West 5: Astral Mac & Cheese

When I posted our first Quintessential Mac & Cheese Roundup in 2008, I was certain we would soon run out of restaurants that served Mac & Cheese, and then the idea of a yearly roundup would be a thing of the past. Well, either I was way wrong about the number of restaurants that serve Mac & Cheese or an increasing number of restaurants have recently added the divine macaroni to their menus. Either way, there now seems to be no danger of running out of stellar renditions of this most delicious dish. My ooey-gooey-cheesy cup runneth over!

To get a bit of history on how this whole obsessive exploration came to be and to check out the photos and tasting notes for the first roundup, see the post, Quintessential Mac & Cheese Roundup 2008. Also check out the post, LunaCafe OtherWorldly Mac & Cheese, which features the absolute best, repeatedly tested recipe in the universe. I swear! And if you are really a diehard Mac & Cheese lover, you have to try my World Famous Green Chili Mac & Cheese as well, modeled after a version we tasted at the Roaring Fork restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona last winter.

For even more inspiration, check out this year’s top 6 finalists in the Tillamook Macaroni & Cheese Recipe Contest. Thousands of cooks submitted their treasured macaroni and cheese recipes for this year’s contest and then the top contestants competed in the regional cook-offs across six cities. I will once again be a judge at the live Grand Finale cook-off in Portland, Oregon. The event takes place on October 23rd at Kell’s Irish Restaurant. Last year’s winner was Angie Phillips’ Caramelized Sweet Potato, Garlic & Rosemary Macaroni and Cheese.

So, without further ado, here are the most noteworthy results of our 2009 Mac & Cheese adventure, in alphabetical order. The intention, as with last year, is to strike a balance between fancy-schmancy and let’s-eat-already venues.

The cities we hit for this year’s roundup include Seattle, Portland, Scottsdale, and Boston.

23 Hoyt (Portland, Northwest 23^rd)

23 Hoyt: Gruyere, Parmesan & Applewood Smoked Bacon Mac & Cheese

This Mac & Cheese is billed as “gruyere, parmesan, bacon, and crunchy topping,” but this is humble understatement. The recipe harkens from the now defunct Olea restaurant, and is perfection with a heady aroma and flavor of applewood smoked bacon.

Aquitaine (Boston, South End)

 Aquitaine: Parmesan Mac & Cheese

The presentation here is unextraordinary, but I assure you the taste is anything BUT pedestrian. The sauce is ultra creamy and suggestive of a range of aged cheeses. I asked the server to check with the kitchen to see which cheeses were actually used in the dish, but all that crafty chef would reveal was “parmesan.”

Bandera (Scottsdale, Old Town)

 Bandera: Wood-Fired Mac & Cheese

We were headed to the airport after a week of indulgent dining in Scottsdale/Phoenix, but we had not yet tasted the famed Mac & Cheese at Bandera in Old Town. So, like true culinary adventurers, we dashed in and ate fast. The Mac & Cheese is offered as a side but it is well worth singular attention.

BOKA (Seattle, Downtown/Pioneer Square)

Boka: Gruyere, Brie, Parmesan & Bacon Mac & Cheese with Crisped Onion Topping

We recently sampled this baked macaroni with creamy sauce of gruyere, brie, and crisp bacon, topped with parmesan and panko breadcrumbs. Perfection and also beautifully presented.

Café Castagna (Portland, Hawthorne District)

 Cafe Castagna: Baked Penne with Gruyere, Cheddar, Green Chile & Egg Yolk

This is what Mac & Cheese must be like in a Parisian café, if such a dish actually exists in Paris. Wonderful! Baked penne with gruyere, cheddar, green chile and raw egg yolk.  

Capitol Grille (Seattle, Downtown)

Capitol Grille: Lobster Mac & Cheese 

I admit that I was not quite sure why any cook worth their salt would think it necessary to add lobster to Mac & Cheese. But now I get it.The Lobster Mac & Cheese is almost buried under the Sides on the menu in this traditional, high-end steak house. A creamy, luscious, savory, baked Mac & Cheese with al dente campanelle pasta, an abundance of fresh lobster, and a divine sauce of mascarpone, havarti, aged white cheddar, and grana padano. Topped with panko bread crumbs and grated white cheddar. A must try if you are shopping and need a break in downtown Seattle.ClarkLewis (Portland, Northeast)ClarkLewis: Mac & Cheese with Toasted Bread Crumbs

ClarkLewis (Portland, Southeast River District)

 ClarkLewis: Mac & Cheese with Toasted Breadcrumbs

We encountered this unpretentious Mac & Cheese on the bar menu at ClarkLewis one cold, rainy Northwest night. The presentation is nothing fancy, but the flavorful medley of creamy cheeses and perfectly cooked macaroni are definitely well-considered and well-crafted.

Crave (Seattle, Capitol Hill)

 Crave: Shiitake Mac & Cheese

Sadly, Crave is now closed. Nevertheless, Chef Robin Leventhal deserves applause and appreciation for creating this most memorable, full-flavored Shitake Mac & Cheese, using a trio of cheeses: New York sharp cheddar, creamy fontina, and Parmesan. Plus seashell pasta and loads of succulent shiitake mushrooms. I miss this rich, creamy, delectable dish. The apple garnish was a brilliant touch. For the complete story, see my earlier post, Crave: Shiitake Mac & Cheese.

Heathman (Portland, Downtown)

 Heathman:  Lush Mac & Cheese

Offered as a happy hour selection, this excellent Mac & Cheese deserves greater importance on the menu of this highly regarded, fine dining establishment. As a bar offering, it’s a steal.

JoBar (Portland, Northwest 23^rd)

 JoBar: Cheddar, Wild Mushroom, & Beer Mac & Cheese

JoBar makes it into the roundup again this year because they offered a taste-worthy new rendition. It’s so delectable, that I have eaten it several times. Garganelli pasta with cheddar cheese, wild mushrooms, and beer.

Kenny & Zuke’s (Portland, Downtown)

 Kenny & Zuke’s: Just a Bowl of Mac & Cheese

It’s hard to order Mac & Cheese in this standout, retro delicatessen, because the house-made pastrami is SPECTACULAR, and I never tire of it. Plus, there is no description of the Mac & Cheese on the menu. Plus it’s only $5.50, which typically indicates the dish is an afterthought. But trust me and order it. It’s not fancy, but on a cold Northwest day or night, it warms the heart and nourishes the soul, just like my German grandmother’s Mac & Cheese always did.

Oba (Portland, Pearl District)

 Oba!: Green Chili-White Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese

What a lucky find to spot Green Chili-White Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese on Oba!’s bar menu. It’s definitely the most unusual and colorful Mac & cheese we encountered this past year.

Roaring Fork (Scottsdale, Old Town)

 Roarng Fork: Green Chile Macaroni

Robert McGrath’s Green Chile Macaroni is world famous and deservedly so. If you are in Scottsdale, do make time to visit this rustic tome to cowboy cooking and order this little bit of heaven. (Note, however, that Robert McGrath is no longer head chef at the restaurant.

Google sends a fair share of the folks searching for McGrath’s recipe to LunaCafe, even though the recipe is located here and also in McGrath’s most excellent cookbook, American Western Cooking

But before you shout hallelujah and run off to grab that recipe, I must sadly confide that the recipe does not produce the same Mac & Cheese that you will eat at the Roaring Fork in Scottsdale. I know this because I bought a plane ticket to Scottsdale last year and then ate a good size portion of this masterful, ultra creamy concoction myself. When I got back to Portland, I spent three days in the OtherWorldly Kitchen trying to reproduce this dish. Check out the results in the post titled World Famous Green Chile Mac & Cheese.

Smash (Seattle, Wallingford)

 Smash: Black Truffle Mac & Cheese

I do not typically appreciate “stove-top” Mac & Cheese, but I am probably in the minority here. This version is tasty with its inclusion of shaved black truffle, which perfumes every last creamy bite.

SMITH (Seattle, Capitol Hill)

 SMITH: Smoked Gouda, Grafton Cheddar & Ham Mac & Cheese

If I lived closer to Seattle’s Capitol Hill, I would likely eat this Mac & Cheese weekly. It’s that good. Elbow macaroni with a creamy sauce of smoked Gouda and Grafton cheddar with ham and a light sprinkling of fine bread crumbs on top. Check out my earlier post: Eat. Seattle. Smith

West Five (Seattle, West Seattle)

 West 5: Astral Mac & Cheese

West Five’s Astral Mac & Cheese is quite possibly the best Mac & Cheese in the world, or in any world for that matter. I know, I know. I say that a lot. But truly, this Mac & Cheese is a solid contender for world-class status. Chef, Kelly Maclein, knows her Mac & Cheese! Her creation consists of radiatori pasta and FIVE cheeses (cheddar, Swiss, cotija, parmesan, and cream cheese), all brought together in a sauce so ooey, gooey, creamy, rich, and delicious that you may find yourself moaning as you are eating each bite. You’ve been warned. For the complete story, check out my earlier post, West 5: Astral Mac & Cheese.

You can follow our continuing Mac & Cheese posts on the Mac & Cheese page.

For easy reference, here are the standouts from the Quintessential Mac & Cheese 2008 Roundup:

Quintessential Mac & Cheese Roundup 2008

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

Café Venus (Seattle, Eastlake)

Fratelli(Portland, Pearl District)

Heathman (Portland, Downtown)

JoBar(Portland, Northwest District)

Noble Rot (Portland, Laurelhurst)

Olea (Portland, Pearl District, now closed)

Pastini Pastaria (Portland, Northwest District)

Serratto (Portland, Northwest District)

Stephanie’s (Boston, Newberry St.)

Veil (Seattle, East Lower Queen Anne, now closed)

This just in folks. In our continuing search for the very best  Macaroni and Cheese that Northwest (and beyond) restaurants and cafes have to offer, we have another winner!

Rather than make you wait a full year to learn which renditions make it into the roundup, we are sharing the versions we love as we discover them.

Astral Mac & Cheese, from the West Seattle blast-from-the-past diner, West 5, easily sailed into the upcoming Quintessential Mac & Cheese Roundup 2009.

Chef, Kelly Maclein, clearly knows her Mac & Cheese! Her creation consists of radiatori pasta and FIVE cheeses (cheddar, Swiss, cotija, parmesan, and cream cheese) all brought together in a sauce so ooey, gooey, creamy, rich, and delicious that you may go into a little revelry as you are eating each bite.

I actually found myself consciously slowly down so that all that amazing deliciousness wouldn’t disappear too quickly. I was also having difficulty curbing the little animal-like sounds of pleasure that seemed to be emanating from my vocal cords, something like this.

2009 Mac & Cheese Superstars

Here are the Mac & Cheese renditions that have rocked our world so far this year and are thus queued up for the LunaCafe 2009 Mac & Cheese Roundup.

23 Hoyt (Portland, NW district)

Spiral macaroni with cheddar, gruyere, Rogue blue, and double-smoked applewood bacon.

Bandera (Scottsdale, Old Town)

Penne with Tillamook cheddar, Swiss cheese, parsley, rosemary, and pine nut breadcrumb topping.

Café Castagna (Portland, E Burnside)

Penne with gruyère, cheddar, Parmesan and green chile, with a raw egg on top.

Capitol Grille(Seattle, Downtown)

Baked Campanelle pasta and fresh lobster, tossed in a Mascarpone,
Havarti, and Grana Padano cream sauce. Topped with panko bread crumbs
and grated white cheddar.

Crave (Seattle, Capitol Hill)

Pasta shells with shiitake mushrooms, New York sharp cheddar, fontina, and parmesan.

Update: See the post titled, Crave: Shiitake Mac & Cheese, here. Unfortunately, Crave has closed.

Jo Bar (Portland, NW district)

A new Jo Bar Mac & Cheese entry: Garganelli pasta baked with bacon, cheddar, and Klamath Basin Ranch House Red ale.

Smash Wine (Seattle, University district)

Stove-top (not baked) mac and cheese with shaved truffle and Oregon white cheddar.

Roaring Fork (Scottsdale, AZ)

Western-style, stove-top (not baked) green poblano chili macaroni with a very small quantity of hot pepper Jack cheese.

For those of you searching for the recipe (LunaCafe receives a ton of Google referrals for this), Green Chili Macaroni is in Robert McGrath’s most excellent cookbook, American Western Cooking: From the Roaring Fork and here.

LunaCafe posted my  throw-down rendition of this mac & cheese in a post titled, World Famous Green Chile Mac & Cheese

Ten01 (Portland, Pearl district)

Shortrib mac and cheese with torchio pasta, beef short rib, and parmesan cream.

West 5 (West Seattle)

Radiatori pasta with five cheese: cheddar, Swiss, cotija, parmesan, and cream cheese.

2008 Mac & Cheese Superstars

And here are last year’s winners.

Olea (Portland, Pearl district)

Heathman (Portland, Downtown)

Noble Rot (Portland, Laurelhurst)

NOTE: LunaCafe receives continuing Google referrals for this recipe. You can find the recipe for this excellent Mac & Cheese in The Tillamook Cheese Cookbook: Celebrating 100 Years of Excellence.

Serratto (Portland, NW district)

Pastini Pastaria (Portland, NW district)

Jo Bar (Portland, NW district)

Fratelli (Portland, Pearl district)

Café Venus (Seattle, Eastlake)

Veil (Seattle, East Lower Queen Anne, closed)

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

NOTE: LunaCafe receives continuing Google referrals for this recipe. You can find the recipe for this excellent Mac & Cheese in Pure Flavor: 125 Fresh All-American Recipes from the Pacific Northwest.

Stephanie’s (Boston, Newberry St.)

Still To Try

Alu (Portland, NE MLK Blvd.)

Käsespätzle (swabian, southern german, “mac ‘n cheese”) with egg noodles, gruyére, cream, caramelized onions.

Black Sheep Bakery (Portland)

BluePlate (Portland)

Pasta, bacon, mushrooms, and cheese.

BOKA (Seattle, Downtown)

Baked macaroni with creamy sauce of Gruyere, Brie, and crisp bacon. Topped with parmesan and panko breadcrumbs. (Recipe in Edible Seattle Fall 2008)

Daily Cafe (Portland, Pearl district)

Baked cavatappi pasta with fontina, asiago, mozzarella, and pecorino cheeses.

Davis Street Tavern (Portland, NW Davis)

Girella pasta with three cheese béchamel sauce.

Figs (Boston, Charles St.)

Baked orzo with Vermont cheddar, fontina, mozzarella, parmesan, peas, toasted garlicky bread crumbs & parsley.

Genies (Portland, SE Division)

Cavatappi pasta with three cheese sauce, broccoli and tomatoes.

Hayden’s LakeFront Grill (Oregon, Tualatin)

Cavatappi pasta, Dungeness crab, Tillamook aged white cheddar, cream and green onion.

Kenny & Zuke’s (Portland, Downtown)

No description.

Icon Grill (Seattle, Downtown)

Macaroni with four cheeses, tomatoes, and breadcrumb and cheese topping.

Henry’s 12^th Street Tavern (Portland, Pearl district)

Macaroni with a blend of Cajun spices, sausage, red peppers, onions, cheddar, mozzarella, provolone, and parmesan.

Montage (Portland, NE River district)

Eight, count em, stove-top mac & cheeses: Old Mac, Spicy Mac, Spold Mac, Spam Spicy Mac, Green Basil Pesto Mac, Tomato Basil Pesto Mac, Ham & Smoked Cheddar Mac, Cheddar Mac.

Purple Café and Wine Bar (Seattle, Downtown)

Lobster-baked mac & cheese.

Screen Door (Portland, E Burnside)

No description.

S’MAC (New York, East Village)

Could this be the sole mac & cheese only restaurant in the U.S.? Ten varieties, all made with excellent cheeses, served in a cast iron skillet. Worth a plane trip to New York? Tempted.

Voleur (Portland, Downtown/Skidmore)

Two styles: Traditional and with Andouille sausage.

Wild Abandon (Portland, SE Belmont)

Ziti with smoked mozzarella cheese sauce, Portobello mushrooms, roasted garlic, scallops, and breadcrumb topping.

Mac & Cheese Roundup

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

LunaCafe Mac & Cheese Posts

Quintessential Mac & Cheese, Part 1 (2008 roundup)

Quintessential Mac & Cheese, Part 2 (recipe)

Crave: Shiitake Mac & Cheese

World Famous Green Chile Mac & Cheese (recipe)

If you have a favorite restaurant Mac & Cheese that you would like to recommend for review, please Contact Us. Thanks!

If the great number of Google searches from around the globe that land on LunaCafe’s doorstep each week signify anything, then EVERYONE IN THE WORLD is looking for Chef Robert McGrath’s recipe for Green Chile Macaroni, which is a specialty of the Roaring Fork restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona.

This frantic searching is a bit perplexing because the recipe is readily available in Robert’s most excellent homage to cowboy cuisine, American Western Cooking, which should definitely be in every good cook’s library. So, for the price of a cookbook, which is chock full of bold and delectable dishes that you will make again and again, you get the Green Chile Macaroni recipe. (If I haven’t convinced you to buy the book, you can go here instead and get the recipe for free.)

But before you shout HOORAY and run off to get the recipe, I must in good conscience tell you this one little thing.

There is no way on this sweet earth that the recipe featured in American Western Cooking, which is the same recipe featured on Food Network, will produce the oh so cheesy, oh so hot as hell, oh so scrumptious green chile and gooey cheese heaven that I was served at The Roaring Fork just two weeks ago. Not happening. No way. No how.

I know this because I’ve tested the recipe THREE TIMES, revising each test in the direction of my taste memory and photos of the dish. The basic issues with the available recipe, as compared to the restaurant version, are as follows:

1. Not enough green chile flavor; barely perceptible in fact.
   
2. Not enough chile heat (even with Tillamook Pepper Jack cheese).
   
3. Only the palest shade of green (does not resemble the green of the restaurant version.
   
4. Not enough cheese.
   
5. Young cheeses, such as Jack, almost always curdle when brought anywhere near a simmer. The restaurant version features a fully bubbling, cheese-loaded, brown-crusted Mac & Cheese, and the cheese IS NOT curdled.
   
6. The cheese used in the restaurant version has a distinctive flavor that is reminiscent of processed cheese. They might be using Queso Asadero, which has an almost “fake” but quite tasty flavor profile.
   
7. The cheese used in the restaurant held a long gooey string beautifully and a lot of it was used. The dish was almost a Mexican Queso Fundido (cheese and cream fondue) with macaroni added.
   
8. The restaurant version of this dish features a bread crumb topping, which is not specified in the recipe.
   
9. The recipe recreation was bland and needed an acidic element for balance.
   

So although I definitely encourage you to hop a plane to Scottsdale as soon as you can, hurry over to the Roaring Fork, and sink your fork into a small iron kettle of Green Chile Macaroni, if you want to duplicate that exact recipe at home, you will have difficulty.

Nevertheless, I LOVE a challenge and thus am launching a Throw Down. Robert McGrath, are you hearing this? J After I identified two of the most significant issues (not enough green chile flavor and young cheese that curdles and separates when heated to bubbling), I went to work.

I love poblano chiles, but the ones that are available in the Northwest have hardly any heat and are mildly flavored. I could not produce a sauce with enough of that distinctive green chile flavor until I switched to Anaheim chiles. These green chiles are both hot and full-flavored.

For folks who don’t want to stem, seed, roast, peel, and chop enough green chiles to measure 3 cups, I also discovered frozen, roasted, peeled green chiles that pack a lot of heat and flavor (Bueno Mild Organic Green Chiles, available in 13-ounce cartons in the freezer case of Whole Foods). (Issues 1 and 2.)

Also, in order to make sure the green chile flavor was pervasive, I decided to create a silky Green Chili Crema and use that as the liquid element in a very thin béchamel sauce. (Issue 1)

Although a béchamel sauce is not strictly required for this dish (and the Roaring Fork recipe does not use one), the butter and flour roux protect the cheese from curdling. Nothing is more disastrous to Mac & Cheese than curdled, separated cheese. (Issues 5, 6, and 7)

Another precaution on the curdling cheese front is the use of an aged cheese. Aged cheeses do not curdle as easily as young cheeses. Also, aged farmhouse cheddar just happens to taste spectacular. (Issues 5, 6, and 7)

The Roaring Fork recipe uses so little cheese, it must be a misprint. In the restaurant version, cheese is used with wild abandon. I like that approach. J (Issue 4)

A bread crumb crust adds so much textural and color interest to a Mac & Cheese that I always include it. And so does the Roaring Fork restaurant version. (Issue 8 )

The color was really perplexing me, until I separated out and focused on creating a Green Chile Crema. Increasing the quantity of chiles improves both the flavor and the color. To push the color up a notch more, I added green onions, which brought the flavor up another notch as well. (Issue 3)

In the first two tests, the sauce was bland and uninspiring. It needed an acidic element to brighten the rich cream and subtle chile flavor. I decided on tomatillos and that proved to be the perfect flavor balancer for this dish. (Issue 9)

So here, without further ado is (my version of) the world’s most famous Green Chile Mac & Cheese.

LunaCafe OtherWorldly Green Chile Mac & Cheese

Even folks (such as MauiJim) who are not especially enamored of traditional Mac & Cheese, love this hot and spicy, chile-laden version. For a rustic effect, serve in individual iron skillets or kettles.

Pasta

1 pound, short, dried, tubular pasta, such as mini penne, garganelli, maccheroni, mostaccioli, tortiglione, or ziti (about 2¼ pounds cooked)

2 teaspoons sea salt

Breadcrumb Topping

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 cups dried white bread crumbs, coarsely crumbled

2 clove garlic, pressed or minced

sea salt, to taste

Cheeses

9 ounces Tillamook White Extra Sharp Cheddar (aged over 2 years) or Beecher’s Flagship (aged for 1 year)
9 ounces Queso Asadero cheese
1½ ounces (about 3/4 cup) finely grated Parmesan

Cream Sauce
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup minced yellow onion (4 ounces or about ½ large onion)

¼ cup all-purpose flour

3 cups Green Chile Crema

sea salt, to taste

Garnish

½ cup stemmed, ribbed, seeded, red bell pepper

½ cup stemmed, ribbed, seeded, orange bell pepper

½ cup stemmed, ribbed, seeded, green poblano or anaheim pepper

½ cup fresh sweet corn

sea salt, to taste

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Coat an 8- to 10-cup capacity, ovenproof casserole with vegetable spray or a dab of butter; or coat six 1½-cup capacity stoneware ramekins or iron skillets. Reserve.
   
2. To prepare the pasta, bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil, add 2 teaspoons of salt, return to a boil, and add the pasta. Cook until still VERY al dente. Do not cook until fully tender.
   
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.
   
5. To make the breadcrumb topping, in a small mixing bowl, combine the melted butter, bread crumbs, and garlic. Season to taste with sea salt. Reserve.
   
6. To make the cream sauce, in a medium saucepan, melt the butter, add the onions, and slowly cook until onions are just beginning to soften.
   
7. Add the peppers and corn, and stir to coat with butter.
   
8. Stir in the flour and cook without browning for two minutes.
   
9. Slowly pour in the Green Chile Crema and whisk constantly while bring the sauce to a simmer. Simmer, whisking continuously, for 2 minutes.
   
10. Season to taste with sea salt.
    
11. To finish the dish, pour the sauce over the pasta and cheeses in the bowl. With a large spatula, fold to combine.
    
12. Spoon into the prepared casserole, mounding slightly at the center.
    
13. Sprinkle on the breadcrumb topping.
    
14. Bake at 350º for 30-40 minutes for the single casserole or 10-15 minutes for individual ramekins, until heated through and just bubbling. (High heat or excessively long cooking time may curdle the cheeses.)
    
15. Broil for a minute or two to finish browning the top.
    

Serves 6-8.

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

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