The Cooking Chronicles: Classic Mac & Cheese

I was hit with a craving for Kraft Dinner on Friday night, but unable to locate a package of the instant macaroni in our pantry, I was forced to artificially subside my longing for the time being. So on Saturday, I suggested to Mack that we try out Dave Lieberman's from-scratch recipe for Classic Mac and Cheese.

We substituted a few things, including medium instead of sharp cheddar, fresh parmesan for romano, and rotini in place of penne. We also nixed the parsley, much to my food aesthetic dismay. We followed the directions closely, and though the cheese sauce ended up like a thick fondue, our dish turned out pretty well. Of course, there were the usual adjustments that we learned for the next go around, most prominently to use less breadcrumbs, crushed finer than we did, and potentially to add a filler ingredient (like ham, hot dogs, or my vote - grape tomatoes tossed with fresh herbs). More cheese on top wouldn't hurt either.

Was it better than Kraft Dinner? Yes. Was it worth the time and effort? Yes, and even more so with the aforementioned improvements. Onward with experimentation!

Classic Mac & Cheese