Last night friends came round for dinner. I made macaroni cheese, which we had with a big bowl of salad - proof that you don’t need to cook anything flash or lavish when you have people over. Of course, we drank many bottles of wine.
I used Alison Roman’s recipe for creamy weeknight macaroni cheese, even though it was a weekend night. The recipe was published on NY Times Cooking before they cancelled Alison Roman and stopped publishing her recipes. I’d made this mac and cheese before, and knew it was a basic one: simply cooked macaroni stirred through a creamy, cheesy sauce. There’s no onion, no bacon bits, no crumb. Just simple, naked macaroni cheese. Alison Roman describes it as being akin to box macaroni cheese, which is right. Sometimes basic is all you need, but macaroni cheese from a box is definitely not what you need.
Phil was dubious about me making macaroni cheese without a crumb, and without baking it. I told him not to worry as we were eating bowls of pho and plates of spring rolls on a dreary Saturday afternoon at Mekong Cafe. I tried to assure him that the crunch of the salad would make up for the lack of crunch from a crumb. He wasn’t convinced and kept pushing the need for some sort of crumb. I met him in the middle and agreed to a crumb, but said I wouldn’t be doing any baking. We settled on cooking panko breadcrumbs in oil until they were golden and crispy, seasoning them with salt and pepper, and stirring through lots of finely chopped parsley.
The addition of the crumb was a masterstroke. And how easy to just sprinkle a flourish of the stuff over warm bowls of pasta. Full credit to Phil.
It made me think about the fact that most people have their preferred way of cooking - and more importantly eating - macaroni cheese. My friend Ruth was adamant about the need for a crumb, like Phil. She mentioned bacon bits too, but she’s vegetarian, so we won’t put much stock in that suggestion.
My Dad’s macaroni cheese always has a crumbly top and is always baked. I remember it being baked in a round glass Pyrex dish when I was a kid. His macaroni cheese usually has pieces of ham (it used to be bacon before my Mum stopped eating bacon), mushrooms and capsicum in it too. Phil didn’t rate the inclusion of capsicum, when we were talking about macaroni cheese late last night while he was doing the dishes. I’m sure capsicum is one of the world’s most polarising vegetables. While Phil was cleaning pots and pans I told him that I remembered an old university friend talking about his mum’s macaroni cheese which always included chopped up hard boiled egg, whole grain mustard and pieces of tomato. Phil and I both agreed on the egg and mustard but thought the tomato would just be a soggy mess.
Regardless of how you like your macaroni cheese - and we all have our own preferences, what a boring world if we didn’t - here’s a good base to pimp up as you please. Or not.
Creamy weeknight (or weekend night) macaroni and cheese
Alison Roman
1 pound pasta elbows
Kosher salt
2 cups whole milk
8 ounces cream cheese, cut into pieces
12 ounces sharp cheddar, grated
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Freshly ground pepper
Step 1
Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water until just barely al dente; drain.
Step 2
Meanwhile, bring milk up to a simmer in a large pot. (The pot should be large enough to hold all the pasta when cooked.) Reduce heat to low, add cream cheese, and whisk until it’s completely blended and no lumps remain. Add cheddar cheese and butter, whisking until everything is completely melted. Season with salt and a generous amount of pepper.
Step 3
Add cooked pasta and stir to coat. Continue to cook over medium-low heat until the sauce has thickened and is coating each piece of pasta nicely, 2 to 3 minutes; sauce will continue to thicken as it cools. Season again with more salt and pepper before serving.
PS. That little by-line about nudity got you intrigued didn’t it? Apparently Ruth and her sister are going to write a smutty novel while they’re holidaying in Lisbon next month. Can’t wait!