Not My Mother's Macaroni and Cheese

Macaroni and cheese is truly the ultimate comfort food. It has made quite a comeback in recent years and even has become "gourmet" for the foodie set. I have to say that I am not all that comfortable with lobster in my mac and cheese, but that's just me. But it clearly is now retro chic. Anyway, my family lore has it that my mother always made the very traditional, from scratch, Mueller's recipe with cheddar cheese, milk, flour, butter and ground mustard. I say this is lore, because as the youngest of six, all she ever made for dinner when I was growing up were reservations. So once my older sister taught me that 1950s method I stuck with it for many years. Then, about two years ago, my BFF Anne introduced me to Martha Stewart's Perfect Macaroni and Cheese (Martha's name, not mine). This revolutionized my take on the traditional. Martha uses about six pounds of white cheeses (Swiss, Gruyere, pecorino Romano to name a few), milk, flour, butter, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper so it has a bit of kick. She also includes a breadcrumb topping. Liking this, but needing to simplify and economize, I have now created mine own version, greatly reducing the cost of cheese (I use Trader Joe's Cheddar and Gruyere Melange or sometimes white cheddar and Gruyere separately or sometimes whatever white cheese I happen to have on hand) and I skip the bread crumbs. I also leave out the cayenne because my Julia child thought it too spicy. So, it is the same, but completely different. If you like Martha's take, Google it. If you want a simple, inexpensive any night of the week version of the ultimate comfort food, try mine.

This seems to me to be the kind of thing Richie Cunningham's mother (aka Mrs C.) would have made on "Happy Days." Especially since I sometimes use Wisconsin white cheddar and the show was set in Milwaukee, although it could have been anywhere wholesomevlle 1955. And, it's good any night of the week (Sunday, Monday, mac and cheese, Tuesday, Wednesday, mac and cheese....rockin all week with you). Before they jumped the shark and Joanie loved Chachi, you could just imagine the Fonz bellying up to the dinette in the Cunningham kitchen to enjoy a plate of Mrs. C's mac and cheese. This show was quite possibly my favorite spin-off from "Love, American Style". Come to think of it, it may have been the only one. Ayyy.

The Recipe:

3 tblsp butter or margerine
2 3/4 cups of milk
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 cups grated cheese (Gruyere and white cheddar)
12 oz pasta (elbows, shells, penne or whatever you have on hand)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse in cold water. While the pasta is cooking, in a small (3/4 - 1 qt) saucepan heat the milk on medium heat. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and whisk in the flour. Cook while whisking for one minute. Slowly pour the hot milk into the flour/butter mix while continuing to whisk. Continue cooking, whisking constantly until the mix becomes thick and bubbly. Remove pan from the heat and stir in the salt, pepper and nutmeg. Then add all but about 1/4 cup of the cheese, stirring until melted. Pour the cooked and drained pasta into a 1 1/2 - 2 quart casserole and add the cheese mixture, stirring well. Then add the remaining 1/4 c of cheese on top and bake for 30 minutes. Serves 4.