Macaroni & Cheese

         I figured that I’d stick with this for a while. After all, I have a long list of topics to write about, so I should be able to write, shouldn’t I? Nope. It’s been less than a week and already I’ve missed 2 days.

And about that list. . .

Today I received a message from my son’s girlfriend. It seems that lately he’s been ordering mac and cheese when they go out to eat, but always complains that it’s not as good as mine. She asked for my recipe so that she could make it for him. A very sweet request.

Unfortunately, I don’t think he misses my macaroni and cheese. The version I make is usually adequate — but not delicious.

The real macaroni and cheese whiz in our family is my mom. It wasn’t always that way: for years she made adequate mac and cheese and Gammy, her mother-in-law, made the best in the world. But somehow over the years, my mom’s version has changed.

Ok, back to the recipe request. I decided that I’d call my mom and ask her about it. I placed the call, she answered, and I explained the request.

Peep:

Oops, better explain that. My mom’s name is Faye, but no one ever calls her that. To everyone — and I do mean everyone — she is known as Peep. I don’t know where she got the name, but she had it before I was born.

On with the story.

Peep: I don’t really have a recipe. I just dump everything in.

Me: I figured that it was more in the method. I know that you don’t melt the cheese to make a sauce. . .

Peep: Yes I do.

Really? I can remember watching her make this years ago. She’d cook the noodles, mix it up in a pan with chunks of cheese (at that time she used muenster) and pour in enough milk to cover it all. That’s it. Cook and done. I watched her do this and that’s how I’ve always done it.

*cue light bulb clicking on*

For years she made adequate mac and cheese. I follow her lead and make adequate mac and cheese. Somewhere along the line her recipe improved. There may still be hope for me. 

And. . . could it be that eventually Gammy gave up the secret of her outstanding mac and cheese?

At any rate, it’s time to share the recipe — complete with commentary concerning the phone call.

Peep’s Macaroni & Cheese

1 lb. elbow macaroni

Cook to package directions for al dente and drain.

(Actual direction she gave: Cook the macaroni and drain it. You don’t have to cook it too soft because it’ll be in the oven).

Spray a 9X13 pan with cooking oil.

4 cups milk

Pour into a large pan and place on the stove on medium heat

(Peep actually said, dump some milk in the pan. Don’t worry if it’s not enough, you can add more later. I eventually got her to estimate the 4 cups to start. I had to ask about the burner temp as well.)

1 ½ -- 2 lb. cheese

Cut up the cheese into pieces.

(Peep usually uses part cheddar, part longhorn, but occasionally adds a third type of cheese. Small chunks so that they’ll melt easily)

Add the cheese to the milk and stir until the cheese is pretty well melted.

Add the macaroni to the milk mixture. If there is not enough to cover the macaroni, add more milk and stir to blend. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan. Top with shredded cheese (whatever kind you happen to have around the house) and then with bread crumbs.

(Peep said cracker crumbs but the only kind I could find in an image search was graham cracker crumbs: WRONG! I’d try panko). 

Place in a 350° oven until golden brown.

(Peep told me 30-45 minutes but added “for a square pan.” These directions were given with several interjections of “if she’s just making it for the two of them” or “she’ll probably want to use less.”)

A few notes about baking pans:

1) For years Peep made this in a metal pan and we scraped to get the yummy baked-on bottom coating. This year for Easter dinner she made two smaller glass pans: all of the coating came out much more easily and there was very little left for anyone to take home because we all ate seconds and thirds.

2) Peep usually plans ahead and fills a few small aluminum pie pans (think frozen meat pies) with the uncooked mixture, covers with aluminum foil, and pops into the freezer for later or to give to me since she knows I don’t do much cooking.

Another note:

I was sure I remembered her dotting this with butter after the bread crumbs, so you could do that or melt some and drizzle over the mixture. Then again, I didn’t remember her melting the cheese so maybe the butter isn’t necessary.

My niece blogs regularly and often shares her recipes. She can’t imagine cooking without her camera. I don’t cook very often, let alone photograph what I’m cooking. However, what’s a blog recipe without pictures?

 I just popped these out of the freezer to show: Mom gave them to me on Easter Sunday.

This is what’s under the foil of one of them.

And here’s the view of the casserole before it goes into the oven.

Ok, enough of that: both of those babies are re-wrapped and back in the freezer. It’s very tempting to bake and eat them now but it’s 10 p.m. and I’ve already eaten supper.

By the way — if anyone is reading this, don’t tell my son about this: it’s a surprise!

Update to this: The macaroni turned out good but "not like Mom's." Apparently the secret is longhorn cheese. They couldn't find that and used just cheddar. If you can't find longhorn, look for colby (a type of longhorn) or -- in a pinch -- monterey jack.