Flat-Out Fabulous Macaroni and Cheese

Given that I have diabetes, macaroni and cheese isn't on my list of dishes to make. I love it--who doesn't--but like pizza it's the poster dish for all I shouldn't eat. But in August my neighbors decided to have a potluck alley party and I was in need of a dish that adults and kids would love. What better than mac 'n cheese?

Because I'm not an old hand with a favorite dish, I consulted various people in my circle and was told that Chef Flor Franco had made a stunning one recently. She's a good friend so I texted her, asking what her key ingredients were. Her answer? Heavy whipping cream, sharp white cheddar and manchego cheese. Oh, and bacon.

I was with her up till the bacon. I love bacon but I felt it was just one ingredient too many for what I wanted to do, especially if kids were going to eat it. After all, they were likely fans of the blue box. I went shopping for ingredients and found that heavy whipping cream--at least at Trader Joe's was ridiculously expensive. Since most people use milk, I compromised with half and half.

Then there was the actual how-to. You'd be surprised at how many techniques there are for making mac 'n cheese. I know, your mom or grandma's is the best, but I have to say there are a lot of contenders out there. I was drawn to two approaches: Alton Brown and Martha Stewart. It was easy enough to sort out the basics and create my own version using the best of what I found. A little less cooking of the pasta here, the spice combo there, tempering eggs, panko topping. 

Well, it all came together in a bubbling, rich, creamy casserole with a crusty top and lots of flavor. And, friends, I had very little left over to take home. I'll remember it fondly when I munch on a green salad.

Macaroni and Cheese

(printable recipe)

Serves 12 to 16

1 pound elbow macaroni

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter

6 cups half and half

½ cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons kosher salt

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 cup yellow onion, finely diced

1 bay leaf

2 large eggs, beaten

12 ounces sharp white cheddar, shredded

12 ounces manchego cheese, shredded

Topping

3 tablespoons butter

1 cup panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish and set aside.

Fill a large pot with salted water and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook 2 to 3 minutes less than the package directions. (The pasta will finish cooking while it bakes.) Transfer to a colander, rinse under cold water, and drain well. Set aside while making the sauce.

While the pasta is cooking, in another pot, melt the butter. When it bubbles, whisk in the flour and stir for 1 minute. Stir in half and half, salt, nutmeg, ground pepper, cayenne pepper, onion, and bay leaf. Temper in the eggs by stirring in a little of the milk mixture to the eggs and then adding that mixture to the sauce. Slowly stir in ¾ of the cheese. Whisk constantly until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick. Remove from heat and remove bay leaves.

Stir the macaroni into the sauce. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Mix together the remaining cheeses and sprinkle evenly over the mixture. 

Melt the 3 tablespoons of butter for the topping in a sauté pan and add the panko crumbs. Stir until coated. Top the cheese-covered macaroni with the bread crumbs.

Bake for 45 minutes uncovered or until brown on top. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

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Food and Respecting the Body

I'm sure I'm not the only one who keeps getting questioned about New Year's resolutions. I hate them, to be honest, so I like the response Will Shortz gave Liane Hanson this morning on NPR's Morning Edition Sunday. He doesn't do them because he can improve himself year round.

But, of course, after weeks of indulging over the holidays it's time to recalibrate the eating impulses, get back to exercising and create a little more balance between the two. As a friend of mine said to me at lunch last week, she's not interested in dieting but in respecting her body. I love that approach. And, actually, throughout these weeks I tried to create some healthful meals to keep me from going completely over the edge and I also sought some ways to insert some extra nutrients into dishes I already enjoy.

One of the easiest ways to do this in cold weather is through soups. The tendency, of course, is to go for hearty, heavy, meaty soups, but one of my favorites, along with roasted squash soup, is red pepper soup. The recipe is something I rediscovered in a book I've had for about 25 years, "Martha Stewart's Quick Cook." The book dates back to before Martha Stewart was an empire and household name. But, it holds up and the soup is one I used to make with friends I cooked with in L.A. It's creamy but there's no cream involved; in fact, this is a very healthy soup but packed with flavor. And very easy to make. It actually was the perfect solution for me to make use of the half dozen gorgeous red, orange and yellow peppers my mom gave me after a trip to Costco.


The recipe calls for butter but you can easily skip that and just add more olive oil. I, of course, also add several more cloves of garlic. I also skipped step 4 and simply used a jar of roasted red peppers I had bought at Trader Joe's.

Red Pepper Soup
from Martha Stewart's Quick Cook

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients
8 red peppers
3 carrots, peeled
3 shallots, peeled
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 pear, peeled and quartered
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 quart chicken stock
1 teaspoon crushed dried red pepper
Dash of cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
Sprigs of fresh tarragon to taste

1. Slice thinly 6 of the peppers, the carrots, shallots, garlic, and pear.
2. Heat the oil and butter in a large skillet and saute the sliced vegetables and pear over medium-low heat until tender, 8 to 10 minutes.



3. Add the stock, dried red pepper, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for 25 to 30 minutes.


4. While the soup is cooking, roast the remaining red peppers directly on the gas flame (or under a hot broiler), rotating them with tongs until completely charred. Put them in a paper bag for 5 minutes to sweat. Wash off the blackened skin under cold running water and remove seeds. Drain on paper towels.
5. Puree the soup in a food processor or blender, adding one of the roasted red peppers. Pour the pureed soup back into the pan and reheat over low flame. (Note, I used my KitchenAid immersion blender instead, directly in the pot of soup. No muss; no fuss.)
6. Julienne the remaining red pepper into fine strips and add them to the soup. Garnish with tarragon and serve with French bread. (Note: As you can see, I left out the tarragon, opting instead for a dollop of low-fat soup cream.)


I'm also incorporating some interesting products into my dishes that give an extra punch of nutrition.

Bob's Red Mill has several interesting products. For awhile now I've been adding their flaxseed to cereal, soups, stews, salads and bread. They're a great source of protein, fiber and minerals like magnesium and copper. They have a new product, hulled hemp seed, which looks similar to sesame seeds, has no discernable flavor and yet apparently contains all 20 known amino acids, is high in protein and contains Omega-3 and Omega-6 essential fatty acids.


I've been adding it to oatmeal, yogurt and tossing it on salads. Bob's Red Mill also introduced a hemp protein powder, but I haven't tried that yet since it's been too chilly for me to enjoy smoothies or shakes.

To add flavor to dishes without much fat, I've long been enjoying Majestic Garlic's line of spreads. I've written about them before, but it's a favorite of mine that you can find at various local farmers markets.


It's great in baked potatoes, with a vegetable saute, tossed with pasta, spread on toasted bread (and eaten with the red pepper soup above), even incorporated with scrambled eggs. In short, it's very versatile and delicious.

As I think about it, I'll add more suggestions, including interesting things I find at the markets that you might not have considered. The idea, of course, is not to diet but to enjoy really good food that's also good for you.

Happy New Year!

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