dancing bears

[gwyn]

I love my dad. Really, I do, despite our very rocky relationship for most of my life. But he's... he's a pig. So when he pestered me relentlessly to come over and make Christmas cookies from this ancient family recipe of my mom's, which only he, I, and mlyn actually like, I finally caved in and said he could come over while I was ostensibly working. Even though I knew I'd have to take care of everything and not be able to do my work.

Now, keep in mind, I've barely had the chance to use my new kitchen to cook much. I still haven't replaced all the stuff I threw out with better, last a lifetime cookware and utensils. But yesterday dad comes over and brings like a trail-drive's worth of stuff with him and proceeds to completely blitz my kitchen. It looked like Beirut if Beirut were made of flour and lard. It took me nearly an hour to clean up. There was dough everywhere. I finished making the cookies after he pooped out, and it was just... well, I could have killed someone with the rolling pin, just because it was the worst rolling pin in the history of ever. I told him to take it away and never bring it back.

And today he wants to finish by icing the cookies with this other ancient family recipe. Which would be okay except... it entails powdered sugar. OMG y'all, powdered confectioner's sugar in the hands of a dancing bear! Imagine the carnage. I haven't even used the new dining table and it's already a mess with molasses spills and sugar.

Anyway, this weekend I plan to do my own cooking by making my first ever Irish soda bread, as well as trying to make mac and cheese. I was looking at mac recipes online, and I am stymied. Almost all of them have... bread crumbs. What the hell? Bread crumbs? When did mac and cheese have bread in it? That is such an aberration to me, yet it seems as if many people expect it. It's that way in nearly every recipe book I have.

So what say you? Is it a regional thing? Is that what you expect? And what does that do to the cheesy gooeyness that makes good mac and cheese? I should do a poll but I don't have the time. Maybe in the next post.

Comments

[kassrachel.livejournal.com]

I make soda bread often (I like the recipes in the King Arthur Bread Flour Cookbook), but have never made my own homemade mac & cheese. I have encountered it with breadcrumbs on top, but not mixed in; that seems odd to me. Huh.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

My dad gave me that book! Only I loaned it to movies_michelle and she hasn't given it back yet. ;-)

There seem to be as many recipes for soda bread as there do for mac and cheese. I'm going to try them one at a time. It's something simple, something I love, and something I can make all the time once I learn it. I made fudge the other night, too, for the first time. I think I'm going to really enjoy cooking more now.

[gattagrigia.livejournal.com]

Well, I know that bread crumbs have been used as a thickener for centuries - we've got so many other things available to us today that it's just not common anymore. Can't see that it's useful in mac'n'cheese tho - even if you do a 'thick white sauce with cheeze melted in' version, bread crumbs are not necessary for thickening the white sauce. If they are on top, maybe it's for crunch and texture?

JL's m'n'c is a couple pounds of shredded cheese mixed and baked with a lot of cooked macaroni - who needs white sauce anyway? Melted cheese works fine!

[elz.livejournal.com]

I put bread crumbs on mine - they make a sort of crunchy crust on the top. I'm sure it would taste fine without them, though.

[feochadn.livejournal.com]

Do you need a good Irish Soda bread recipe? Cuz mine's authentic AND idiot proof (not that you need idiot proof, but, well, it takes very little thought and/or work...and makes even less mess. And requires millet. Which is all to the good).

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

I was going to get your recipe at some point. I figure it's one of those things I want to try many variations on if I can, something that once I learn to make it, I can make all the time, in whatever form I'm in the mood for. That soda bread was the first thing I was able to tolerate eating after my surgery, you know. I was starting to worry that I'd never get my apetite back and then you brought that bread!

[moonpupy.livejournal.com]

I have an excellent mac and cheese recipe at home. It's from the White Trash Cookbook. And it's called Netty Irene's Macaroni and Cheese. While I can't remember all the ingredients (eggs, canned milk, cooked mac, cheese and more cheese, and black pepper) it DOES NOT contain bread or cracker crumbs. It don't freaking need 'em!!! (Oh and bacon. It has to be covered with bacon.) When I get home I will comment it for you.

Mac and Cheese

[namastenancy.livejournal.com]

Man oh Man - do I hear you on the kitchen mess. My ex husband used to cook and leave a horrid mess that took me a day to clean up. I divorced him but I guess you can't do that with your dad. Maybe the next time, you can suggest that you cook the damn things in his kitchen so that HE can clean up the mess. Just sayin...


This is the recipe I use when I'm in a mac 'n cheese kind of mood. Me being me, though, I have to mess with it: instead of the Fontina or Swiss, I use 2 ounces of Gorgonzola and another ounce of the Cheddar. And instead of Melba, I use breadcrumbs from whatever loaf I have around the house (usually sourdough). BUT you can leave out the breadcrumbs if you want and still have a whole pan of gooey, cheesy goodness.

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 2/3 cups 1% milk (low fat if you prefer)
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded Fontina cheese or Swiss cheese (or any hard, robust cheese - Havarti will work as well. I've also used Cotswould and a great Welsh cheese with horseradish that I find in Safeway).
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese (or Asiago if you like a sharper taste)
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
6 cups cooked elbow macaroni (about 3 cups uncooked)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
1/3 cup crushed onion melba toasts (about 12 pieces)
1 tablespoon butter or margarine, softened

Preheat oven to 375°.
Place flour in a large saucepan. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat 8 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Add cheeses; cook 3 minutes or until cheese melts, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in macaroni and salt.
Spoon mixture into a 2-quart casserole coated with cooking spray. Combine crushed toasts and butter/ margarine in a small bowl; stir until well-blended. Sprinkle over macaroni mixture. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until bubbly.
Three-Pepper Variation: add these ingredients for a spicier version of our Creamy Four-Cheese Macaroni. Add 1 cup chopped bottled roasted red bell pepper, 1 tablespoon chopped seeded pickled jalapeño pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper at the same time the macaroni and salt are added.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

[ixchel55.livejournal.com]

I don't know about bread crumbs, unless it's for a type of topping on baked mac and cheese. That would be tasty. And might I also recommend Rachael Ray's Mac and Cheese Lorraine (http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_70279,00.html)? Very tasty!

[keiko-kirin.livejournal.com]

My mother makes the best mac'n'cheese ever (the sekrit is good cheese and lots of it!) and never, ever put breadcrumbs on or in it. All ya need is cheese and macaroni, if you ask me. Mmmmmm. Man, that makes me want some *right now*. Wish my mom could fax me some...

When I had an oven that worked and could bake stuff, I did sprinkle a few spoonfuls of breadcrumbs on top of mine, but that's because I was lazy and making the cheap'n'pitiful version with Campbell's cheese soup and some shredded cheddar. It needed the breadcrumbs for a little oomph, IMO, but otherwise, they were completely unnecessary.

[cy-girl.livejournal.com]

The best mac and cheese I've ever had is Alton Brown's stovetop recipe.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_18423,00.html

[klia.livejournal.com]

Almost all of them have... bread crumbs. What the hell? Bread crumbs? When did mac and cheese have bread in it?

That's so wrong! Mac and cheese is supposed to be gooey, with maybe a little baked cheese on the top, but not breadcrumb-crunchy.

Sorry I can't help with a recipe. That's one thing I've never made from scratch, nor does anyone in my family (I know it's considered gross, but I grew up eating the boxed Kraft stuff, and now pasta doesn't agree with me anymore).