Big Kids Mac & Cheese (little kids love it too!)

Its been a warm autumn here in the Berkshires of New England.  On our hill in the woods, the leaves are just beginning to show color.  On the yonder northern hillside, beyond the pond on the other side of the road, the leaves are particularly vibrant in the afternoon sun.  When I stand at my kitchen window, I get a stunning show from the suns spotlight on that hillside and I easily get lost in the view.

Our house is built in the woods on our land and great care was taken to preserve as many trees as possible.   We cut only what was necessary to pour the footprint for our house.  Nestled 400 feet back from the road, we used cedar clapboards, unstained but water sealed,  in order to blend the structure into the natural environment.

We filled the outside walls with as many casement windows as we could fit and essentially, we live in a light filled, woodland house, with a view into the forest surrounding us, from every room in the house.  It’s a spectacular event to sit here at my computer and glance out the windows just in time to see a black bear or bobcat stroll by.  An occasional moose will leave deep prints in the soft earth, proving it gal-lumped by, yet how we usually miss seeing an animal of that size is beyond me.

During the winter months we feed the birds.  We hang the feeders high from a cable to keep the bears and squirrels away from them.  We go through a lot of black oil sunflower seed !!!  Watching the birds is, for me personally,  the greatest meditation therapy.  We see most of the New England birds at our feeders all winter.  The black capped chickadee,  our state bird,  is always the first at the feeders as soon as we hang them late autumn.

Today is one of those fickle  fall days when the sun is half in, half out.  The clouds appear in the sky out of nowhere, dissipate back to nowhere, and occasionally threaten rain.  It’s windy and falling leaves fly into the windows with a slap and a splat.  Big, meaty acorns fall from the oaks, tap dancing their way through  branches and leaves, down to the forest floor, with a velocity that causes them to bounce before they settle.

In my kitchen today, I have garlic roasting and bread dough rising.  The house is warm and I am thinking comfort food.  Which, of course, means pasta.  Mac & cheese kinda pasta.  Cheesy, gooey, comfort infused mac & cheese.

When I was feeding our growing boys, many moons ago, I typically used two boxes of pasta for mac & cheese.  I would make the traditional kid friendly kind.  From butter,  cheese, and pasta.  I would occasionally add peas.  In my mind that was somehow fulfilling my obligation to provide a rounded meal complete with a vegetable !!!  A side of steamed broccoli worked too!

Fortunately, I don’t have to cook that volume these days.  But, when our boys and their young families gather here for a meal, this recipe is the go to.  It faithfully pleases kids of all ages and resonate’s down home comfort in a big way.  I usually pair it with a turkey meatloaf and a salad and no one ever goes home hungry.  If we’re lucky, Bill and I might have some leftovers for lunch the next day.

The Oxford definition of comfort, in part, is…  “a state of physical well being, things that make life easy or pleasant,  cause or provider of satisfaction”.

For me, from the prep standpoint, this recipe falls into Oxford’s definition  “things that make life easy”.  I can’t think of an easier dish to prepare.  I can do this early in the day if necessary and bake it when I’m ready.  It is excellent left over as it re-heats nicely in the microwave or, covered,  in a moderate oven until heated through.

Cost wise, it is still one of the less expensive dishes to make (especially if you are feeding a crowd).  Basically, it’s pasta, butter, milk and cheese.  A cup or two of frozen peas, a 1/4 cup of diced sun dried tomatoes, a minced scallion and/or 2 TB of chopped chives.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Fresh chopped parsley, a dash of dried thyme leaves, maybe some dill.  Anything goes for dried or fresh herbs.  A half cup of plain panko and a freshly sliced tomato if you wish.  Once in a while, if I haven’t got a meat planned to go with it, I will bake some bacon until crispy and crumble it on top of the baked mac & cheese.  Give your creative cooking imagination free reign here…anything goes.

Big Kids Mac & Cheese

First, decide, based on how many you are feeding (and plan on second, maybe even third helpings) how much and what shape of pasta you will be using.  I feed three adults typically and use a one pound box which gives us enough for another meal and a lunch or two.

I use Barilla (NON GMO) pasta, Mezzi Rigatoni or Medium Shells.   Elbows are fine too, just keep in mind you want to use a pasta that has big openings to cradle all that cheesy good sauce you will be pouring over and into it.

Get your pasta out and ready.  This recipe is for one  1 pound box of cooked pasta. Double the cheese sauce for two boxes.

Fill a large stock pot with heavily salted water (per pkg directions)  and set it on your stove top.  Get a large ceramic or glass casserole dish out and ready to fill with goodness.

Now, using a sharp knife, finely chop a small scallion and, if using, 2 TB of fresh chives .  Dice a 1/4 cup of sun dried tomatoes.  Set these aside.

Dice into small chunks, 2 cups of sharp cheddar cheese,  1 cup Fontina cheese and 4 TB of Asiago.

Pour 2 cups of milk in a measuring cup and keep it near a  large sauce pan on your stove top.

In that large sauce pan  (or an enameled cast iron dutch oven, which I use and also bake and serve the mac & cheese in) melt a stick  (1/2 cup) of butter over low heat.  Do not let the butter brown and burn!  Once the butter is melted stir in  the diced scallion and/or chives.  Add 1/4 cup of all purpose flour and whisk into the butter until it is thick and not lumpy.  Slowly add 2 cups of milk while gently whisking it into the flour and butter .  I use whole milk for a creamier sauce.   Feel free to use what ever percent milk you have,  just not skim.

Turn the heat on high under your stock pot of heavily salted water.  Pre heat your oven to 325 degrees.

Continue whisking the butter and milk sauce and add more milk if necessary, to form a smooth, fairly thick sauce (think slightly thinner than sour cream consistency).  Turn the heat up to med/low and add all that cheese, the diced sun dried tomatoes and 1 to 2 cups of frozen peas.  Stir it all into the butter and milk sauce until the cheese  is starting to melt.  You will know when this starts to happen.  Resist the temptation to swipe a bit of that cheesy blend from the sides of the sauce pan.  IT IS HOT!

Now, add your dried and/or fresh herbs and salt and pepper to taste.  Stir them in well and turn the heat off under the sauce pan.

Once the water for your pasta is boiling, cook the pasta according to the directions on the package.  Once the pasta is done, drain it well and pour it into your waiting casserole dish.

Carefully, so as not to burn yourself, pour the cheese sauce over the pasta in the casserole dish.  Using a spatula, scrape all the sauce from the inside of the sauce pan.  Stir the pasta and cheese sauce well,  letting all that cheesy goodness settle into the spaces in the pasta.

Peel, core and thickly slice a large, ripe tomato.  Lay it over the top of the pasta and cheese sauce.  Sprinkle a 1/4 cup of plain panko over the top of the tomatoes (I like to sprinkle a bit of freshly grated Parmesan cheese over the fresh tomato slices as well) and bake uncovered in a 325 degree oven, for about 30 minutes, until the mac & cheese is bubbling and the panko is light brown.

Oxford’s definition of comfort, “a state of physical well being”, most certainly applies to this kind of cooking.  The pleasure that comes from sharing a meal of comfort food, on a cool autumn day,  surrounded by the beauty of nature visible through the windows of a warm house, on a hill,  in the woods.

Many Blessings…