Recipes - Main & Side Dishes

[serious crayons]

I consider it something to keep on the top shelf as an emergency food ration.

Which suggests you're thinking specifically of shelf-stable, or even boxed mac 'n' cheese? But if you don't count quick lunches when my kids were little (I can't eat that stuff, but they particularly liked an Alfredo flavored one, which had pale yellow rather than fluorescent-orange powder), the mac 'n' cheese I most often served was from scratch. The dry pasta was the only "convenience food" part of it.

I used to make it with a custard-like cheese sauce, but I think it's more commonly made with a cheesy cream sauce. Either works. And you can use fancy cheese or pasta in different shapes (farfalle, orecchiette) if you like. You can add spinach, bacon, ham, tomatoes, etc.

[Jeff Wrangler]

Which suggests you're thinking specifically of shelf-stable, or even boxed mac 'n' cheese? But if you don't count quick lunches when my kids were little (I can't eat that stuff, but they particularly liked an Alfredo flavored one, which had pale yellow rather than fluorescent-orange powder), the mac 'n' cheese I most often served was from scratch. The dry pasta was the only "convenience food" part of it.

On the rare occasion when my mother didn't make her own macaroni and cheese, she bought the Kraft variety that I believe was (is?) called "Deluxe." The cheese was a creamy sauce that came in a foil packet. That powdered stuff is vile.

I think I've told this story before. Once, many years ago, I attended a potluck with the local SCA group (the event was a "meet and greet" for candidates for baron). Most of the people brought food made from modern redactions of medieval or Renaissance receipts. I'm no cook, so I brought a casserole dish of Kraft mac and cheese. Every mother there loved me because their kids would eat the mac and cheese because they knew what it was.

[Sason]

Now here's a pasta and cheese dish that I would proudly serve during the holidays: Venetian Fiocchi! I had this at a local restaurant on Wednesday and am looking forward to making it myself. The little pasta "purses" are filled with a mild cheese and pear mixture, and are bathed in a light butter and sage sauce.

Apart from the sage, it sounds like it could be a dessert.

[Jeff Wrangler]

Apart from the sage, it sounds like it could be a dessert.

I thought so, too.

[CellarDweller]

I think I've told this story before. Once, many years ago, I attended a potluck with the local SCA group (the event was a "meet and greet" for candidates for baron). Most of the people brought food made from modern redactions of medieval or Renaissance receipts. I'm no cook, so I brought a casserole dish of Kraft mac and cheese. Every mother there loved me because their kids would eat the mac and cheese because they knew what it was.

There is a YouTube channel called English Heritage.  It's centered around Audley End House, a 17th-century country house near Saffron Walden in England.  The family living there at the time were the Braybrookes.

Their head cook was Avis Crocombe, and English Heritage has a whole series of videos that star Kathy Hipperson acting as Mrs. Crocombe, creating dishes "the Victorian Way".  The videos have become very popular as Kathy Hipperson portrays Mrs. Crocombe as having a "shady side", making off-handed comments about other house servants, and sometimes the family themselves.

Anyway, one video that was made was called How to Make Macaroni Cheese - The Victorian Way and I must admit, if this was put before me, I would be hesitant to eat it, it looks very dry and different from what we have now!

[serious crayons]

Of course, England isn't exactly renowned for its fabulous cuisine.

[Front-Ranger]

Of course, England isn't exactly renowned for its fabulous cuisine.

True, and the recipe Chuck posted shows off some of the questionable features of British cooking, including the baking of pasta (Why?) and the addition of a breadcrumb topping (again, why?). However, I must say that England was the site of one of the top five meals I have ever had. It was at the Magpie Cafe in Whitby on the shores of the North Sea. The dish was a simple one of one perfect lobster claw, one perfect scallop, one perfect crab cake, and a large shrimp (also perfect).

Back on the subject of mac & cheese, I got to experimenting and I've come up with a version that was appealing to me. I used a pasta a little larger than macaroni (called casaricci), a creamy sauce made with asiago cheese which melts just as well and is more flavorful than Velveeta, and with the addition of bite-sized baby artichoke hearts and chicken sausage. Voila! However, I don't think my grandchildren would eat it. They would say it tastes "weird", or "different than mac & cheese is supposed to taste."

[serious crayons]

However, I don't think my grandchildren would eat it. They would say it tastes "weird", or "different than mac & cheese is supposed to taste."

Frustrating as that response is when cooking for kids, it's probably an evolutionarily protective reaction. Kids who are cautious about eating unfamiliar things are less likely to eat poison berries. My theory is that this explains children's widespread ambivalence about vegetables in general. Meat is usually reasonably safe if it's cooked and smells normal, whether it's deer or rat, but plants are trickier.

[Front-Ranger]

Perhaps. I forgot to mention that there are also chopped greens in my Lee-style mac and cheese. I had collard greens for the New Year but any greens, such as chard, kale, or spinach, would work. I would also be tempted to add chopped or sliced olives and bits of any kind of meat.

So, here's a pic of the m&c section at my grocery store. The store-brand specialty versions are at the top and the regular ones, priced 50 cents lower, are on the lower shelves. The Velveeta shelf is surprisingly large but all of the lower shelves feature that orangeish color. I understand that comes from the addition of annatto which is a natural substance. It is the ground-up seeds of the achiote tree that grows in the tropical areas of the Americas. This dye isn't regulated by the FDA so it is used liberally in industrial food processing. It also has a taste and aroma, and some people are sensitive to it. I think I'm one of those people.

[serious crayons]

Perhaps. I forgot to mention that there are also chopped greens in my Lee-style mac and cheese. I had collard greens for the New Year but any greens, such as chard, kale, or spinach, would work. I would also be tempted to add chopped or sliced olives and bits of any kind of meat.

I screwed up my New Year's cooking and totally forgot to make black-eyed peas and greens! 

It also has a taste and aroma, and some people are sensitive to it. I think I'm one of those people.

I don't know if I'm sensitive to it but instant m&c is gross. I think I liked it as a kid, though.