Mac and cheese... mac and cheese... It's a simple dish, and a long-time favorite. Ever since I discovered that the traditional blue box, storebought fare could really be jazzed up with a splash of Tabasco sauce, I've considered mac and cheese to be the pinnacle of comfort foods, up there with milk and cookies and homemade bread. Yet I've never before attempted the casserole version of the dish, perhaps remembering back to the few opportunities I had to taste the stuff during my childhood and thinking how bland it always tasted next to what I considered to be the supreme version of the dish.
Well, given the opportunity to take a peak at my mother's cookbookshelf for a tome to borrow, I walked away with the first collection of Alton Brown's Good Eats recipes, and the first thing I've attempted here is the standard casserole of the ages. Now that I've learned to appreciate subtler flavors over the more intensed, processed fare I had grown accustomed to, I thought I'd have a more favorable reaction to the dish.
Sure enough, I did. I found Alton Brown's recipe easy to follow, and it clearly directed me on how to make the sause most efficiantly. I... I don't do well with sauces. It's difficult for me to talk about, but the first time I attempted a cheesy sauce, it... Well, it...
Let's just move on.
Now, what's not to love here? A simples, strong cheesy base, some good solid macaroni noodles, and a topping of bread crumbs to add variety to the texture. It's a bit time consuming, sure, and I'll admit the dish lacks the nostalgia punch of the old blue box standby, but, for all the effort, the final product is much more rewarding.
And by that, I mean I had more than enough leftovers to get me through Memorial Day weekend.
Now, what's not to love here? A simples, strong cheesy base, some good solid macaroni noodles, and a topping of bread crumbs to add variety to the texture. It's a bit time consuming, sure, and I'll admit the dish lacks the nostalgia punch of the old blue box standby, but, for all the effort, the final product is much more rewarding.
And by that, I mean I had more than enough leftovers to get me through Memorial Day weekend.
2 comments:
My favorite way to make a good thick cheese sauce is by doing a basic white sauce recipe (which starts with melting two tablespoons of butter, stirring in two tablespoons of flour, and then VERY slowly stirring in one cup of milk while it gradually thickens). Basically from that point, you just add in a whole bunch of cheese, maybe a little Worcestershire or Tabasco sauce, some salt and pepper, and pour the whole thing over noodles.
It's heavenly.
Mmmm, Mac & Cheese. One of my favorites. I usually add some bacon, use sharp white cheddar and/or a bit of pepperjack, and sometimes add in a can of green chilies because, well, I can.
(Also? Alton Brown KNOWS his stuff! Stick with him and you'll go far!)
xox
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