Mac & Cheese, by Ellen Brown

Who Says Macaroni and Cheese Has to Come from a Blue Box?

The Baby Boomer generation got stiffed when it came to food while growing up. If you don't remember how, consider these two words: TV Dinner! Many of us didn’t even know until just recently that macaroni and cheese doesn’t always come in a blue box. Ahhh, that humble casserole of yellow cheese melted over pasta: my mouth waters.

There are probably very few dishes more closely associated with “comfort food” than macaroni and cheese; which is probably why, the upturned nose of many a self-styled gourmand, it's made a hearty comeback recentl. It's on the menu of gastropubs and chichi restaurants alike, and I even tried a bacon and spinach version from Tucson’s Eclectic Café recently. That's probably because just before we left on vacation, I cooked my first batch of mac-cheese from Ellen Brown’s Mac & Cheese, “Philly Cheesesteak Mac & Cheese” (p. 138). I found it in a section of "Hearty Macs"; and it is definitely yummy in the tummy!

Recipes Brown’s assembled perhaps seventy recipes in all, most adapted from dishes served in restaurants across the country like Nosh(Dallas), Ciro’s (Sun Valley, ID) and Macbar (NYC). Besides the “classic combination,” she groups the recipes by their additional ingredients such as seafood, pork, veggies, and beef. She rounds out the menu with appetizers (finger foods) and dessert (no kidding - they're “Sweet Endings”). Besides recipes there are segments devoted to key ingredients; with charts describing different cheeses and the range of pasta shapes from anelli to rotini. She prints her definition of “al dente” (not some Italian dentist), directions on heating dairy products and why they burn so fast, and instructions on making roux. And you thought roux was only for Cajun food!

The recipes are mostly straightforward. After all, there’s only so much you can logically do to a dish as robust as mac and cheese. Most recipes start with the same basic ingredients: heavy cream, whole milk, butter, flour, cheese (one or two kinds), and  cooked pasta. The devil's in the details of the other ingredients, like roasted poblanos, linguica (a Portuguese sausage), chicken, duck, lobster, tuna, shrimp, Vidalia onions, bacon, tomato... I could go on. Many of the recipes include onions and garlic, and most call for herbs and spices. All but a few have a topping; whether the usual breadcrumbs and crushed crackers or more trendy Panko crumbs; and even a few oddities like crushed tortilla chips.

Cooking instructions are straightforward; though many violate a cardinal rule of cookbooks: don’t make a cook turn a page in the middle of cooking! This is probably because virtually every recipe has its own full-color photo. Steve Legato's shots definitely look tasty.

Additional

Brown does not include nutritional information, but most of us would rather not know the fat content of a recipe including a cup of heavy cream, half a stick of butter, half a cup of whole milk, three ounces of two different cheeses and two tablespoons of olive oil. It makes my arteries hurt just to read it! I’ve tried substitutes for the heavy cream with some success. The recipes have been hits, though a little dry.

Many recipes are downright fascinating, including one that Alton Brown claims is the best in the country (Skillet-Fried Cheddar Mac and Cheese, from the kitchen of a roadhouse called Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor, Michigan). As a dedicated sausage fan, I can’t wait to try some sausage macs, through I don't think I’m ready for the ones with shrimp or lobster. I will most likely pass on updated versions of turkey tetrazzini and tuna casserole. The desserts are mostly cannelloni, kugel, and orzo pudding, though a macaroni with pecan caramel mascarpone looks interesting.

Sure, a book entirely dedicated to Mac & Cheese sounds like a literary version of a one-trick pony, but Ellen Brown makes it much more even while bringing humble macaroni and cheese out of church basements and neighborhood potlucks. If you'd like some fabulous updates to what might have been your favorite food when you were eleven, here's the place to start!

Summary: 

PLUS: many a great recipe
MINUS: artery-clogging ingredients and a few recipes that might make you gag
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: Ellen Brown updates your childhood favorite for the 21st Century: Mac & Cheese


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