"macaroni" news and stories

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.

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If you can work fast and get your recipe together, then you still have time to enter the Tillamook Cheese Macaroni & Cheese recipe contest!

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.

[via: LAist]

I've never been a big fan of frozen, boxed or (ugh) canned macaroni and cheese. If ever I do want to do some research before making an attempt to like those nasty little elbows, now I know where to turn: curlypasta.co.uk. Apparently, over in the U.K., the conjunction gets dropped and it's just macaroni cheese. See? This has already been a learning experience.

The site features dozens of reviews of mac n' cheese which rate the products on "cheesyness," "plasticity," and "consistency." Each review also includes a ratio of pasta to cheese. There's even a leader board to keep track of which brands rank highest.

Incidentally, Heinz got an overall 4 out of 5.