mmm... mac and cheese

Please forgive the slightly blurry camera phone shot. My camera wasn't working and Jamie was kind enough to take a few shots for me.

I am a carb slut, it is true. I have a deep fondness for breads and pastas and I've never met a potato I didn't like. My waistline and my genetic predisposition for diabetes don't appreciate it, but often I find myself with fiendish cravings for starchy dishes. I also adore dairy products. Cheese, in all its delicious varieties, is probably one of the single greatest accomplishments of human civilization. Forget penicillin, I vote for cheese. Given my penchant for cheesy, carby goodness, I was none too surprised when last Sunday I woke up with a huge hankering for mac and cheese.


My mac and cheese cravings are regular events. They usually take two forms. The first type of craving I get is a terrible culinary sin which I must confess to you: I get cravings for the big-blue-box, can-last-through-a-nuclear-fallout Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Dinner. When I was a child my mother would never buy the stuff so I only ever got to have Blue Box macaroni and cheese at daycare or during sleepovers at a friend's house. It was contraband, it was sinful, I loved the stuff. Still do.

The second type of mac and cheese craving I get is for the proper gourmet, four-cheese type that comes bubbling out of the oven all golden and creamy. Luckily the most recent craving was the second type. I knew I couldn't ignore said craving, but making proper mac and cheese just for yourself is impractical. So I invited my friend Jamie over for dinner and we indulged in creamy mac and cheese baked in french soup crocks and served with tomato basil soup and my favorite salad of roasted butternut squash, arugula and cranberry.

The salad and the soup deserve their own glory so I will detail those recipes in the next post, but below is the recipe I came up with for:

Winter Ale and Aged Cheddar Baked Macaroni and Cheese
 Makes ~ 6 generous servings
8 oz Whole wheat or regular pasta (to me most accurate one would use macaroni pasta, but I used shells)
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
1.5 c half and half (whole milk is fine too)
8 oz (1 cup) favorite winter ale (New Belgium Brewery makes a nice one)
1 c sharp cheddar, shredded
1/4 c fancy aged cheddar
1/4 c any other good melting cheese you need to use up
1/4 c Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4c Bread crumbs (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 350 deg. Fahrenheit

Boil pasta according to package directions and drain.

In a medium-sized saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. When butter has melted and has just started to brown, whisk in flour to form a paste. Cook the flour and butter paste for a few minutes until the mixture is a light gold and the flour has lost its raw smell (you are making a blond roux) Next, turn the heat down to medium low and whisk in the beer. The beer will foam and the mixture will become very thick very quickly but keep whisking. Once the beer is incorporated add the milk in two stages, whisking vigorously after each addition to work out any lumps. Continue whisking gently and bring the mixture up to a simmer to complete the thickening process. Remove from heat and add in the grated cheese, reserving the Parmesan. Whisk gently until the cheese has melted into the sauce. Season to taste.

Drink the remaining 4oz of beer.

Mix the noodles and the cheese sauce in a baking dish. Smooth out the top and sprinkle with the reserved Parmesan and and bread crumbs and bake for about 20 minutes or until the Parmesan has melted and the sauce is bubbly.