Mac and Cheese

[Heather]

All this wailing and to-do about the French, and yet gruyère comes from the Swiss side of the border...the French equivalent is comté.

Le fromage français est toujours supérieur, naturellement.

From Wikipedia:

Gruyère is a hard yellow cheese made from cow's milk, named after the town of Gruyères in Switzerland, and made in the cantons of Fribourg, Vaud, Neuchâtel, Jura, and Berne. Before 2001, when Gruyère gained Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée status as a Swiss cheese, some controversy existed whether French cheeses of a similar nature could also be labeled Gruyère. (French Gruyère-style cheeses include Comté and Beaufort.) French Gruyère-style cheeses must have holes according to French agricultural law, whereas Swiss Gruyère is a solid cheese with no holes.

So until the AOC status a few years ago the name was used to describe cheese from either country.

This is the flat-out funniest thread I've read in eons: from Velveeta to a scholarly discourse on the culinary culture of 16th century Italy and back to ketchup and Comté. Is this a great community, or what?

It's all very amusing, but Al Dente is going to pay for that mortal insult to the Ostrogoths.

Does anyone use chevre? How do you incorporate it? I have tried it a few times while trying to come up with something a little "gourmet" & keep thinking that it will taste good, and it does, but the texture always leaves something to be desired.

[tfbrennan]

No argument here with Landrum's assessment of Bobby's Crabcakes' version; I may just order 3 sides of it on my next visit and make a meal of it.

... a delicious but not overly decadent mac and cheese with elbow macaroni, maytag blue, Parmiggiano Reggiano and aged Vermont cheddar...

[mdt]

No argument here with Landrum's assessment of Bobby's Crabcakes' version; I may just order 3 sides of it on my next visit and make a meal of it.

Thankfully there was no fancy French cheese in the mix or the torches and pitchforks would have to come out.

[The Hersch]

Having a tooth pulled makes a soft, luscious mac-n-cheese with no crunchy bits at all a very appealing dinner. Mine had a wonderful mix of cheeses: a moderately sharp cheddar, some tallegio (a gorgeously melty cheese), some pungent fontina valdostana with attitude, and parmigiano reggiano. Drain pasta and return to saucepan, add butter, cheeses, and a bit of milk, some dry mustard, black pepper, and a bit of ground cayenne. Let it all melt and become, well, gooey, and serve it forth. With a nice Sardinian red wine, this served as a very comforting dish for the newly disentoothed.

[Pool Boy]

On 5/30/2008 at 7:59 AM, Waitman said:

I hesitate to mention this for fear of riling the always easily-riled purists, but putting a little ham into the mix can be pretty satisying, too.

I am not sure I could for sure talk my wife in to it, but I am going to try!

My mother used to make a spaghetti casserole, with bits of diced ham in it. She'd make a simple toato sauce to go over top of it after you dished some on your plate. So I am not unfamiliar with pasta and ham - haha.

[Pool Boy]

On 5/30/2008 at 7:59 AM, Waitman said:

I hesitate to mention this for fear of riling the always easily-riled purists, but putting a little ham into the mix can be pretty satisying, too.

I am not sure I could for sure talk my wife in to it, but I am going to try!

My mother used to make a spaghetti casserole, with bits of diced ham in it. She'd make a simple toato sauce to go over top of it after you dished some on your plate. So I am not unfamiliar with pasta and ham - haha.

[Pool Boy]

On 5/30/2008 at 7:59 AM, Waitman said:

I hesitate to mention this for fear of riling the always easily-riled purists, but putting a little ham into the mix can be pretty satisying, too.

I am not sure I could for sure talk my wife in to it, but I am going to try!

My mother used to make a spaghetti casserole, with bits of diced ham in it. She'd make a simple toato sauce to go over top of it after you dished some on your plate. So I am not unfamiliar with pasta and ham - haha.

[smithhemb]

Hello Fresh recently sent me a Cavatappi and Cauliflower Mac n' Cheese recipe that included cubed pancetta and it was delicious.

Out of curiosity, does anyone else use the mac n' cheese technique from Barbara Kafka's Microwave Gourmet?  I've changed all the ingredients and proportions (except for those in the faux roux), but I still default to her approach.

[sandynva]

the post about the cauliflower mac and cheese reminded me of a recent horrible purchase at trader joe's. in the refrigerated section they have a container of ditalini with cheese, cauliflower and kale, which says on the label that it's like the best mac and cheese you've ever had. it is not. it is straight up awful.  it tasted mostly of kale with a creamy sauce that somehow tasted like neither dairy nor cheese.