Mac & Cheese 2 ways

Holy Cow! This was the first time I've successfully attempted to make macaroni and cheese other than the Velveeta kind.  And it was d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s.  Wowzers.

It's from the Martha Stewart Everyday Food magazine November 2011 issue.  It was the first time I had bought and used whole milk and boy was it good.  I'm sorry I don't have great step-by-step pictures, but this was before I started the blog.  It was the first 'real' meal I made under my New Year's Resolution to try one new recipe a week!

I did learn some valuable lessons.

1 - The recipe made A TON.  Good to feed a small army or to have plenty of leftovers.  The article also gave great round 2 recipes for the leftovers.  Yummy!  So, if you're just interested in the mac-n-cheese, halve the recipe.  You'll be thankful you did.

2 - When it says whisk constantly while you're pouring in the milk into your roux slowly, it means it.  I didn't use a good enough pouring container and ended up spilling milk (no tears involved :)) all over the stove.  So, I had to stop whisking and just pour the rest of the milk in quickly.  The first time around the mac-n-cheese sauce was a little grainy, not velvety smooth.  This graininess seemed to resolve itself in the Round 2 recipe later on in the week.

The Round 2 recipe was more delicious than the first.  I was so hesitant to use the mac-n-cheese because it called for ALL of the reserved 4 cups.  What if it was nasty?  I would have just wasted it ALL.  But, thankfully, it wasn't.  DOUBLE WOWZERS.  It was smack-yo-mama good.  My husband and I ate it for 2 meals and licked our plates clean.

Not the healthiest meals, but a good start to cooking nonetheless.  It's always a good ego booster to start by making a new recipe that actually turns out.  I can't tell you how many I've tried along the way that were complete and total failures.  Blergh.

I feel some substituting coming on!  What a great recipe to try out different cheeses and milks. Look for this recipe to make another appearance in the future.  It is a favorite!

Oh, and on Sunday night, DH and I made grilled cheeses with the ends of the shredded cheese from the mac-n-cheese night.  I am notorious for taking off a knuckle or two, so we had a few ends of cheese left and all my knuckles :)  A great way to use up leftover cheese and the sandwiches were delicious dunked into some good old fashioned Campbells Tomato Soup.