And mmmm...here's an easy mac and blue cheese recipe from my one of my Bon Appetit cookbook (from someplace called The Blue Onion Bistro in Seattle) :

1 pound spiral tube-shaped pasta
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
1 cup whipping cream
3 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups crumbled blue cheese
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives



Preheat oven to 350°F.

Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish.

Cook pasta.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add flour. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly (do not allow to brown).

Gradually whisk in milk and cream. Simmer until mixture thickens slightly, whisking occasionally, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add grated cheddar cheese and 1 cup crumbled blue cheese. Whisk until cheese melts, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add pasta to sauce; stir to coat. Transfer to prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup blue cheese. Bake until sauce begins to bubble, about 25 minutes. Sprinkle with chives and serve.

No, the Fungi type of truffles.

Hmm, I've never been much of one for recipes. I typically start my pasta, start a roux with butter (prefer to also throw in garlic at this point, because I'm a garlic fiend, though occasionally shallots or even a nice onion) (oh, and with the roux, keep it light. I over-did it once... was... interesting), cream or milk, cheese. Sometimes I'll break it up with a little vegetable or chicken broth. Mix pasta & cheese sauce. Then, do as I please, which is sometimes bake or just let sit, crumbs or no crumbs.

But, hands-down, the best mac and cheese is my Grandma Evvies. Hers was definitively southern - fluffy and crispy at the edges. Alas, I do not have the recipe on hand. I'm not sure she ever wrote it down, and I've only made it twice with her watching... and neither attempt was as good as hers always was.

*sigh*

So easy...and so good.

2 cups Macaroni Noodles
1 lb Sharp Cheese (I prefer Tillamook)
1 can Evaporated Milk
Cook noodles.....layer with cheese...pour the milk over.

Bake at 350 deg for 40 min, then broil to brown the top.

The best darn M&C ever!

We SOOOOOOO need Velveeta here in Australia. Uncivilised. That's wot we are.

I think it's just milked-down cheese, isn't it?

It is "processed cheese food". It can't even call itself cheese!

Thank you for all the recipes*. I'm looking forward to spending some mad scientist time in the kitchen. :)


*Attempting to spell that word drives me bonkers. I have to look it up every time.

Barefoot Contessa's Mac & Cheese

This is the one I use, only I cut the recipe in half. Works with or without the tomatoes. I usually subsitute Emmentaler for the Gruyere (it's cheaper).

"Recipe" is one of those words that I use a weird phonetic device to memorize the spelling. When I go to write it, my brain thinks the sounds "re-cipe" (would be pronounced re-sype) and that does the trick. Somehow.