Comfort Food

Mark your calendars. . . I followed a recipe . . . well, close enough.  I tinker around with Mac and Cheese on a regular basis.  Typically, I shred what ever cheeses are in the fridge, make a custard, add some hot pepper and dry mustard, noodles, and top it with a buttery breadcrumb topping and pop it in the oven.

I don't know what possessed me to try making it from a recipe.  A recipe from folks who probably have never had mac and cheese not from a box before.  I'm blaming this madness on the crud oozing from my nose/brain/throat these days.

First, make the breadcrumb topping.  I throw about an ounce of parm in the food processor and chop it up.  Then, a couple tablespoons of butter, whir.  Then, crumble up some well toasted bread and whir, whir, whir.

I shredded up about 3 cups (okay, maybe more) of smoked gouda, sharp white cheddar, and swiss cheeses.  I made a custard of 1 cup evaporated milk (honestly, I've never bought this stuff before. . . don't know what to think of it) a couple of eggs, some hot sauce, salt, pepper, and dried mustard.  I poured the custard over the cooked noodles, and started stirring in cheese.

Then, it went into the buttered baking dish and topped with bread crumbs.  The hardest part of following the recipe was using only half the box of noodles.  Every part of me said it wasn't enough.  It probably was enough, especially since Phenom doesn't eat mac and cheese . . . but still, how would the Chinese Red Army have enough to eat if THIS were the night they showed up?

I popped the whole thing in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes.  Then, I let it cool just a few minutes before digging in.

It wasn't bad.  In the future, I think I'll stick to my cream/milk/egg custard and leave the canned stuff alone.