John Liu’s Famous Mac 'n Cheese

Malibu resident John Liu is like an artist as he makes his locally famous mac 'n cheese.

Graceful at the stove, he leans in frequently to adjust the flame. With a sure, confident hand, Liu swirls butter in the pan until it melts, stirring in flour to make a roux. In goes the milk, enriched by some cream—just enough, according to Liu's eye. He flings in some seasoning, then the grated cheeses—gruyere for flavor, cheddar just because. He stirs it into a thick, fragrant sauce into which he folds cooked elbow macaroni.

A quick bake in the oven, topped by his signature crushed Parmesan potato chips, crispy and slightly browned on top, and his finished canvas is a sight to behold and a comforting, delicious dish to savor.

There are three kinds of mac 'n cheese, Liu instructs—the soul food kind, the yellow kind in the package (no, please no!) and the kind in a creamy sauce. His is the latter, based loosely on a Martha Stewart recipe that Liu tweaked to his liking. Out went the buttered breadcrumbs topping, on went crushed potato chips and grated Parmesan.  

Liu has made it so many times, he scarcely refers to the recipe anymore. It shows up at most family gatherings, potlucks, holiday dinners and every time he barbecues.

"I do mac 'n cheese, baked beans and a slaw always," Liu says.

That sounds like a good ritual to me!

His son Jarod Wang, a sophomore at , enters the kitchen during the preparation to make himself a tuna melt (with gruyere!), and is prompted to recall that during his middle school years, he talked his father into making the dish for a mac 'n cheese competition for a humanities class, and he won it! It also paid off at the end of the year because it garnered Jarod a special teacher's award.

Sweeeet!

Watching Liu, you can tell he is a natural cook, operating at ease in his comfortable Sunset Mesa kitchen, with son Tovo, 8, daughter Coltrane, 9, and wife Rica Leon walking by to take a peek at the progress and sniffing to see when it is done.

Liu learned western cooking from his mom, who came to the U.S. from Taiwan. His father, who died last December, instilled in him a love (and recipes) for Taiwanese street food and global street food in general. He also credits his mother-in-law for teaching him as much about Chinese food as anyone.

"She is my teacher and competition!" Liu says.

He also learns from watching cooking shows on TV. Liu is an enthusiastic viewer of Food TV, especially "Iron Chef America" and "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" ("junk food, but I get my most practical recipes from there, like pulled pork…"). His other favorite is Jacques Pepin, whose "More Fast Food My Way" plays on public television. From Pepin, Liu learns the basic classic techniques and fast French cooking that he can apply to all of his cooking experiments.

The main cook for his busy family, Liu, 44, works in downtown L.A. for the Capital Group in investments. He is lucky that they eat widely from the food chain, regularly sampling dishes from Rica's Peruvian heritage (arroz con pollo, ceviche) and his Chinese background, while also throwing in Indian (tandoori is a favorite), Mexican, Italian, Japanese—whatever strikes his fancy.

"If I get my hands on some Spanish chorizo," says Liu with a far-off, dreamy look in his eye, "you know I'm going to be making paella."

His favorite ingredients of the moment are smoked paprika, truffle salt ("put some in ketchup!") and bonito flakes, which he uses to increase the umami in foods.   

Is there anything they don't eat?

"Peanuts," chimes in Jarod, referring to his sister Coltrane's serious peanut allergy. So for Thai or any other cuisine in which peanuts appear frequently, Liu simply makes it at home, so he is confident she can eat it safely.

He sources his ingredients widely, both online and from local retail establishments. Latienda.com is his go-to place for Spanish and Latin foods, or Amigofoods.com, where he recommends the Aji Amarillo, a Peruvian hot yellow pepper sauce they use as a condiment on everything.

For bricks-and-mortar, he favors 99 Ranch Market, the chain of Chinese supermarkets that features live fish and seafood as well as an array of Asian ingredients. The closest outposts of 99 Ranch are in Van Nuys, San Gabriel or Artesia, depending on which way you want to head on the freeway.

In Harbor City, he hits La Espanola Meats, where they make their own chorizo and other Spanish-style cured meats and sausages, and sell a tempting array of imported fine Spanish foods, including canned octopus, cockles and other fish.

Closer to home on the Westside, Liu frequents the Japanese supermarket Mitsuwa Marketplace on Venice and Centinela, and Nijiya, on Sawtelle in West Los Angeles. There he gets fresh wasabi, "but don't tell anyone about it," he warns. Uh, OK, we won't!

Liu's dream is to open a restaurant in Sunset Mesa, just for Mesa residents.

"I'd have a big chalk board at the bottom of the hill, and I'd write the menu on that," he muses.

That would enable him to flit from cuisine to cuisine, as his mood directs him.

I'll be his first reservation.

John Liu's Mac 'n Cheese

2 cups large elbow macaroni
3/4 stick butter (6 tablespoons)
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cups half and half (can use whole milk)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded gruyere cheese
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Kosher salt
Pepper
2 handfuls Ruffles potato chips (Liu prefers Ruffles® Natural Reduced Fat Sea Salted Potato Chips)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add about a tablespoon of kosher salt to the water. Cook macaroni until al dente and drain well. Set aside.

In a sauce pan, melt the butter and then stir in the flour to make a roux. Pour in the half and half (or milk) and cook over medium heat until just before it boils, stirring constantly so as not to burn the mixture. It will thicken slightly. Stirring will also help dissolve the flour mixture. Slowly add the cheddar and gruyere to the sauce while stirring; it will thicken considerably.

Once the cheese is melted, add the cooked macaroni and stir into the cheese sauce. Flavor with a dash of garlic salt and nutmeg. Taste, and add kosher salt and pepper to your taste.

Pour mixture into a 13- by 9-inch baking dish and bake for about 45 minutes.

While dish is baking, toss potato chips into a mixing bowl, and crush them with your hands. He says you can do it in a blender, but observes that using your hands is more fun! Add the Parmesan cheese and mix with the crushed chips.

During the last 5-10 minutes of baking time, generously sprinkle the cheesy crushed chips on top of the mac 'n cheese. Return to the oven and finish baking. Chips will be crispy and slightly browned.

(You can run the dish under the broiler if you like, but he warns that the chips burn easily, so don’t walk away if you choose to do this.)

Serves 8-10.