cheese is the ultimate comfort food but this overnight version is so easy,” she wrote in an Instagram post. “You don’t even need to make a béchamel! It’s the ultimate, ultimate comfort food dinner! Recipe on barefootcontessa.com! #staysafe”
But her doting fans flocked to the website so quickly and in such a high volume that it crashed her website. When a commenter noted that the link was broken, Ina herself responded, “I’m afraid the server got overloaded—sorry!”
Thankfully, the recipe is back up and running and we’re pleased to announce that it really *is* that easy to make. There are only eight ingredients (including salt and pepper) and the most difficult thing you have to do is wait overnight for it to be ready, which, according to Garten, allows the pasta to absorb the liquid, expand and get extra creamy. We imagine you could swap the types of cheese if you wanted, but Gruyère and cheddar are a classic combination. And if by some misfortune her website suddenly crashes again, know that we also have a delicious, easy mac and cheese recipe waiting for you. (Just sayin’.)
Another day, another ray of hope recipe courtesy of Ina Garten. Our favorite Instagram comment of the post sums this up nicely: “Did Ina’s mac and cheese recipe break the internet? If so, not a big surprise. We love you, Jeffrey and your food. Thank you.”
