ALW Channel Episode 1: Waters Family Mac & Cheese

 

Mac, Matches and Momentum: Anna Leigh Waters Cooks Up Comfort — and Confidence — in a Debut “In the Kitchen” Episode

In her first episode, the world-class pickleball player and her mother and coach, Leigh Waters, turn a family mac and cheese recipe into a window on teamwork, competitive turning points and life off the court.

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Introduction

Anna Leigh Waters’ new show, In the Kitchen, launched with equal parts levity and candor. The 15-minute debut felt less like a how-to cooking segment and more like a compact documentary on a champion’s life: a recipe for mac and cheese braided with the story of a rising athlete, a mother-coach’s perspective and the domestic rituals that stitch family to professional sport. In a mix of flour-dusty banter and tactical talk, Anna Leigh and Leigh Waters served viewers a favorite holiday dish and a round of candid conversation — about comeback matches, ACLs, coaching quirks and how a pan of pasta can double as team-building practice.

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Key takeaways

• Anna Leigh’s mac and cheese is a family ritual born during the 2020 lockdowns and has become their signature holiday dish.
• The episode blends culinary detail (large elbow noodles, “seven cups” of cheese, a careful milk-and-roux process) with athletic storytelling — especially Anna Leigh’s comeback matches and early career milestones.
• Leigh Waters (mother/coach/doubles partner) frames Anna Leigh’s turning points: partnership success, the ACL moment and the transition from daughter-partner to coach-player.
• The episode reveals the duo’s rapport: trash-talk in practice, mutual coaching friction, and an affectionate competitive choreography that carries from kitchen to court.

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“First Episode, First Bite”

• The show opens with Anna Leigh greeting viewers and introducing Leigh: “first ever episode of In the Kitchen.”
• The pair choose mac and cheese — decadent, family-tested, and jokingly “not for dieting” — as the episode’s centerpiece.
• Concrete recipe notes: use large elbow pasta; a very cheesy base (she references “seven cups of cheese”); 2% milk; a roux built from butter and all-purpose flour; and a topping of chopped butter saved to brown in the oven.

In-depth summary:
The opening sets a playful but intentional tone. Anna Leigh’s affable on-camera manner — bright, direct and curious — anchors the show. The choice of mac and cheese is telling: comfort food that doubles as a storytelling device. The recurring motif (they “make it for every single holiday”) positions the dish as both family ritual and narrative prop, one that opens conversations about training, travel and triumphs.

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“Recipes and Routines: Cooking as Teamwork”

• They treat cooking like practice: teamwork, micromanagement, and role allocation (“let me help you as teammates do”).
• Practical tips are woven into the banter: big elbow noodles, milk on medium-low, slowly whisking milk into the roux, and leaving some cheese slightly intact for texture.

In-depth summary:
Cooking scenes double as a rehearsal for doubles play: measuring, timing, watching the oven timer, and checking the sauce are analogues for court awareness. The license to “make up holidays” and the comfort in kitchen chaos reflect the duo’s resilience and improvisational instincts — the same instincts Anna Leigh deploys when a match shifts in momentum.

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“Turning Points and Tough Matches”

• Leigh pinpoints a career inflection during partnership dominance, and the ACL injury that forced Anna Leigh to prove she could excel independently.
• Anna Leigh cites the 2019 national championship (at age 12) as a formative match; Leigh recalls the Mesa singles comeback as a most-viewed performance.

In-depth summary:
The conversation about matches is candid and revealing: Leigh’s memory of Anna Leigh rallying from a lopsided deficit and the image of her mother running circles around the court after a title underline how performance and spectacle fuse for this family. The ACL episode emerges as a narrative fulcrum: adversity became evidence of self-reliance.

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“Coaching, Trash Talk and the Domestic Scoreboard”

• Practice arguments: “cats and dogs” at practice, calm in tournaments.
• Coaching moments show the mother’s technical eye (bend your knees; shift your weight) and Anna Leigh’s good-natured rebuttals.

In-depth summary:
Their dynamic is a study in role flexibility: once a doubles partner, Leigh’s role shifted to coach after injury — a move she describes as liberating. Coaching exchanges feel intimate and technical; small corrections (footwork, weight distribution) are rendered as fuel for both competitive improvement and affectionate friction.

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“Finale: Oven, Taste Test, and Ratings”

• The mac and cheese bakes 30 minutes covered, then 15 minutes uncovered; taste test yields a glowing 10/10 (or a very precise pickleball-style 6.34).
• The episode closes on warmth: Anna Leigh thanks her mother and promises another episode.

In-depth summary:
The final tasting is a performance climax: shared plate, crunchy top, and an invitation to viewers to participate in the family tradition. The numeric rating gag ties culinary judgment back to sporting metrics, a sly reminder that for this team life and sport are measured in points and bites alike.

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Time-Code List

1. 1:16 How did we start making this?
2. 1:52 Ingredients
3. 3:27 Leigh - Favorite AL Match To Watch?
4. 4:53 Anna Leigh - Favorite Match To Play In?
5. 6:39 Anna Leigh's Career During Point
6. 8:24 Who Talks More Trash?
7. 9:21 Most annoying Trait?
8. 10:33 Coaching or Playing?
9. 11:43 Who Would Win?
10. 12:37 Good 35 Minute Drill?
11. 14:16 Taste Test Time
12. 15:01 DUPR Rating

As described in the episode, with practical measurements
Step-by-Step Recipe 

Notes: This recipe blends the episode’s spoken quantities with standard mac & cheese technique for reliable home results.

Yields: 8–10 servings
Bake temp: 375°F (190°C)

Ingredients

• 1 lb (450 g) large elbow macaroni (the “big elbow”)
• 4 cups (950 ml) 2% milk
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus 2 tablespoons reserved and chopped for topping
• 1/2 cup (65 g) all-purpose flour
• ~7 cups (approx. 700–800 g) shredded cheese total (mix cheddar and mozzarella; feel free to include other favorites)
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• Optional: 1 cup panko breadcrumbs (for crunchy topping), pinch of nutmeg or mustard powder for depth

Method

1. Preheat & prep. Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

2. Cook the pasta. Add the large elbow macaroni and cook until just shy of al dente (tender but firm). Drain and set aside.

3. Warm the milk. In a medium saucepan, warm the 4 cups of milk over medium-low heat until steaming but not boiling. Keep it on low so it stays warm.

4. Make the roux. In a large heavy saucepan, melt 8 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add the 1/2 cup flour and whisk to form a paste; cook 1–2 minutes to remove raw flour taste.

5. Make the sauce. Slowly pour the warm milk into the roux in a steady stream, whisking constantly to create a smooth sauce. Cook until thickened and smooth (a few minutes).

6. Add the cheese. Remove from heat and gently stir in most of the shredded cheese until you have a creamy sauce. (Leave a cup or two of cheese to mix in at the end if you like a chunkier texture; the episode notes that not all cheese should fully melt.)

7. Combine. Fold the drained pasta into the cheese sauce until evenly coated. Season with salt and pepper (and optional nutmeg or mustard powder).

8. Top & bake. Transfer to the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Scatter the reserved 2 tablespoons of chopped butter (and optional panko) across the surface for browning. Cover with foil.

9. Bake. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 15 minutes until bubbling and the top is golden and crisp.

10. Rest & serve. Let cool 5–10 minutes. Scoop and enjoy — preferably with a partner for taste tests and trash talk.