A "classic" : macaroni and cheese

Yes, unless you're someone who avoids dairy products, you love it , don't you? I have put "classic" in quotes because we all know mac and cheese as a classic. But aren't classics immutable? They're supposed to be the same, every time . How you react to them changes, but they are constant.

I guess that is what distinguishes cooking from anything else. When someone speaks of a dish as a "classic" inevitably it means that there's more than one, and usually dozens, of variations on the dish. Mac and cheese is really a "classic" example of this. I have had it about a hundred different ways, and liked most of them. My favorite is one that is served at the restaurant "Good," which is about five minutes from where we live. I think they use cream in place of the standard milk, and probably use a much higher cheese to macaroni recipe than is usual, and I know they use buttered bread crumbs to finish the dish. They also put anaheim green chilis in the dish, which is a variation I heartily approve of. But I also know that when I order it, I am NEVER going to finish it. The portion is not enormous, but it is so rich that I literally can feel my stomach closing off after just a few bites. And I love every one of them.

I don't think there are many variations that are not valid. Except for one class of them. To quote that wonderfully sardonic humorist Fran Lebovitz "cheese that, by law, must be followed by the word food, does not go well with fruit and wine." And it makes awful mac and cheese. Just about anything else goes. And then it boils down to what you like.

About a year ago , the New York Times attacked this question, and published what they referred to as the "definitive" mac and cheese recipe. If something is "definitive," I'll try it. It was okay. Not bad, not great. I thought mine was better. Other readers were a bit less generous. To the credit of the Times, they published a good ten or so of them. And it shows the kind of debate you have about this kind of dish: it's comforting, it's rich, it's filling, and it's easy to make. You can gussy it up, you can make it simple, and it works. I've had it with truffles, I've had it with peppers, I've had it every which way. And I make it differently every time. I've just made it for a party, and in thinking about it, I'm going to give the guidelines for how I make it, being more general, and specific, to try to tell you how I do it.

You need to make a bechamel. Just like in the white lasagna post I put down a few weeks ago. Make it a little looser - say an extra half cup of milk or so. I made it today with three tablespoons of butter and three of flour , and then three cups of milk. But before you do this, grate your cheese. Now, I had a full, two pounds of pasta that I was going to cook, so I needed 1.75 pounds of cheese for my dish. I ALWAYS use cheddar, and then two other kinds of cheese. This time, it was havarti, and fontina. I always use cheddar - SHARP cheddar, because the "nip" it adds to the dish is essential, in my view. Havarti, because it's a nice, comfortable, filling cheese, and fontina, because it melts so well and has a nice complex flavor. Don't try grating the fontina. It's sort of like trying to get a cat to follow instructions. I cut it into cubes. Then, when the bechamel is finished, I toss in a good tablespoon of mustard - don't matter what kind. I used horseradish mustard. Then I tossed in about 3/4 of the cheese and it melted right away, into the hot bechamel.

A digression here. This is why it's important to learn the basic sauces. If you know how to make a bechamel - and you should from the white lasagna blog - you can make DOZENs of variations. The one I made with the cheese was for macaroni and cheese, but it could just have easily been used to cover vegetables. You can use it for just about anything and in fact, if you thin it with stock, you have a lovely cheese soup.

But enough of the digression. Now that the cheese sauce is done, you still have some of the cheese left over, and this is a good thing. You put it aside and cook your pasta. But only cook it for about 2/3 of the time that the package recommends. Use lots of salt in the water. For some reason, salt just seems to disappear into macaroni and cheese, at least in my experience.

When the pasta has cooked for that 2/3 of the time, drain it, and hold a cup of water in reserve. Put it back in the pot, and then add the sauce to it, stirring it all together. If it looks too thick or dense, add that cup of water. Pour the macaroni into a buttered, 9x13 inch pan (NEVER metal: glass or ceramic please). Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top, and then bake this, at 400, for about thirty minutes.

That's really all you need to do. Some variations: you can put a little cooked meat into the dish. Sausage ham and bacon all really work well. I stay away from vegetables in it, because they tend to overcook and lose their character. Like I said above, a buttered bread crumb crust is good. You could also put some chilis into it, or truffles if you have lots of money. But ultimately, all you need is that bechamel sauce and lots of cheese.

This makes a lot. You'll need it. People always take seconds. I take thirds.

Now, go and ask other people about their macaroni and cheese recipe. You'll see what I mean.