Homemade Macaroni and Cheese: The Topic

[PurpleDingo99]

Weve always made one with plenty of crushed tomatoes with mild cheddar and jack. its just those and the macaroni, layered, but its browned over and fantastic. Our friend with a place does his with really thick cheddar, bacon, and perhaps even chives (its been a while.)

[Aileen]

I'll try the Campbell's soup version, sounds like it will work for my girls. Thanks!

[HotCanary]

Thanks to this thread, I made Martha's version last night, substituting a little heavy cream for some of the milk, and using panko (the most appealing part of Alton's recipe, imo). I know that I made her version once before, during one winter when my husband and I were on a quest for the perfect macaroni and cheese, but this time it was much better. My kids really liked it, so I'll definitely make it again, but I'll probably try John Thorne's, andiesenji's or Delilah's first. I remember making Patty LaBelle's version, with all the velveeta, and I remember thinking it was kinda greasy.

Anyway, this is a great thread for this time of year, if you haven't made any diet resolutions. I think I'll go check out that soup thread now....

[CaliPoutine]

Im a big fan of Alton Browns stove top version. It uses eggs and evap milk. Its good, but not too good the next day. It kinda separates. I also tried a version from cook's illustrated but I wasnt that fond of it.

My SO loves Kraft dinner( she's Canadian and they dont call it Kraft Macncheese here ). I cant stand that and I refuse to cook it or eat it.

[Oat Cake]

My all-time favourite is Souffled Macaroni Cheese - lighter than the traditional versions and totally moreish. It makes a great weeknight supper, which we often enjoy with a simple tomato salad and a glass (or two) of dry white wine.

Souffled Macaroni recipe

[CaliPoutine]

I was watching Chef at Home( michael smith foodtv.ca) and he made a version with penne that was made with lobster. It looked so good. Im off to find the recipe.

[Lan4Dawg]

The other day I was preparing a pork roast to go in the oven and mentioned to the Fuss that macaroni & cheese would be a great side dish w/ the pork. She volunteered to make it but would have to do so when she returned from running errands. One thing led to another & she was running late so I went ahead and prepared the stuff & was just putting the dish in the oven when she returned.

"I thought I was going to make the macaroni & cheese!" she exclaimed upon entering the kitchen.

"Well" I responded, "you were running late & I was still in the kitchen so I went ahead & made it. What is the big deal?"

"I do not like your macaroni & cheese. You put bread crumbs in yours and no self-respecting Southerner would ever put bread crumbs in their macaroni & cheese" she huffed.

Now folks I did not realize this was a regional issue. I checked many of my "traditionally Southern" cook books &, surprisingly, I could only find a couple of receipts for this popular dish. Neither of them used bread crumbs but neither was any thing close to the receipt we use either. Our preparations are similar--we both make a white sauce (however, I add shredded carrots, onion, celery, & a hint of garlic & nutmeg to my white sauce and hers is a standard "bechemal"), blend w/ grated sharp cheddar and macaroni and then bake. The major difference between our dishes--aside fr/ the mirepoix I add to my white sauce--is that I add toasted & lightly buttered bread crumbs & parmesan (roughly 1:1) to the mix. I think the bread crumbs add a little texture to the dish but she feels the addition is ruinous and a slap in the face to those brave boys who wore butter nut & gray and stood tall at Chancellorsville, Sharpsburg, Gettysburg, Shiloh, &c.

Not wanting to sully & besmirch my heritage (note: both of us were born & bread in Georgia) I thought I would ask for opinions on the matter. Is adding bread crumbs to macaroni & cheese a crime against Rhett, Scarlett, & Ashley and I should just take advantage of some culinary re-location act and move to the mid-west? or is it a matter of personal preference w/ no regional ties what-so-ever? or am I the only person in the world who actually puts bread crumbs in their mac & cheese and I should be pulverized in the Cuisinart for committing such an atrocity?

in loving memory of Mr. Squirt (1998-2004)--the best cat ever.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Just did a bit of research on the authenticity of Southern macaroni & cheese dishes and have come to understand that the bread crumbs (sometimes replaced by saltine crumbs) were put on top of the casserole to absorb the excess oils from the butter. And, it appears, that some did use them while others did not ... nothing very revelatory but interesting nonetheless!

[Jaymes]

I add shredded carrots, onion, celery, & a hint of garlic & nutmeg to my white sauce and...toasted & lightly buttered bread crumbs & parmesan (roughly 1:1) to the mix.

...I should just take advantage of some culinary re-location act and move to the mid-west?

Sounds to me like you've turned the glorious, but simple and humble, mac & cheese into some sort of fancy-ass midwestern casserole.

Indeed, a relocation to Ohio might be in order. Perhaps there is a culinary witness protection program to which you can apply.

[Andrew Fenton]

"Fancy-ass." "Midwestern." "Casserole."

Would I have expected ever to see those three words together?

I'm gonna say, mmm, no. Not even with a crack team of an infinite number of typing monkeys on the job. Jaymes, take a bow!

[Lan4Dawg]

I add shredded carrots, onion, celery, & a hint of garlic & nutmeg to my white sauce and...toasted & lightly buttered bread crumbs & parmesan (roughly 1:1) to the mix.

...I should just take advantage of some culinary re-location act and move to the mid-west?

Sounds to me like you've turned the glorious, but simple and humble, mac & cheese into some sort of fancy-ass midwestern casserole.

Indeed, a relocation to Ohio might be in order. Perhaps there is a culinary witness protection program to which you can apply.

←

Ohio?! but....Sherman was from Ohio! & so was Grant! Any where but Ohio!

actually I usually make a white sauce w/ shredded carrots, celery, & onions, a hint of garlic & nutmeg so it is not just the mac & cheese that gets that treatment. Now if I wanted to make it "fancy ass" I would use sixteen types of cheese & make my own pasta but then I would be too "fancy assed" for Ohio and you would want to send me to New York City.

in loving memory of Mr. Squirt (1998-2004)--the best cat ever.

[emmapeel]

Hmmmm, no, no breadcrumbs. It isn't southern, I think, but I have seen it done. The issue about the white sauce, I would agree would not have carrots, celery or onions. Garlic and nutmeg on the other hand, are the "secret" used in this dish by many southern cooks.

Mayhaw Man, where are you?

I'm a northerner raised by an Alabaman southerner.

Edited March 8, 2005 by emmapeel (log)

[andiesenji]

I grew up in Kentucky and we did put bread crumbs on top of mac and cheese and I still do most of the time but not always. (Some people feel Kentucky is not really part of the "true" south but mention that to some Kentuckians and you will get some strong words. It is not just the source of stong likker, beautiful horses and fast women! or something to that effect)

In fact, there were several noodle dishes prepared and topped with bread crumbs and of course we had a lenten dish that was "ribbon" noodles tossed with buttered and toasted bread crumbs then served with stewed dried fruits, usually prunes or peaches, the last of the dried fruits from the previous year.

Edited March 7, 2005 by andiesenji (log)

[Jaymes]

"Fancy-ass."  "Midwestern."  "Casserole."

Would I have expected ever to see those three words together? 

I'm gonna say, mmm, no.  Not even with a crack team of an infinite number of typing monkeys on the job.  Jaymes, take a bow!

Having done several stints in the midwest -- including Kansas and Nebraska -- I can assure you that 'fancy-ass' is in the eye of the beholder (or the woman whose covered dish has been placed immediately alongside).

But perhaps Ohio was a bit too harsh.

Edited March 7, 2005 by Jaymes (log)

[racheld]

Wooo, Jaymes!!! You could nail Jello to the wall!!

What a great sentence. As a longtime student (PhD in Church Suppers, WMU meetings, Garden Club receptions, et al) of the Southern covered dish social phenomenon, may I say you have captured the heart of every woman who sets down her best effort, in her best, prettiest dish, and then looks up to see that new hussy bearing in a tray of hummingbird tongues garnished with Carmen Miranda's best hat.

The Pillsbury Cookoff pulls forth no such efforts as the collective strivings of a community of proud cooks on Church Supper night. You took that pride, that work and effort and heartwish, and condensed it into one concise, knifesharp sentence. Bravo.

rachel

And mirepoix in macaroni? Ohio's too good for 'em.

[mizducky]

To be sure, I don't think I've ever seen any mirepoix show up in any Northern mac'n'cheese I've ever had, either.

[ladyyoung98]

all i can say is southern or not one thing still remains...a recipe is MERELY A SUGGESTION and not a hard and fast rule..persoonally my thought is if she doesnt like it she doesnt have to eat it....and i see nothing wrong with being creative with your cooking ...whether it be mac and cheese or something else...nobody has the divine right to tell you what you can and cant do and still call your self a southerner..just because your way is not her way..that doesnt make you any less of a southerner and last time i checked cooking is still a creative process and if someone is trying to stifle your creativity then whats the point? if there were no experimentation with food then we would all still be eating half raw meat over a fire and living in caves....i hope we are much more civilized than cro magnun man..we certainly eat better.....

perhaps your friend suffers from a little culinary tunnel vision and may benefit from a little experimentation from the norm..it might..at the very least...make her a little more open minded?

Edited March 7, 2005 by ladyyoung98 (log)

[ladyyoung98]

after much searching i would like to add that the origins of macaroni and cheese itself are from southern italy and it should be noted that they did indeed use bread crumbs....

however it was thomas jefferson who is credited with the american version of macaroni and cheese...and while being from virginia and thus from the south..his is by no means the only recipe...he did what most of us do in cooking...the recipe was taken as merely a suggestion and we were given a whole new version of macaroni and cheese...more properly jefferson was given credit for bringing back a pasta maker while he was minister to france and his daughter did the rest

information given came from clifford a white who wrote a book on the history of pasta and while mac and cheese was not covered in his book specifically...a way to contact him was given and i sent an email asking about the origins of mac and cheese..and the above is the information i was given

Edited March 7, 2005 by ladyyoung98 (log)

[Mayhaw Man]

To paraphrase one of Southern Literature's most ignoble heros, Ignatious Reilly, the bard of Constantinople St., who when speaking to a group of quarterites, pretend sailors, and militant lesbians concerning a timely and important political event he was planning- He was asked if some of them might arrive at the gathering in costume? Ignatius replied, more or less,

"I would not object to a few tasteful maskers"

And that is pretty much how I feel about macaroni and cheese. I like it with some sauteed onion and a bit of cayenne baked into the mix, but then again, I like it straight up. What's not to like. A few tasteful ingredients, properly chosen and used, what's not to like?

Here in New Orleans this dish is often referred to by natives as "baked macaroni". A fine example of this dish is to be had at Rocky and Carlo's Restaurant out in St Bernard (where you would likely meet many of Ignatius's schoolmates from the 50's, as during the 60's the all moved out to "da Parish" or "Da Nint Ward"). I also like the stuff that they have at Semolina's, although it is hardly traditional in any sense of the word-but it was a staple when the boys were little and we ate there all of the time (my wife designed the interiors of the first twenty or so restaurants so we had a trade out that was pretty bottomless-we ate a lot of the stuff).

Anyway, I am ok with stuff in it. Bell peppers and onions are not too uncommon, pimientos are occasionally seen, and it is often served up pretty spicy with cayenne, so I'm ok with that too.

Who's to say what's right? There is not a right, I don't think, really. What's wrong, though, is when you forget to call me when it's ready. In case you are at a loss, it goes great with baked ham and some biscuits.

Let me know what time to be there.

[chromedome]

In the case of anyone other than one's mother or SO, the correct answer would be: "If you don't like it scrape it off, and get over yer (sorry, "yo'") big bad self..."

Of course, there may be repercussions.

[jess mebane]

Just did a bit of research on the authenticity of Southern macaroni & cheese dishes and have come to understand that the bread crumbs (sometimes replaced by saltine crumbs) were put on top of the casserole to absorb the excess oils from the butter. And, it appears, that some did use them while others did not ... nothing very revelatory but interesting nonetheless!

←

Nothing very revelatory, indeed! Specious research which reveals southerners topping m&c with bread dust to "absorb excess oils from the butter" is akin to research showing mint were applied to juleps to absorb excess bourbon. It does explain, perhaps, whence from the term "Cracker" might've originated.

[joiei]

It does explain, perhaps, whence from the term "Cracker" might've originated.

←

careful now. I am proud of my florida cracker heritage.

[Mabelline]

Cracker is a term relating to the folks who herded cattle through the glades with whips. It has nothing to do with whiskey. It refers to the wildin's that folks took over in their own attempt to become 'settled'.Get it right, damnit. There are numerous breeds of animals, all endangered now that are known as cracker: Cattle, Horses, Goats, and Sheep.

[andiesenji]

Okay folks, here is an answer from someone from the deep south, Laurel, Mississippi.

Her mamma made several versions of maccaroni and cheese, INCLUDING one with toasted bred crumbs on the top, and also sometimes with crumbled bacon.

She said that sometimes they had mac and cheese as well as maccaroni salad at the same meal, usually with collard greens. The mac and cheese was treated the same as if it was meat, when times were difficult.

[ladyyoung98]

footnote to the the southern italian origination of the mac and cheese....cheese was pretty expensive there at some point in time and bread crumbs were added as a topping because of that same high price which in effect turned it into a type of au gratin dish...the poor mans mac n cheese...at that point in time only the rich could afford not to have to use bread crumbs

Edited March 10, 2005 by ladyyoung98 (log)