Macaroni and Cheese Goodness

As promised, this blog is not simply about books. I also eat, and, because I like food so much, I learned to cook. In fact, my college friends will tell you, I cook like a mother...well, we'll just leave it at mother. I don't claim culinary greatness along the ranks of Bourdain, Flay, Besh, or even Art Ginsberg (Mr. Food). That said, I do claim a macaroni and cheese recipe that will knock your socks and panties off.

Growing up, my family cooked typical Southern fair: cornbread, mashed potatoes, smothered venison, deep-fried turkey, amazing smoked brisket, homemade jams, jellies, relishes, pickles, etc. As I've aged, I have learned to appreciate the glories of "old world" foods. I now cook Greek, Italian, French, and English foods just as frequently as my Southern favorites. I promise some of those recipes are forthcoming. But sometimes the best food is that which tastes inevitably of home. It's really a bit unlikely that macaroni and cheese has become such a comforting, homey food for me. While we kicked it old school with cornbread, and homemade jalapeno dills, I grew up on Kraft macaroni. The tiny macaroni noodles with powdered cheese product used to make me supremely happy. But at some point in high school, I decided that I was an excellent cook. One of the first dishes that I claimed expertise at was macaroni. In point of fact, I don't think I had ever actually made macaroni when I first promised an excellent homemade macaroni and cheese to a group of my closest guy friends. In my head I thought, "how hard could it be?" After hours perusing online recipes, I decided to try my hand at the dish. While the ensuing product is definitely not what my macaroni has morphed into today, I was hooked from the moment I sunk my fork into the creamy, whitish, everything-that-blue-box-macaroni-is-not bite.

In college I acquired minor fame for my macaroni, and because of this, my macaroni recipe has spread--like a virus--all across this state and, actually, the world. It has traveled to LSU in Baton Rouge, Jackson, Mississppi, and even Paris, France with friends who grew addicted to the stuff over Monday night dinners with good food, good people, and good wine. Now, my extended family begs me to bring a dish every time I make a trip to Arkansas. So I figured, why hold out? Give the people what they want! And today, I think the people want good, gooey, rich, creamy macaroni and cheese.

Homemade Macaroni Shells and Cheese

Ingredients
12-16 oz pasta shells
1/2 to 3/4 cup milk (if you have it and don't feel guilty, go whole, if not, whatever you have will do)
1/2 stick butter
8 oz cream cheese, softened (you may use the light cream cheese, but the result isn't quite as creamy)
8 oz velveeta cheese, at room temperature
1 can cream of mushroom, celery, chicken, etc. soup (whatever you have on hand)
Salt & Pepper
Grated cheddar cheese
*Fresh bacon bits and green onions are optional (But it tastes WAY better with them)

Equipment 
large stock pot (to cook pasta)
3 qt. sauce pan
wooden spoon
casserole dish or 2 quart, deep baking dish (I have a deep, circular corning ware dish that is perfect)

Process
1.In large stock pot bring 6-7 cups of heavily salted water to a rolling boil. 
2. Once water is boiling, add shells to water, trying to introduce the pasta slow enough that the water does not lose boil. Cook pasta about 10-12 minutes.
3. While water begins to boil/pasta is cooking, warm milk in sauce pan on medium heat. stirring frequently (dairy burns easily), add butter to milk until fully incorporated. The process is similar to making a bechamel sauce, but there's no flour because the soup and cheeses thicken it quite well.
4. Add soup to milk/butter mix stirring frequently. Once the soup is heated through, add chunks of Velveeta then cream cheese, stirring constantly to prevent burning or sticking.
5. Once pasta is done, drain and pour into baking dish (do not rinse pasta--you will wash away all the starch that helps the sauce stick to the noodle).
6. After sauce is smooth, check seasoning, add pepper as needed.
7. Pour sauce over noodles and stir through to ensure even distribution.
8. On top of pasta, add shredded cheddar cheese (or whatever cheese you think is good), fresh bacon bits, and chopped green onions.
9. Bake the dish for approximately 20 minutes on 350 degrees, until cheese on top is fully melted.

*This dish can be made in advanced. Simply follow steps through 8, store in refrigerator, and bake for 35-40 minutes at 350 degrees. If making in advanced, I usually go with 3/4-1 cup milk to ensure that it remains creamy through the reheating. Also, if you're using a shallow baking dish (like a standard rectangular Pyrex) use 3/4-1 cup milk to maintain creaminess.

This dish sounds really rich, and it definitely is. But I assure you, it's worth it. The macaroni is hearty enough to serve as a main course, but if serving as a side, it can easily serve 6-8. Furthermore, if you're looking for an easy Chicken Spaghetti recipe, replace shells with spaghetti noodles (adjust cook time accordingly), add precooked diced chicken and sauteed onions, bell peppers, and garlic to the dish. Cook for approximately same time and top with cheddar cheese and onions; I would omit the bacon for the Chicken Spaghetti.

Peanut Butter and Stephanie Plum Jelly Sandwiches

Let's be honest. Even the best home cooks need a day off. The kind of day when even a grilled cheese sandwich is too much effort--those are the days for PB&J. No, it's not fancy. It's not creative or shocking or unexpected. But that's the beauty of PB&J. It is familiar, predictable, and everything that you hoped it would be--because you didn't hope for much. Even so, there's something inherently comforting about a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (unless of course your have a peanut allergy, then this post is clearly not for you).

Lying in bed about a week ago, pondering the beauty and simplicity of a good PB&J, I realized that I had a whole stack of PB&J books tucked away in my digital library. Sitting just inches away from my pillow, filling  up my precious Kindle space, 16 Stephanie Plum novels sat waiting for the day when I needed a simple, predictable, yet comfortingly familiar peanut butter and Stephanie Plum jelly novel. 

If you're not familiar with my favorite Jersey girl, Stephanie Plum is the disaster-prone brainchild of best-selling author Janet Evanovich. She's no Snookie; I doubt she could stomach the antics of "The Situation," and, in point of fact, I absolutely love that about her. While maintaining the hair, the trash (and trash talk) that makes Jersey, Jersey, Stephanie Plum somehow makes New Jersey palatable to a Southern girl that otherwise can't fathom that amount of stuffed cabbage and mob ties outside of The Godfather. On top of that, she's a hopelessly worthless bounty hunter who is perpetually broke, insanely lucky in love, and in possession of perhaps the fastest metabolism known to man--scarfing down scores of burgers, fries, shakes, meatball subs, greasy pizzas, doughnuts, and other various and sundry caloric devils in disguise in each chapter. Stephanie Plum novels are never going to garner the attention of literary critics in search of the next Jane Eyre, but I love them nonetheless. And this is coming from a girl who adores Jane Eyre. In fact, I think my favorite thing about the series is the simple fact that it freely relegates traditionally crucial story elements--like plot points, foreshadowing, symbolism, etc--to the margins and instead focuses on creating one of the most reader-relatable heroines I've encountered in years. She's no pinnacle of intelligence, class, decorum, or physical/mental health; she is, on the other hand, in one way or another, each and every woman I have every encountered. She craves doughnuts. She fails epically at dieting, and she makes mistake after agonizing mistake in her love life--something that her drives her poor mother to the sauce (marinara, gravy, alfredo, chianti, brandy, merlot, etc.) at least once in every novel.

But I digress. The main point here is that Stephanie Plum novels make me love this genre a little more than I used to. They made me realize that there is a place in the literary world for "light" reading, for comfortable reading, just like there's a place in my kitchen and my stomach for a good old peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

The Start of Something New

I have a confession. I'm a blog virgin. A blirgin. I've tried diaries and journals, but I feel so self-conscious. Besides, I'm not exactly a fascinating human specimen.  That said, I'm vowing now, this time will be different. Anyways, I'm not writing about myself. As the name suggests, I'll be writing about food and books--two things that I love more than just about anything else in the world (enter obligatory nods to my wonderful husband, family, dog, etc. that all trump my love of books and food). But seriously, from the time before I could walk without assistance, my whole life has revolved around the dinner table and the bookshelf. My family eats. It's what we do. When we're happy, sad, celebrating, mourning, or just moving from point A to point B, we have food in hand, in mouth, and usually a little on the shirt. I read. It's what I do. In fact, parts of my family made fun of how much I read when I was younger. Those family members probably won't appear in these posts. However, my affinity for reading has directed my entire educational and professional life. It's why I majored in history, why I decided to get a M.A. in English, and why I took a job teaching English II at a local high school. And now that I work with teenagers all day, a good book and a good meal go a long way toward mending my soul and de-numbing my mind.
 I don't promise to update regularly. I don't promise that the recipes will be earth shattering or that the books will be best sellers. But I can promise that I will be honest. I will tell the truth about the books I read, the food I cook, and how my life is changed by both.