Crusty Macaroni and Cheese

Crusty Mac 'n Cheese, originally uploaded by riptideredsf.

I'm always on the look-out for The Best Mac 'n Cheese recipe, even when I'm not. Those two words, macaroni and cheese, seem to be on my radar whether I like it or not. Every trip to a grocery store will generally include one bag of dried pasta. I have a pantry box full of pastas...most of which is elbow macaroni.
A few years ago, it was a very focused search for a mac 'n cheese recipe that sparked my cooking OCD adventure and ultimately birthed this blog .  I discovered  my two greatest sources of little kitchen inspiration: Smitten Kitchen and America's Test Kitchen. Only just now, when I went back to link that Smitten Kitchen mac 'cheese recipe and re-read that post -that- started- it -all, did I notice that smitten was bitten by the same mac 'n cheese bug I just was.
I did not have mac 'n cheese on the agenda when I started my pot of water to boil (I do this frequently) the other night.   Whilst the water was heating, only then did I take notice of  an uncharacteristic accumulation of cheeses in the fridge (cheeses rarely get the chance to accumulate). Suddenly the stars begin to align and I spy CookFight, sitting right there on my kitchen table and waaaaiiit-a-minute...wasn't there a recipe for...an hour later Julia Moskin's Crusty Macaroni and Cheese was all mine. As it turns out, Smitten Kitchen's recipe for Easiest Baked Macaroni and Cheese was all about the companion mac 'n cheese recipe to this verysame Julia Moskin recipe.
The recipe originally appeared in the New York Times in January 2006 with this article and went on to become one of the the NYT most emailed and forwarded articles. It stirred up a Mac 'n Cheese contraversy as one editor called it "Julia Moskin's Discusting Macaroni and Cheese" because of the "obscene"(as if there is such a thing) amount of cheese the recipe requires (24 ounces). The cheese pretty much stands alone here. A mere 2/3 cup of milk is sprinkled over the top before it goes into the oven.

The recipe simply calls for american and cheddar cheese. The dryness of a sharp cheddar needed for flavor is balanced by a softer, moister, gooier, melty cheese. I didn't have any american cheese. I pulled out my kitchen scale and commenced to shredding my refrigerator rescue cheese assortment ( sharp cheddar, mozzarella, gruyere, parmesan and blue cheese) until the scale hit 24.
When all was said and done, the results were amazing and the next time I'll actually plan this with the two simple cheeses.
I love how the universe works.

Cheddar Gougere Smackdown

Cheddar Gougere Smackdown, originally uploaded by riptideredsf.

The next big thing to happen to the little kitchen recently was a lovely surprise from my fellow foodie, friend and neighbor Sheena.

The Thursday after Thanksgiving, she picked me up after work to take me to a surprise event she'd been cooking up for several weeks. All I knew was that we were headed across the Golden Gate Bridge to a pre-paid, non-refundable event that started at 6:30 and that it involved food.

As we approached the private dining room at the Left Bank Brasserie in Larkspur that dark and stormy night, and I realized what was in store for us, I was blown away by crazy coincidence. Let me back track a moment.

A few years ago I came across two books that would unexpectedly, collide with a third on this evening, propelling my little kitchen OCD to a whole new level.

It started with Dorie Greenspan's gorgeous book Around my French Table. The most repeated recipe is her Cheddar Gougeres- light, airy, cheesy puff pastries that are super simple to make and pair perfectly with soup or just a  glass of wine.

The other book, The Best Food Writing of 2009 was picked up at Community Thrift around the same time, perfect for bedtime and bus reading. The most re-read story has been Kitchen Smackdown, an entertaining and engaging trio of articles by Kim Severson, Julia Moskin and Frank Bruni, New York Times food writers, friends and co-workers. The articles recount the challenge Mr. Bruni set upon the two friends and collegues to prepare a dinner for six for $50.  He would attend both dinners and judge a winner. 

I hadn't picked up the book in ages, but an impromptu bus ride had me scrambling for some reading as I rushed out the door on Wednesday morning.  Kim and Julia's story was re-visited.

Thursday evening, I was dining with Kim Severson and Julia Moskin.

I didn't know this as we were led through the restaurant, back toward a private dining room. There were about 5 people sitting at a large, lovely table set for 14. A woman standing at a small round table at the entrance checked Sheena and Guest off her list and  handed us each a book, informing us that the authors hadn't yet arrived due to the dark & stormy. I peruse the cover:

CookFight!  I was utterly gobsmacked. I've been OCD/ADD-ing in other places, completely unaware of this books existence (much less this event), the culmination of 11 subsequent kitchen smackdowns between Kim and Julia since that first (and the only one on my radar) in 2009. What a weird, wild and amazing coincidence. Sheena and I had never discussed their names and she had no idea what to expect herself when she set forth planning this.
What an amazing surprise!
I mentioned this to the authors as we had our books signed. Kim wrote:
"To Michele, I love how the universe works!" I'm still floored by it.

The menu that evening consisted of recipes from the book, prepared by the Left Bank chef. It was a series of courses, each consisting of two dishes from the book, from each of the authors.
There were some interesting stand-outs, but maybe not for the reasons one might expect.

Julia's Cheddar Gougeres was one of the starters. I was intrigued because I love Dorie Greenspan's gougeres so much. The ones that I ate that night? not so impressed. They were dry, pale and barely hinted of cheese. How could this be? Was it the recipe or the cook?
There was actually an interesting discussion at one point during the evening when the bookseller commented on chef/authors who insisted on bringing in their own team to cook the event meal. I guess this was case in point. The meal was bookended with a similar kitchen faux-pas in the dessert course,  over-baked Bacon Fat Gingersnaps. Everything else was wonderful. Baking must not be a strong suit at Left Bank.

I couldn't get  those gougeres out of my head. Julia had even commented on their dryness.
Thusly, the little kitchen created The Gougere Smackdown the very next morning. Dorie's recipe came first and resulted in their usual, lightly puffed, cheezy, can't -stop- shoving -these- in- my -mouth, delicateness.
 In the afternoon, I made Julia's, which turned out nothing like the dry biscuits we had the night before. The two variations I'd just prepared  were identical in appearance and consistency and the recipes were slightly different. An additional egg and milk in Dorie's recipe had me thinking they would be the moistest of the two, where Julia's had the additional zing of mustard powder and cayenne. I was using inexpensive, supermarket, extra sharp block cheddar as opposed to some kind of fancy white cheddar that was most likely behind the version I had a the restaurant.
I took them both to Sheena's and had her choose the favorite:

Julia's Gougeres are vindicated and triumph!