America's favorite comfort food Mac and cheese fits every taste - and budget

boston.com ^ | February 18, 2009 | Sheryl Julian

[JoeProBono]

You can be sitting in a high chair or in a high-style Italian chair, and if someone sets a bowl of mac and cheese in front of you, you're bound to be delighted. This humble bowl of mostly white ingredients is currently the most sought-after comfort food on American tables. It suits everyone: teens, vegetarians, lumberjacks, sophisticates.Mac and cheese is on many restaurant menus, partly because of the economy, mostly because customers love it and want it. The dish went from the home to the professional kitchen (dishes usually travel the opposite way: from chefs to home cooks). And because restaurant diners are expecting something considerably fancier than a good version of the famous blue box, chefs have gone to town, using top-quality imported pasta, heavy cream, farmstead cheeses, and their own flourishes: truffles and truffle oil, lobster, and secret flavorings. At Glenn's in Newburyport, chef-owner Glenn Mayers adds five cheeses to his bechamel sauce, stirs that into penne, and spoons the mixture over morsels of warm lobster in a gratin dish. Even though he changes his menu all the time, he can't take this dish off. "It's big time popular," he says.

[Mase]

We only got that “gourmet” if we had dates for dinner. Fortunately, we’d have enough cheap wine or beer to distract them from what we’d prepared. As a starving student I lived on the stuff and cutting hot dogs up and adding them in was really styling. Kraft Mac and Cheese is landfill that won’t leave you hungry. Gotta love starch when the budget is tight.

[mmichaels1970]

Heck, I like the stuff outta the box but the very, very best I've ever had was from a recipe from America's Test Kitchen.

Tried to find it on their website...bummer. They want me to pay or get a trial membership or something like that.

[ken5050]

I think so..but it’s the only way to go...

[NewJerseyJoe]

I make my noodles (Barilla Plus elbows). While draining, I melt a little butter in the pan, mix in some milk, dry mustard, and a little black pepper. Put the hot pasta back in, and add some shredded sharp cheddar cheese, which melts almost immediately. MMMmmmmmmm.

Uses just one pot and takes very little time.

[Mase]

Dorm gourmet. With an iron no less. Very creative. It’s amazing to see a typical dorm room today. It’s nothing like we’d remember.

[JoeProBono]

Entree Mac & Cheese

[ravingnutter]

Back in the day we couldn’t have anything other than a popcorn popper in the dorm. brought an ancient one that had a coiled heating unit so was able to heat up all sorts of soups and pasta. We also grilled hot dogs on an iron covered with foil.

What...no squirrel?

[LucyJo]

Rachael Ray's Reuben Mac n Cheese

[G L Tirebiter]

Two parts Colby to one part good quality Cheddar plus whole milk for the sauce. A healthy splash of Tabasco adds some zip.

A great crust is also critical. Breadcrumbs tossed with melted butter applied liberally (the only time I use the word in a non-perjorative manner)completes the dish.

[ZirconEncrustedTweezers]

“A great crust is also critical. Breadcrumbs tossed with melted butter applied liberally (the only time I use the word in a non-perjorative manner)completes the dish.”

Perhaps you should say “generously” instead of “liberally”? :)

[ravingnutter]

Yep...no box stuff here. Homemade Macaroni and Cheese with Beef Sausage is on the menu tonight at my house. Good stuff. I love the oven baked kind if I have time to fix it.

[caseinpoint]

Let’s not forget the trusty Ramen Noodles. That really takes me back. And, yes, mac’n cheese is still comfort food for me also—homemade is better but the blue box is good for a pinch when I need comfort more than taste. Think I’ll try that chili idea someday.

[ravingnutter]

Rotel is good in Mac and Cheese too.

[TASMANIANRED]

Iron and foil can also make pannini or as we Americans used to call it, grilled ham and cheese.

[caseinpoint]

I’ll check it out. My daughter just pointed Rotel out to me a couple of weeks ago. I grew up in a meat and potatoes family, right out of Ireland and Scotland. I think I was fourteen when I had my first taco and I mistakenly assumed that tabasco sauce was watered-down catsup. ;o)

[dfwgator]

"Mmmmmmm Kroff Dinner!"

[N. Theknow]

This dish has always sounded yummy but, alas, I don't like the taste of any cheese except camembert with a nice red wine.

That said, mac-n-mac is pretty good with a nice garlic sauce.

[nothingnew]

I like the way you think...and cook. Having all the mess cleaned up before dining is a must for me....I also won't prepare food if the kitchen has dirty dishes laying around, or a dirty stove top. I clean all that first....(I'm a guy)

FMCDH(BITS)

[ZirconEncrustedTweezers]

“That said, mac-n-mac is pretty good with a nice garlic sauce.”

You mean like aglio e olio? That’s another of my faves.

I have to say that I enjoy pasta in nearly every form I can find it in. :)

[radiohead]

I’m gonna mess with everyone’s mind by talking about vegan mac & cheese made with nutritional yeast rather than cheese. Tastes darn good.

I like what we call ‘macaroni mac’ - mac & cheese w/onions, peppers, celery, TVP hamburger substitute, and tomato sauce. Them’s eats! Of course, I used to eat this stuff w/cheese and hamburger before going vegan, and if you don’t tell the vegan police, I have 2 blue boxes in my cabinet waiting for all the fixings.’ At least it’s vegetarian. I can’t believe how cheap it is (I hadn’t bought any for years), considering you can get a pretty substantial meal out of it.