Macaroni & Cheese... Part 1

As far as I can remember, I've always loved macaroni and cheese. Of course I grew up on Stouffer's frozen mac and cheese that my mom would prepare for me- first microwaved, then in the oven to get the burnt-around-the-edges crunch and flavor. I probably ate some burnt plastic along the way, but I didn't know better.

It was only until, I believe, my junior year of High School when I decided to make a dinner for my friends, that I ever had REAL mac & cheese . It was a whole big ordeal because I was making mostly everything from scratch. I decided on a chicken cordon-bleu-sort-of-dish, and homemade 4-cheese macaroni. I decided to do a test-run with my then-best friend Shirley. She came over one night for a sleepover and we got to shredding what felt like 4 lbs of cheese in my kitchen. My mom would check in every now and then, but it was just us girls and a sense of accomplishment fell over us.

We stayed up until 1am baking this damn thing. But you know what? It was the most glorious mac and cheese I had ever had up until that point. Full from our endeavor and gossip of boys, we fell asleep. I made it again for the actual dinner and while I do not remember the dinner or who was even at my apartment, I recall no one getting sick; and maybe even receiving a few compliments.

I've had some pretty good homemade mac since then: David R. took me to S'mac in the East village in college; Dave B. took me to Nolita House last year; I've taken people to good enough to eat, never disappointing them; last month, Brett S. took a bunch of us to Dumont for their burgers, with M&C as an appetizer; and a couple of weeks ago, my Aunt Bicky invited me out for my cousin Miranda's 10th birthday lunch at Rachel's American Bistro. While I didn't order the mac, Miranda did. and I tasted it. And it was delicious. Much better than my cheeseburger.

The day after, I met up with Marc at the Whitney Museum. While the exhibits were great (Saw the whimsical circus and sculptures by Alexander Calder, William Eggleston's Photographs, and Alex Bag's effed up video), I was starving and excited to go out to dinner. I suggested Chat'N Chew in Union Sq since I heard they had pretty good M&C. I ordered it (he got the burrito), and while it satiated my craving for the time being, I wasn't exactly satisfied; I wanted the kind I had at Nolita House... the kind with bacon.

A few days later, Marc invited me out to dinner with him and his friend, Dan. He wanted a relaxed restaurant with comfort food, so I gave him a list of places that I found to be voted the best of the best. He decided on Westville (the W. Village location). They only had an appetizer of it, but it had bacon; I was a happy camper.

I've been planning on making M&C for the superbowl tomorrow, and one recipe I found is so incredibly decadent, I knew I had to make it. However, I am at home, and sour cream less. So this recipe will actually combine two... Martha Stewart's macaroni & cheese recipe with Paula Deen's twist... fried and wrapped in a slice of bacon. I KNOW, AMAZING!!!

I've altered her recipe in that I halved everything, and excluded the bread pieces.

Martha Stewart’s Creamy Mac & Cheese, The Way I Did It

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for casserole
2 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons coarse salt, plus more for water
Pinch ground nutmeg
Pinch teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 1/2 cups Grated Medium Cheddar Cheese
1 cup Grated Monterrey Jack Cheese
1/2 cup of Grated Gruyere
1/4 cup of Grated Parmesan Cheese
10 oz elbow macaroni (a little more than half the box)

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish; set aside.

2. Warm the milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. When the butter bubbles, add the flour. Cook, stirring, 1 minute.

3. While whisking, slowly pour in the hot milk a little at a time to keep mixture smooth. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick, about 6 minutes

4. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, all of the cheese, leaving a cup of cheddar for the topping on the side. Set cheese sauce aside.

5. Cover a large pot of salted water, and bring to a boil. Cook the macaroni until the outside of pasta is cooked and the inside is underdone, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well. Stir the macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce.

6. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheese. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.