Macaroni & Cheese

Cheesy Is as Cheesy Does


As you can see from the cheesy photo above, I still don't know what year it is. And I want to assure you that I don't actually put pimento-stuffed Spanish olives in my macaroni and cheese so if you recoiled in horror at the thought, relax.

There are a few recipes I make once a year and only once a year, every year. They all meet my definition of "seriously good" and yet, are so loaded with things like saturated fats that I limit my intake to one batch annually. Oddly, most of them involve lots of cheese, bacon, or both. There's Cheddar Chowder, Stuffed Potato Skins, German Potato Salad, two or three others, and Mac-n-Cheese.

And, because I only

make them once a year, I don’t futz around much. The purpose with these dishes is the exact opposite of experimentation. They're a way of asserting order in an unruly universe, an affirmation of tradition, a return to childhood in some cases. Consequently, this recipe is exactly what I make every year with one exception — I couldn’t find large elbow macaroni except in a brand I don't like, so I substituted penne.

Traditional Baked Macaroni and Cheese

3 c milk
2 oz Parmigiano — grated
1 tbsp shortening
5 strips bacon
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
2 tsp ground mustard
2 squirts Worcestershire sauce
3 squirts Tabasco
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
12 oz sharp cheddar — shredded
12 oz macaroni

Heat oven to 400F.

Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium-low heat until done but not crisp. Drain and chop coarsely.

Warm the milk in the microwave to about 90F (about 2 minutes in a 1000 watt oven) — this will speed up thickening the mornay sauce.

Grease a 2 quart casserole dish with shortening and dust with grated Parmigiano as you would a cake pan. Add remaining Parmigiano to the cheddar.

Melt the butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour and cook for three minutes, stirring constantly with the whisk. Pour in milk and continue cooking and whisking until the mixture thickens. Whisk in the mustard, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, salt, and pepper. Add 2/3 of the cheese, a handful at a time, stirring constantly and thoroughly melting cheese before adding next handful.

In the meantime, cook the pasta according to package directions. When done, strain out water, then, in the pasta pot, add bacon and sauce. Stir to mix thoroughly.

Pour mixture into casserole dish and sprinkle with reserved cheese. Bake for about 30 minutes until topping cheese begins to brown.

Update: I just checked out my so-called partner's mac-n-cheese post and if she thinks fancy slide shows and a delightfully inventive tasting menu of macaroni and cheese variations is going to cut it out here in the heartland of Amurica where the grass is green, the skies are blue, the mountains are magic-sticks, and the cheese is yeller then she don't know mac-n-cheese. Hmmph!

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