Baked Mac 'n Cheese

Baked Mac 'n Cheese, originally uploaded by riptideredsf.

I don't think I've ever met a mac 'n cheese I didn't like...well not entirely true...the mac 'n cheese at Fresh Choice is pretty dreadful. I've definitely had some great ones, Virgils and Good 'n Plenty in NYC come to mind. I've had some good ones and I've made some good ones. I've had a version made with Velveeta and canned cream of mushroom soup that is as creamy and delicious as all get out. Yet, I am always looking to make the ultimate mac 'n cheese. This was not it. But that's okay because it was a means to an end.

The essential purpose of this blog is to chronicle my adventures in the kitchen.  That's what is at the heart of all of this. Trying new foods, new recipes and taking that to a new level in my own way. Noting the satisfaction of a success yet knowing this: the truth is in the attempt.  

Mac 'n Cheese seems like the perfect way to get back to the basics. This was inspired by another refigerator rescue. I have this gigantic block of swiss cheese I foolishly bought at Costco because it was only $6 when I was all churned up to make a Julia Child quiche a few weeks ago...may have been more like a month come to think of it, and there were two precarious remnants of blue cheese to use up as well, at least I think they were iffy, it's hard to tell with blue cheese.  There was a lesson learned after the quesadilla debacle...a little blue cheese packs a big punch and might make this interesting along with the last bit of onion jam. I  made this up as I went along. A can of cream of mushroom soup always works well, some chopped fresh rosemary, garlic, nutmeg then I slowly started adding some milk then the cheeses. I got it to the consistency that seemed right and I was very judicious with the blue cheese and tasted frequently.

This did not suck...has potential but there were some problems. Ratio was one. I used the whole bag of macaroni so in the end the cheese mixture needed about a cup to a pint more volume, so it's a little dry. It also lost a little of it's cheeziness once mixed with the mac. What tasted flavorful in the pot, diminished in the bigger picture.Yet has that stopped me from eating it morning noon and night since yesterday? uhmn no. Though I'm all for a mac 'n cheese that's a little healthier, and this one is not swimming in cheese...it is Mac 'n Cheese after all...it's about comfort over calories in the end. This definitely begs another attempt sooner rather than later.