Mac and Cheese

My father hates cheese. My mother, on the other hand, loved it! Any and every kind. From a cow, from a goat, from Mary's Little Lamb, she loved her cheese. Fortunately for us, my father was a fireman, and worked those 24 hour shifts away from home. When he was working, cheese would almost always work its way into the dinner meal.

Growing up Catholic - and we're back in the 50's and '60's here - Friday night dinner when Pop was working would almost always be Macaroni and Cheese. And it never - EVER - came out of a box!!! Her Mac and Cheese was especially good, because it could contain any number of different cheeses! She would save up her little odds and ends pieces, and toss them all into the pot. It was always the same, yet always juuuust a bit different.

It is so simple to make, too. Make a basic white sauce - on the medium/thin side. Add a shot or two of worcestershire sauce and a shot of tabasco. A bit of garlic powder and salt and pepper. Stir in whatever cheeses you have. Tonight I used cheddar, provolone, some manchego, and some gruyere. Mix in your cooked pasta (while I really prefer elbow macaroni, I was out, so I used little raquettes that were on the shelf.) Put into a buttered casserole, top bith buttered bread crumbs, and bake for about 30 minutes, or until bubbly and the crumbs have browned nicely.

I've never quite been able to make it as good as Mom's. I think part of it is that she's not around to make it for me anymore. But I think she'd be pleased with tonights result!


Sunday Breakfast...

Sunday Breakfast has to be one of my greatest delights. Fresh coffee brewing, a leisurely perusal of the newspapers, and an abundance of breakfasty ideas, it's the perfect way to start/end the week. However, I work on Sundays. Of course that doesn't stop me from wanting - or cooking - breakfast. I just cook for about twenty instead of two. Sunday Breakfast at work is a tradition I wholeheartedly endorse - even if I have to do the cooking! It's a great way to start off one of the busier days of the retail work week!

Today's gastronomical delight was Pumpkin Pancakes with a Pumpkin and Walnut Crème Fraîche. I took a box of Baking mix, a box of Pumpkin Bread Mix, 1 can of pumpkin, 6 eggs and a quart of milk for the Pancakes. The topping was 2 containers of crème fraîche, a jar of pumpkin butter, and about a cup of chopped walnuts. On the side there was fresh pineapple with toasted coconut ribbons and sprinkled with turbinado sugar. Yummy.

I didn't get to read the paper, but I did have the freshly brewed ultra dark Sumatra coffee...