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Thread: mac 'n cheese appreciation thread

  1. #1

    mac 'n cheese appreciation thread

    in honor of my favorite food...

    i'd like to know how everyone else enjoys this culinary wunderfood. box, with powder or with sauce packet? from scratch? stove-top or baked? do you stick with the program or deviate? toppings?

    my mom used to make a baked mac n' cheese that was always a special occasion. casserole dish filled with elbows, with cheddar cheese sauce poured in and then stirred. topped with buttered italian bread crumbs and then browned in the oven. mmm, damn.

    and i like to hit the blue box now and then, less often now that my almost 30 year old metabolism can't support a five or six box per week habit. i'm a fan of the spirals, or the three cheese shells varieties. the velveeta box is good also, but in comparison so damn expensive. most of the time i actually prefer the powder.

    a girl i dated a while back loved to add stuff to her mac 'n cheese, like tuna or a huge glob of ketchup. i wasn't such a big supporter of those moves, but she was sexy anyhow. i'll admit that i like to add some hot spice now and then, to keep things exciting... to the mac 'n cheese, not the girl.

    so what says ye?

  2. #2
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    From scratch kicks ass but I never do it, Stouffer's frozen m'n'c is a good substitute. Not so down with the Kraft boxed stuff.

  3. #3
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    Thumbs up

    I've been on the lo-carb kick for a few years so this wonderfood is basically out of my life...

    But there's nothing like a big bowl of mac and cheese! I lived on the instant stuff in college. Little known fact about me: mac and cheese from scratch is one of the few things I can actually bake w/out ruining it.

    Sprite
    "I call it reveling in natures finest element. Water in its pristine form. Straight from the heavens. We bathe in it, rejoicing in the fullest." --BZ

  4. #4
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    Add copious amounts of bacon and then bake.

  5. #5
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    The little blue box is good but making it from scratch kicks ass. I use the recipe from an old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. Make the cheese sauce on the stove top, pour it over the mac and bake.

    Sometimes I kick it up a notch with some Old Bay or Creole seasoning and some breadcrumbs. A few jalapeños slices are nice too.

  6. #6
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    After hockey today I will take photos and we shall have a mac/cheese TR.

  7. #7
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    Here's what I've got on the subject:

    1. contents of blue box + foil container of tuna + liberal splashes of tabasco = one of my favorite backpacking meals.

    2. Velveeta Shells & Cheese kicks ass, but is $$. I used to treat myself to that in college when I had a little money as a break from Ramen. I recently discovered Aldi's (local grocery chain) sells a generic version that is better than the original for dirt cheap ($1.25 a box?). Look for it if you have an Aldi's.

    3. Nothing can touch my grandmother's homemade.
    Montani Semper Liberi

  8. #8
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    I once made a very complicated baked macaroni and cheese recipe from the "America's test kitchen" cookbook. If I disregard the effort, it was the best mac&cheese I ever had.

    But for the effort - kraft powder'd crap is the best.

    by the way, did you know that fettuccine alfredo is little more than mac+cheese for adults? mitch hedberg said so..

  9. #9
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    in college we used to take a box of kraft made like normal (milk, butter) then mix up some tuna with mayo in a bowl..then mix it all together.


    mmmmmmmm good!

    for boxed, Annies is really good. My wife makes a kick ass good homemade baked mac and cheese!
    on the send bus to gnar town

  10. #10
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    I'm a big fan of the Annie's purple box. Sometimes I'll add some cheddar or, if I'm feeling saucy, goat cheese. White truffle oil is probably the best additive, but it is $$.

  11. #11
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    I absolutely love Mac 'n Cheese, but never liked the blue box...my mom makes an awesome baked one (simple, too), and the grocery store down the street from me has some awesome homemade mac 'n cheese too....creamy kind, great with a little creole seasoning...

    I've tried fancy mac 'n cheese, with say gorgonzola, but I really think it doesn't get better than when you make it with tillamook vintage white...(ok, might be better with a really expensive cheddar, but I can't get anything better in massive blocks at costco)

  12. #12
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    I never go through the trouble of baking it if I'm not trying to impress the inlaws or something. Just make the sauce, make the pasta, mix and serve. Maybe put out some hot sauce, chopped parsley and/or finely minced sweet onion for topping. If you do the simple stovetop version it's quick, way better than any box, and can be made entirely with 5 ingredients just about everyone has on hand at all times: Butter, flour, cheese, milk, pasta.

    Make roux
    Add milk
    Add cheese
    Mix with pasta, consume.

    You made need to salt the sauce if your cheese wasn't very salty. A little pepper, dijon mustard and worcestershire never hurt anyone either Add a nice ale and a side salad and you've got one hell of a meal.

    edit: you can shorten the cooking time here even more if you make a bunch of roux seperately and store it in the fridge (keeps for months). Just break off what you need and mix with hot milk. Plus, then you have ready made roux just waiting to be turned into delicious gravies, pan sauces, any number of creole dishes, the possibilities are limitless. Good god I'm hungry now.
    Last edited by Dantheman; 12-22-2006 at 11:43 AM.

  13. #13
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    Box of Kraft.

  14. #14
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    Clarston Union in Clarston, MI. Hands down the best mac & cheese ever. So good a rival restuarant stole the recipe. If you are in MI I highly sugest making the trip. Hot waitresses too

  15. #15
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    A local restaurant makes a baked mac n cheese with chunks of lobsta its good.
    People should learn endurance; they should learn to endure the discomforts of heat and cold, hunger and thirst; they should learn to be patient when receiving abuse and scorn; for it is the practice of endurance that quenches the fire of worldly passions which is burning up their bodies.
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  16. #16
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    I had some of the best mac and cheese of my life last weekend. Try Fridays grown up mac and cheese. It has crilled chicken, mushrooms, peppers, and best of all.. bacon! It is a baked delight. A must try for anyone with a Fridays in town!
    Some people see skiing as a sport, to me its a way of life.

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by coJibbin View Post
    I had some of the best mac and cheese of my life last weekend. Try Fridays grown up mac and cheese. It has crilled chicken, mushrooms, peppers, and best of all.. bacon! It is a baked delight. A must try for anyone with a Fridays in town!
    Sorry, but if you add anything of substance to mac n cheese, it becomes a bastardized casserole. Or if you're form the UP, Northern WI or MN you may say hot dish.

    For me the blue box is good from time to time. Noodles Co. makes a pretty good mac n cheese. I think they put a little cream cheese into the mix. The only alteration to the standard that has satisfied my soul is the deep fried mac n cheese appetizer. Truly ingenious. Of course deep frying makes almost anything better.

  18. #18
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    Sour cream instead of milk, try it and never go back

  19. #19
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    Kraft Spirals!!
    A dirtbaggers culinary delight
    Gotta spice it up with some crushed red pepper, oregano, & ground pepper, mm delicious.

  20. #20
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    It's all a bastard bechemel, when we get down to brass tacks. Hot dish...with Lobster? It is a crazy, mixed up world, I reckon'.

  21. #21
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    one of my very favorite meals, homeade with a nice crispy top. But i'm such a fat ass i'll also consume kraft and velveeeeeta. If it's old i'll involve ketchup after reheating in microwave.
    i've even known myself to try to stretch the small box of kraft by adding additional noodles into the boil to make even more for my first feeding.

  22. #22
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    Boxed is TERRIBLE.

    From scratch (made by DTM) is THE best.
    you sketchy character, you

  23. #23
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    There's a cheese maker in Seattle that makes an incredible mac and cheese that's available in some local stores. It's not in a box. It's already prepared and you just put the plastic tray in the oven for 50 minutes or something. It's possible someone could make homemade better, but this is about as good as it gets for store bought. Pretty pricey, though, at $10 each. That's a decent portion for two people. Just a tad more than Kraft.

    http://www.beechershandmadecheese.co...acncheese.html

    For those of you in the area, I know QFC and Pasta & Co both carry it.
    Last edited by The AD; 12-23-2006 at 04:55 PM.

  24. #24
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    Lived on the boxed crap in college (like everyone else), and as a kid.

    Always added stuff to it, i.e. spam (yes, I enjoy spam, though it's been years), or hot dogs, or tuna, or peas, or all of the above.

    Now though, just enjoy the box without adding anything, except maybe a bit of cream cheese to creamie it up.

    Prefer spirals myself as well.

    Don't eat it very often though - sodium enough to kill a cow!
    This touchy-feely Kumbaya shit has got to go.

  25. #25
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    I just had some fried mac n cheese squares, lovingly smothered in ranch dressing. My heart hurts and I can't stop farting.

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