Macaroni and Cheese is one of the easiest dishes in the world to prepare and surely one of the most wonderful, which probably accounts for the million-and-one versions that hurried, hungry folks have come up with over the years. (If you read to the end of this post, you will get to my most fabulous rendition, which I promised you a few weeks ago in Quintessential Mac & Cheese, Part 1, a review of the best of all the Mac & Cheese I ate last year in Seattle, Portland, and Boston restaurants, complete with photos.
In case you want more than one fantastic recipe, however, there are fifty or so versions captured for your eating enjoyment in the excellent little cookbook, appropriately titled, Macaroni And Cheese, by Marlena Spieler. Dishes that will make your mouth water just reading the recipes, such as, The Contessa’s Rigatoni, with porcini mushrooms, Italian sausage, pecorino, and fontina cheeses, and a pinch of fennel. Hey, I would even put on shoes for the opportunity to eat this dish; and me with the feet that beg to be free!

Or how about Macaroni and Cheese “Broccolissimo,” with, you guessed it, broccoli, macaroni, and ooey gooey cheese. Should I mention the Macaroni and Double Asparagus Gratin? I have to stop reading.

But! However wonderful these dishes surely are, the one I am looking for, the one closest to what I consider REAL Macaroni and Cheese is titled, Yankee Doodle Dandy Baked Macaroni and Cheese. Yes! It meets purist’s requirements; namely, a well-considered medley of cheeses (Cheddar, Jack, Blue, and Parmesan are among the options listed), small pasta with a hole or crevice to capture the sauce, well-flavored béchamel sauce, and breadcrumb topping. And to show you how well Ms. Spieler truly understands this dish, she even includes onion and garlic, both of which are a necessity in my opinion. If only all Mac & Cheese could be this well considered.

For instance, recently at a popular Seattle restaurant, I stared with bemused amazement as the server set before me a solid, square brick of congealed cheddar cheese and elbow macaroni. I picked at it, and although the taste was not bad, the gummy texture of the overcooked pasta, the chewy, separated cheese, and the total absorption of what must have been a béchamel sauce at some point in the preparation, ruined the dish.

One of the keys to a great Mac & Cheese is a perfect balance between the pasta and the cheese sauce. You don’t want pasta swimming in sauce, and you don’t want pasta that has absorbed all of the sauce. After much trial and error over the years, I can now say with confidence that 12 ounces of dried pasta to 4 cups of medium-thick béchamel sauce is “just right.” Well, usually anyway (some pastas absorb more sauce than others).

Another key to a great Mac & Cheese is the quality and flavors of the cheeses used. Most of the cheeses should be aged for over 6 months to ensure that they don’t separate and turn gritty when exposed to the heat of the sauce or the oven. All cheese used should be premium. Although you can certainly make Mac & Cheese using leftover cheeses from your frig, this dish merits a shopping expedition for the best local artisan cheeses available in your area.

I find combinations of cheeses with complimentary qualities more interesting than a single cheese–although for my taste, a cheddar should dominate, with the other cheeses playing subordinate roles. Also, a small quantity of not-too-sharp blue cheese adds an appealing tang that most tasters like but cannot accurately identify.

This said, there are fine cooks who will disagree. The Heathman Mac & Cheese in Portland, for instance, intentionally features only Fontina and Parmesan (both of excellent quality). So don’t get too hung up on having all the cheeses I list below. Use good melting cheese–one variety or six varieties–and a little care, and you will end up with an exquisite Mac & Cheese.

LunaCafe OtherWorldly Mac & Cheese

Pasta
12 ounces, short, dried, tubular pasta, such as garganelli, maccheroni, mostaccioli, penne, tortiglione, or ziti (about 2 pounds cooked)
2 teaspoons sea salt

Breadcrumb Topping
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 cups stale white bread crumbs, coarsely crumbled
2 clove garlic, pressed or minced

Cheeses (15-16 ounces or about 5 cups total cheese)
6 ounces (2 cups) grated, aged cheddar cheese
3 ounces (1 cup) grated Swiss Emmanthaler or Gruyere
3 ounces (1 cup) grated, mild-flavored melting cheese, such as Jack or Asadero
3 ounces (1 cup) grated Italian Pecorino Romano (aged at least 9 months)
optional: 2-4 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese (1 ounce)

Béchamel Sauce
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups minced yellow onion (8 ounces or about 1 large onion)
2 cloves garlic, peeled, and minced or pressed
½ cup all-purpose flour
4 cups milk (or a mixture of half milk and half cream or sour cream, or a mixture of half cream and half chicken stock)
sea salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Optional Extras (choose one or more)
½ cup, stemmed, seeded, diced jalapeno chilies (add while the onions are cooking)
½ cup cooked, crumbled applewood smoked bacon (add when mixing the sauce with the pasta)
1 cup roasted, peeled, seeded, diced poblano chile (add when mixing the sauce with the pasta)
½ cup roasted, peeled, seeded, diced jalapeno chile (add when mixing the sauce with the pasta)
2 cups sautéed, chopped shitake mushrooms (add when mixing the sauce with the pasta)

Prepare the baking dish

1. Coat a 6-cup capacity, ovenproof casserole with vegetable spray or a dab of butter. Reserve.

Make the breadcrumb topping

1. In a small mixing bowl, combine the melted butter, bread crumbs, and garlic. Reserve.

Cook the pasta

1. Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil, add 2 teaspoons of salt, return to a boil, and add the pasta.
2. Cook until just barely tender with a bit of chewiness remaining.
3. Remove the pasta pot from the stove and carefully pour the water and pasta into a large colander to drain. Run cold water over the pasta to cool it to room temperature. Add pasta to a large mixing bowl.
4. Toss the pasta in the bowl with all of the cheeses and reserve.

Make the béchamel sauce

1. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter, add the onions, and slowly cook until onions are softened but not browned. Add the garlic and stir to combine.
2. Stir in the flour, and cook without browning for two minutes.
3. Slowly pour in the milk and whisk constantly while bringing the sauce to a simmer. Simmer, whisking continuously, for 2 minutes.
4. Pour the sauce over the pasta and cheeses in the bowl. With a large spatula, fold to combine.
5. Spoon into the prepared casserole, mounding slightly at the center.
6. Sprinkle on the breadcrumb topping.
7. Bake at 350º for 30-40 minutes until heated through and bubbling. Broil for a minute or two to finish browning the top.

Serves 8-10.

Coming Soon

LunaCafe OtherWorldly Green Chili Mac & Cheese

…

My favorite dish in the world is Mac & Cheese, especially in Green Corn Moon (September) when the leaves begin to turn brilliant shades of coral, crimson, and gold, and the shortening days begin and end with a decided chill in the air.

But not just any Mac & Cheese, mind you. It must be English-style with a combination of sharp, aged farmhouse cheddar and two or more additional cheeses, at least one of which must be an ooey-gooey melting cheese. It must contain onions and garlic, sautéed to melting tenderness, a perfect, creamy béchamel sauce, and a generous topping of toasted breadcrumbs. The pasta must be fairly short and narrow with a hole in the middle to hold the sauce; in other words, tubular. I prefer smooth or ridged Pennette, Tortiglionne, or uncurved Maccheroni, rather than the more pedestrian elbow macaroni, which, due to no fault of its own, is indelibly associated in my mind with the blue box.

That shouldn’t be too difficult, you say? Ha! I forgot to mention that all elements must be in pleasing proportion to one another. Not too much or too little cheese, pasta, or sauce. Not so dry that you cannot see any sauce. Not so much sauce that you have to feel around with your fork to find the pasta. Baked, not stirred together quickly on the stovetop. Not too rich. Not too salty. Also, you must be able to eat an entire dinner-size serving and really have to restrain yourself from having “just a little more.”  Believe me, folks, the perfect Mac & Cheese is no small feat. If you master this dish, you have achieved something significant as a cook.

Which brings me to the 2008 Tillamook Macaroni & Cheese Recipe Contest. Last year, close to 1,000 cooks submitted their treasured macaroni and cheese recipes. There were regional cook-offs in six cities. The Portland regional cook-off was at Noble Rot restaurant (which I helped judge); the Grand Finale cook-off was also in Portland, at Hotel Lucia. Lorie Roach of Mississippi was the grand prize winner with her Jumbo Shell Pasta Stuffed with Baby White Cheddar and Chicken.

Unfortunately, you already missed the July 28^th deadline for this year’s recipe submissions. (The final national competition is scheduled for October 23^rd in Portland, Oregon.) However, this gives you a full year to perfect your recipe for next year’s contest.

Okay, we’re going to get to see what good cooks across the nation come up with on October 23rd. In the meanwhile, I was inspired last year by all the hoopla and decided to run around Portland, Seattle, and Boston and chow down on all the restaurant Mac & Cheese that I could find.  (This post was already underway whern I serendipitously bumped into Ashley Sherrick, who is on the PR team for the Tillamook event, at Stella’s one afternoon while looking for glam flip flops and was invited on the spot to be one of the judges for the Portland regional competition.) Excessive indulgence has not ended my fascination, however, so the search continues. (Watch for periodic updates.)

Here, then, are eleven of the most noteworthy results thus far, in no particular order. The intention was to strike a balance between fancy-schmancy and let’s-eat-already venues. You can also want to check out the recipe for LunaCafe’s OtherWorldly Mac & Cheese.

Note I tried several Mac & Cheese renditions that didn’t make it into the following list. If I don’t relish eating it again, it’s not listed here. The Mac & Cheese renditions that are listed below, however, I heartily applaud.

Olea (Portland, Pearl district)

We were passing by Olea one night last fall intending to eat on NW 23^rd when something made me stop to review their menu. I spied the Mac & Cheese, and we changed our dinner plans on the spot. This version has a perfect blend of intriguing cheeses, along with applewood-smoked bacon, which was a new direction for me. All I can think of to say here is OH MY GAWD! They have since taken this dish off the menu, but I will call the chef to see if he might graciously add it back as a special for the fall season at least.

Update 9/29/08: The chef who created this mac & cheese, Aaron Barnett, is now head chef at 23 Hoyt, and he has taken the recipe with him. Stay tuned for that review.

Heathman (Portland, Downtown)

This jewel is almost hidden in the extensive and delectable (also fabulously affordable during happy hour) bar menu. It’s listed simply as Mac & Cheese, with no other descriptors. Don’t let this understatement keep you from ordering the dish though. It’s a luscious combination of Italian Fontina Val d”Aosta cheese blended with a bit of Parmigiano-Reggiano in a very creamy sauce, enrobing ridged penne pasta, topped with a bare sprinkling of toasted bread crumbs.

Noble Rot (Portland, Laurelhurst)

The presentation here is classic Northwest (unpretentious, pure, simple) and lip-smacking appetizing. This is not an eat-it-once-never-think-about-it-again Mac & Cheese. All that oozing, bubbling cheese, baked and sticking to the dish, plus a beautiful toasted breadcrumb topping. Noble Rot uses Tillamook extra sharp cheddar, which is aged for two years, so this version is not for cheese wimps.

Serratto (Portland, NW district)

You can readily see that I ate half of this dish before I remembered to take the picture. No use trying to pretend I intended it this way. :-) I sat at the lovely bar, savoring some delicious book, with a glass of Syrah and this Euro-style, three-cheese Mac & Cheese. Divine!

Pastini Pastaria (Portland, NW district)

This moderately-priced pasta emporium does a few (at least) pasta dishes as well as some restaurants that charge twice the price. (This is one of them. Another is the Pasta Carbonara.). This Mac & Cheese rendition didn’t photograph particularly well, but don’t let that deter you from running over to Pastini and ordering this one night soon. Eat it slowly and savor the excellent medley of cheeses.

Jo Bar (Portland, NW district)

Does this Mac & Cheese look stunning or what? And it tastes as good as it looks. Garganelli pasta tossed with wild mushrooms, leeks, gorgonzola and fontina, and baked in the wonderful wood oven. I loved every delicious bite!

Fratelli (Portland, Pearl district)

A rich, creamy Italian-style (no cheddar) Mac & Cheese with toasted hazelnuts (nice touch) and lots of freshly ground black pepper. This was a fall special on the menu last year.

Café Venus (Seattle, Eastlake)

This funky little joint turns out a seriously good Mac & Cheese. They combine al dente penne, Tillamook cheddar, Romano, and a saffron cream sauce with lots of garlic. Interesting and yummy!

P.S. I applaud earnest, heart-felt cafes like this one, which seem to be disappearing. Rock on Café Venus!

Veil (Seattle, East Lower Queen Anne)

Teensy, weensy portion of decadently rich, handmade pasta enrobed in lobster-infused crème fraîche sauce with a touch of fresh tarragon.  Tasty, for sure, but is it Mac & Cheese?

Beecher’s Handmade Cheese (Seattle, Pike Place Market)

This to-go carton of Mac & Cheese never makes it home uneaten. To be safe, I took the picture in the shop. Two styles: traditional and spicy. Lush, gooey, intensely cheesy; I get teary-eyed just thinking about it.

Stephanie’s (Boston, Newberry St.)

There I was, strolling alone on Newbury street in Boston (MauiJim was attending a web design seminar in Cambridge) on a beautiful fall day, making my way to the park to feed the chipmunks the peanuts stashed in my bag, when the thought occurred, “Hey, what about my lunch?” And as if on cue, there was Stephanie’s, just opening their doors for the lunch crowd already lining up on the sidewalk. The Mac & Cheese combines three rich cheeses, a super creamy sauce, and toasted bread crumb topping. Mighty good. (The chipmunks went berserk for the peanuts. I was mobbed!)

Give Us More

To check the continuously updated list of Mac & Cheese renditions that we hope to sample for next year’s roundup and those that have already sailed into the best-of-the-best circle, click  Quintessential Mac & Cheese (under the Dining tab for future reference).

Coming Soon

Look for Quintessential Mac & Cheese, Part 2 in October, which will feature the recipe for LunaCafe OtherWorldly Mac & Cheese.

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