SUPER FAST / SUPER EASY / FEWER THAN 10 INGREDIENTS / QUICK RELEASE / VEGETARIAN / CAN BE GLUTEN-FREE
Road Map: Mac and Cheese
6 servings
Here’s the best way to create your own version of the ultimate American comfort food. Because the pasta cooks right in the evaporated milk, it becomes astoundingly luxurious, even better than a lot of oven versions. Note that you cannot use small pasta (like small elbows); they’ll sink to the bottom of the pot and burn. And you can’t use any thick-walled pasta like ziti or rigatoni because these won’t cook in the time stated with the given liquid level. As a general rule, cooking dried pasta under pressure is mostly a matter of using a liquid level appropriate to the thickness of the pasta, rather than its length or shape.
One 16-ounce box dried pasta.
Choose from cellentani, medium shells, large elbows, fusilli, or penne
3 cups water
1 cup regular or low-fat evaporated milk
2 tablespoons butter, cut into little bits
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon ground dried mustard
¼ teaspoon table salt
1 cup heavy cream
12 ounces shredded cheese (3 cups)
Choose one or a 50/50 combo from Swiss, American or English Cheddar, Monterey Jack, mozzarella, provolone, Gruyère, semi-firm Gouda, Havarti, fontina, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and/or Jarlsberg
1. Mix the pasta, water, evaporated milk, butter, onion powder, dried mustard, and salt in a 6- or 8-quart cooker. Lock the lid onto the pot.
2.
Set the machine for: PRESSURE COOK
Set the level for: MAX
The valve must be: 
Set the time for: 4 minutes with the KEEP WARM setting off
If necessary, press: START
Set the machine for: PRESSURE COOK or MANUAL
Set the level for: HIGH
The valve must be: Closed
Set the time for: 5 minutes with the KEEP WARM setting off
If necessary, press: START
3. Use the quick-release method to bring the pot’s pressure back to normal. Unlatch the lid and open the pot.
4.
Press the button for: SAUTÉ
Set it for: MEDIUM, NORMAL, or CUSTOM 300°F
Set the time for: 5 minutes
If necessary, press: START
5. Stir in the cream and shredded cheese until uniform. Continue stirring constantly over the heat until the cheese melts and coats the pasta, 1 or 2 minutes. Turn off the SAUTÉ function, remove the hot insert from the machine, and set the lid ajar over the insert. Set aside for 5 minutes so the pasta can absorb most of the remaining liquid.