There are few dishes more American than macaroni and cheese. Forget that we credit the Italians for pasta and the French for "the good cheese" -- it's here in the United States where we bring the two together together in glorious, comforting harmony.
Rumor has it that Thomas Jefferson introduced the dish to the United States. And though a boxed version was made wildly popular by Kraft over many decades, home and professional chefs have taken back the comfort food, and now make gourmet versions like this one from blogger Ezra Pound Cake.
This take on classic macaroni and cheese, adapted from a recipe in "The Gift of Southern Cooking," is made with grated onion, sour cream, half-and-half, heavy cream, Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, eggs and cayenne pepper, as well as noodles and cheddar cheese. Fattening and flavorful -- just the way American comfort food should be.
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'Jamie's Food Revolution: Rediscover How to Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals'
by Jamie Oliver Hyperion -- 2009 Buy it on Amazon
The revolution will not be supersized. Jamie Oliver is a man on a mission to reclaim traditional home cooking from the fast and processed food purveyors of the world via simple, inexpensive, appealing recipes.
The book kicks off with a rah-rah manifesto that dovetails with Oliver's televised travelingroadshows geared toward getting the least healthy eaters in the UK and the USA to back out of the drive-thru and drive home healthier eating habits, centered around the debatably lost art of home cooking. He presents a compelling argument with solid, satisfying building-block recipes and oddly heartstring-plucking photo profiles of plain ol' folks cooking at home.
See what we tested and find out whether the book's worth buying after the jump.
Mac & cheese with duck and bourbon. Photo: Beer & Nosh.
This picture of macaroni and cheese with croutons, from the San Francisco-based blog Beer & Nosh, looks delicious. A simple statement, sure. But macaroni and cheese is simple food. And there's really no denying the goodness of such a perfect combination of starch and fat -- especially with some extra (and crunchy!) starch thrown on top. But what if we told you that this particular macaroni was "swimming in duck fat?"
According to the blog's author Jesse, one of America's most beloved comfort foods was made even more comforting -- and, admittedly, heart-attack inducing -- with duck fat croutons, duck fat roux and even duck skin cracklings (you guessed it!) fried in duck fat.
While we feel a little sorry for the poor duck, we have to thank him for giving this macaroni and cheese his all, literally. Oh, there's also supposedly some bourbon in there, but at this point, who really cares?
Growing up, macaroni and cheese usually involved boiling macaroni and then mixing it with a powdered cheese, milk, and butter. It was not until I discovered the diversity of cheeses available that I began to experiment. I say, throw away the powder and go to your local cheese purveyor to discover the various ways you can master the mac n' cheese.
Like fondues, I think that using more than one cheese can add a heightened richness. During these cold months, I crave a warm, creamy, milky, crunchy macaroni and cheese with a savory flavor. I often use cheddar cheese as the base. Then, I add a small amount of Gorgonzola Dolce and Emmenthaler.
Below are 8 ways to make the perfect mac n' cheese:
Everyone's favorite comfort dish gets a tofu twist.
Macaroni and Cheese with Tofu From: Moosewood Restaurant New Classics Serves: 4-6
You will need: 12 oz. pasta (white or whole wheat)
Cheese sauce: 12 oz. low fat silken tofu 1/2 cup skim milk 1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt 1 up grated cheddar cheese 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese 1/2 tsp. minced garlic 2 tsp. yellow mustard 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper 1/4 tsp. turmeric
1/4 cup minced onions 1/4 cup fresh parsley 1/2 bread crumbs mixed with 1/4 cup grated cheddar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 2-qt. baking dish with oil.
Bring water to a boil, and cook pasta according to package directions.
Combine all cheese sauce ingredients in a blender or food processor and puree.
Drain pasta, and mix it along with cheese sauce, onions, and pasta, into baking dish. Sprinkle bread crumb/cheddar mixture on top. Bake for 30 minutes covered, and then 5 minutes uncovered.
There are approximately 3,277 different ways to make macaroni and cheese. Different cheese combinations, different types of macaroni, different ways to cook it, and even different ingredients to throw into the mix. Do you think you have the best recipe in the U.S.?
OK, then prove it. ABC's Good Morning America is looking for the best mac 'n cheese recipe in the country. It's the Emeril Lagasse's Best Mac 'N Cheese Ever Challenge. Go to this page and fill out the form and include your recipe. You can add a picture of the completed dish or a video of it being made if you want. Deadline is February 1.
And there's no need to include a "BAM!" anywhere in your recipe.
We've talked a lot about guilty pleasures here at Slashfood, and our friends at AOL Food have a whole category devoted to it. And one of those guilty pleasures (and also a comfort food) is Macaroni and Cheese.
Here's a recipe for Mom's Mac 'n' Cheese. Now, it's not my mom's mac 'n' cheese, but it's the type of dish someone's mom might make. My mom didn't put tomatoes in hers, but that's a nice touch. Full recipe after the jump.
"What," you may be asking yourself this first day of the second week of the new year, "is that utterly gorgeous thing taking up the post like a centerfold?"
It is an utterly orgasmic baked Macaroni and Cheesefilled with not just any cheese, but goat cheese, sharp cheddar and parmigiano reggiano. While it does have vegetables like shiitake and crimini mushrooms (does a sage garnish count as a vegetable?), it's also laced with truffle oil and adorned with a crispy top-layer of panko bread crumbs and parmigiano reggiano (again).
That's right. It's only for looking, because you have those new year's resolutions, right?
Perhaps you haven't noticed it because you are a victim of the phenomenon. You called up your girlfriends on your cotton candy pink cel phone adorned with sparkly cupcake-shaped charms, went out to get frozen yogurt topped with Cap'n Crunch cereal, and sat around talking about the "cuuuuuuutest" Hello Kitty makeup bag at Sephora and gossiping about "boys"...just like all the other junior high girls.
But wait. You're 35.
I was just reading an article about a new book called Rejuvenile: Kickball, Cartoons, Cupcakes, and the Reinvention of the American Grown-Up, in which author Christopher Noxon says very plainly, "'People all over are refusing to act their age." Basically, grown-ups are going through a period of regression back to their childhoods. Though his book talks about the trend from a broad perspective, I couldn't help but think how very true this trend is in food. I mean, how else do you explain a craze for cupcakes, those tiny treats that we ate as children in our homeroom birthday parties? What about the recent throwback to "retro" foods that many of us associate with growing up in mom's kitchen like macaroni and cheese, and meatloaf?
Are we regressing as a society? I know I am. Are you one of these grownups who still lives with his/her parents, postpones marriage, watches cartoons, all the while eating Hello Kitty Pop-tarts, dipping your dinosaur (chicken) nuggets in ketchup and having a Twinkie for desert? If so, what other "rejuvenile" foods are you eating?
Macaroni & Cheese: 52 Recipes from Simple to Sublime is a single-subject cookbook that comfort food fans can really get behind. This book starts most of its recipes off with a basic roux, a mixture of flour, milk and butter that is the foundation of many oh-so-creamy sauces, and nothing in it resembles the stuff that comes from a blue box and bright orange cheese powder. The author tackles a very classic macaroni and cheese, but also takes advantage of cheeses from around the world, including Asiago, Roquefort and Feta. She blends the cheeses and pastas with other ingredients to create down-home comfort dishes, like Green Chile Mac and Cheese, and adds in things such as lobster meat, prosciutto and artichoke hearts for more upscale variations. There is even a dessert macaroni and cheese, made with a creamy, sweetened mascarpone mixture.
Some of the recipes are original, while some have been collected from various chefs that Joan Schwartz, the author, has worked with. Regardless of the origin of the recipe or the distance it has developed from what why may remember from childhood, the fact that the basic technique is the same or similar for each recipe means that you'll be able to add 52 recipes to your repertoire in very short order.
The Oregon-based cheese company has teamed up with LA's McCormick
& Schmick's to sponsor the contest. Entries have to be
submitted by Tuesday, May 2, 2006. Hey! That's today! The winner of the contest, which will actually be held on May
25, 2006, will receive $1,000 and will go on to the next "round" in Portland, OR to vie for the $5,000
national grand champion prize.
So hurry! But remember, the "directions" on the back of the box don't count as
a recipe.
There are approximately 3,277 different ways to make macaroni and cheese. Different cheese combinations, different types of macaroni, different ways to cook it, and even different ingredients to throw into the mix. Do you think you have the best recipe in the U.S.?
Mmmm...
I don't know how these two food holidays ended up on the same day, but today is both National Macaroni Day and National Grand Marnier Day. 
We've talked a lot about guilty pleasures here at Slashfood, and our friends at AOL Food have a whole category devoted to it. And one of those guilty pleasures (and also a comfort food) is Macaroni and Cheese. 
The Super Bowl is almost here. Check out some 
Perhaps you haven't noticed it because you are a victim of the phenomenon. You called up your girlfriends on your cotton candy pink cel phone adorned with sparkly cupcake-shaped charms, went out to get 
Macaroni & Cheese: 52 Recipes from Simple to Sublime
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