Grown Up Mac and Cheese

I’m on a Barefoot Contessa kick this week. In fact, I think I may be in love with her. Not real love, like the love I feel for my husband or even my dog. It’s the kind of love I feel for people who build community via their food. She helps me nurture my little community. She makes it so I pledge to cook everything ahead of time and really enjoy my time with family and friends. Plus, she makes it all taste some damn good with very few steps. I love her. I really do.

Her version of Grown Up Mac and Cheese wasn’t for some fancy dinner party. It was my superhero moment for my husband. I just recently went back to work full-time. I have less time to cook and my husband has fewer fancy meals each week. My family and friends also see fewer posts on this blog each week. But I made a commitment to them and me to post at least three times per week, and I plan to keep that promise. That means cooking nice dinners in far less time.

On Thursday night past, I wanted a glorious meal to celebrate the premiere of my husband’s favorite show, Lost. I didn’t have time to scheme up something exotic or island-like, as a true tribute. So I spent five minutes staring at the contents of my fridge and decided. I had three fancy cheeses. No basil nor defrosted bacon, but that wasn’t necessary. I set about to becoming a superwoman by making a fancy, gooey, filling mac and cheese.

I quickly got the water and pasta boiling. In that time, I warmed my milk, added my freshly grated cheddar, gruyere and blue cheese. A sprinkle of freshly grated nutmeg and black pepper, and I was ready to pile on some bread crumbs. Thirty minutes in the oven, and wow. Filling, satisfying and WAY TOO MUCH for a week night meal. But I felt accomplished and very “super” for even trying. The husband was grateful, and did the dishes all weekend, as a little thank you.

Now it’s time to find some less filling meals that take a lot less time, so I can do everything – work hard, feel like superwoman at dinner time, but also feel healthy at the same time. I think I need to re-read Super Natural Cooking…