Pleased by Mac and Cheese

Kraft Mac and Cheese Wrist Watch Obviously the time part...

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 17:44:30 -0600

Kraft Mac and Cheese Wrist Watch

Obviously the time part doesn’t work, but I love it.

Handlebar I’ve been wanting to post this mac and cheese...

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 17:09:51 -0500

Handlebar

I’ve been wanting to post this mac and cheese for a long time but couldn’t get a good picture until yesterday. Handlebar is by far one of my favorite restaurants in Chicago. It is pescatarian (meaning they don’t serve meat, just fish) and very vegetarian/vegan friendly. They have a very dark and cozy dining room with an exposed kitchen. Their patio is actually bigger than their dining room, has better lighting, and is definitely my preferred seating choice when the weather is pleasant.

Their smoked gouda mac and cheese is one of my favorites because it’s creamy, smokey, and not too rich. Don’t get me wrong, I love a rich mac and cheese more than the next person, but the lack of richness makes this mac a good side item. I would recommend pairing it with a buffalo (fake) chicken wrap and the $5 high life pony and Malort shot (make it a ma-lemon by chasing the shot with lemon juice).

From guest blogger Jen O’Brien: I’m getting baked...

Sun, 21 Aug 2011 19:39:00 -0500

From guest blogger Jen O’Brien:

I’m getting baked mac and cheese at soë (in michigan). I taste white cheddar and a hint of onion mixed in. Every so often you get a nice baked bite that really compliments the tenderness of the macaroni. I think the cheese could stand to be a little creamier, but overall it was pretty good

my roommate Morgan just recently made a pumpkin mac and cheese that was so exceptional. i thought you would just love it. i'll ask her for the recipe!

Sun, 21 Nov 2010 17:09:11 -0600

Oh I would love it. There’s a recipe on FoodNetwork.com that uses pureed winter squash instead...

update...

Sun, 21 Nov 2010 17:06:34 -0600

Apparently Beechers mac and cheese was featured on Oprah’s favorite things show last Friday....

Beecher’s Handmade Cheese A few months back I went to...

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 19:49:34 -0600

perfect

love me some curds

Beecher’s Handmade Cheese

A few months back I went to Seattle to visit a friend from undergrad. I asked him to give me a list of must-sees and must-eats in Seattle. He sent me in the direction of the Pike Place Market. His one food recommendation was Beecher’s for their “world’s best” mac and cheese. There was no doubt in my mind that a mac and cheese made in a handmade cheese shop was going to be fantastic.

When I ordered the snack size mac and cheese the cashier told me it might take about 5 minutes because they just ran out and were finishing up a fresh batch. I was very excited about this. Mac and cheese fresh out of the oven is always best (if you remember from previous posts, I hate reheating most macaroni and cheeses as the sauce dries out therefore compromising the overall mac flavor and experience). This mac was creamy, nutty, and had a little kick to it. It exceeded my expectations. One ingredient that really makes this mac and cheese stand out is the Beecher’s Flagship cheese. This is where the nutty flavor originates. Other flavors, such as the garlic powder and chipotle chili powder, do a wonderful job finishing off the dish and creating a great flavor profile.

I recently discovered they posted the “World’s Best” mac and cheese recipe on their website. Although I haven’t attempted my own homemade version of this, if it actually tastes anything like what I ate, I would highly recommend making it yourself.

My Attempt at “Healthy” Mac and Cheese I was once...

Sat, 09 Oct 2010 18:26:00 -0500

beginning

mmm...middle

final product

My Attempt at “Healthy” Mac and Cheese

I was once told that “my diet starts tomorrow” was going to be my epitaph (death will probably be the result of loving food too much). Well, one time my diet actually started the next day. I didn’t want to put my mac blog aside so I was determined to make a healthier macaroni and cheese that still tasted good. Luckily I’m not opposed to bulking up my mac and cheese with veggies, so that helped.

Unfortunately I don’t have an exact recipe for this, but here’s the jist of the dish: first I sauteed onions and mushrooms in a small amount of olive oil until they were soft. I then created a skim milk based roux and added some low fat cheddar and jack cheese. I would have been more creative with my cheeses but I made due with what I had on hand. While I was preping my veggies and cheese sauce my whole wheat rotini noodles were cooking until al dente. I mixed everything together and enjoyed.

The final product was actually really good despite the fact that everything was low fat. I did stir the roux/cheese sauce a little too much and it was a little thicker than I prefer. Fortunately this consistency did not take away from the overall flavor of the dish. I don’t have the exact calorie count, but I remember it was about 300 calories for a portion that was enough to satisfy my hunger.

I’ve seen some other interesting healthy mac and cheese recipes that use pureed cauliflower or summer squash instead of a roux. Until I try those out, this concoction will do.

Goose Island - O’Hare Airport I’ve heard a lot of...

Sun, 19 Sep 2010 18:38:00 -0500

Goose Island - O’Hare Airport

I’ve heard a lot of great things about the food at Goose Island breweries, but maybe those reviews don’t translate to airport versions of chain restaurants. It wasn’t so much that this macaroni and cheese was bad, it just wasn’t good. Again, like a handful of macs I’ve had so far, it had that gritty tv-dinner macaroni and cheese mouthfeel. The breadcrumbs and green onions that topped the dish did a pretty good job of masking the bland cheese flavor, but they weren’t enough to make me ever want to try this mac again.

I will complement the side salad it came with. It was only a simple greens salad with balsamic vinaigrette, but it was fresh and crisp and went well with the warm, creamy mac and cheese. I do love when macaroni and cheeses are paired with salads as it seems to take away some of the guilt of indulging in such a rich meal.

Santullos I went to Santullos for cheap, greasy New York style...

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 22:25:21 -0500

pair it with a PBR

tastes like the price: cheap

make your friends eat most of it

Santullos

I went to Santullos for cheap, greasy New York style pizza. My sister and friend saw mac on the menu and suggested I try their “homemade” macaroni and cheese and blog about it. It was only $3 so I thought I’d give it a shot. Now it wasn’t as bad as the fest mac that I tried a few posts back, but it was pretty undesirable. I’m pretty sure homemade implied that they melted the velveeta and added some red pepper flakes to it. Voila.

Now it was edible, I guess I should give it that much credit, we did eat it and pretty much finish it, but I’m pretty sure I was starving at the time. Save yourself the calories (and spend them on more greasy pizza, which is pretty good).

Hot Chocolate. There’s more than just the name at this...

Sat, 21 Aug 2010 14:31:25 -0500

candlelight mac

crunchy cheese bits

so creamy

going... going... almost gone

Hot Chocolate.

There’s more than just the name at this Bucktown dessert bar. While they do specialize in rich chocolaty desserts and drinks, they offer entrees that are just as rich and delicious. The mac and cheese is on the menu under “in a category all of its own” and it definitely deserves this distinction. This dish consists of elbow macaroni cooked to perfection (al dente) combined with Rothkase gruyere cheese and Carr Valley mammoth cheddar. The inside is smooth and creamy, the top is baked creating little crispy cheese bits (the best).The first word that comes to mind while eating it is RICH. This is very thick and rich. Definitely a mac to split with someone else. Because I was afraid only half of this mac wasn’t going to be enough to fill me I split a light salad also, and this was a very satisfying and filling meal.

I usually feel a little kiddish when I order the mac and cheese at a nice restaurant instead of the seared duck or crispy skin artic char, but when you pair the mac with a “cucumber cooler” cocktail and end it with a desert consisting of salted caramel ice cream and a chocolate lava cake you feel a little more grown up.

This is definitely up there with Kuma’s macaroni and cheese as one of my favorite Chicago macs.

So when I overcome my recent laziness this will be my first...

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 20:14:09 -0500

So when I overcome my recent laziness this will be my first make-at-home-mac. I’m very excited. I’m not a huge fan of red pepper flakes, but I think baked into a pasta dish it will have a really good flavor. I really like that it’s bulked up with veggies too (mushrooms, spinach, onions, and tomatoes). I love when I can eat mac and cheese and still think I’m eating healthy. On top of all that, I love Giada. She’s definitely one of my favorite food network chefs.

It looks easy to make, but too late to start now. Hopefully I can give it a shot tomorrow!

Fest Mac. Fest mac has yet to be a good thing. It was cooked...

Sat, 07 Aug 2010 15:45:38 -0500

before

after

Fest Mac.

Fest mac has yet to be a good thing. It was cooked hours ago, if not the day before, and sits in a hot box until ordered. This is my mac rant versus most of the mac raves.

It was already a sweltering 95 degrees at the Taste of Chicago. A hot serving of mac and cheese was the last thing I should have been eating. One of those frozen chocolate covered cheesecake-on-a-stick bars would have been much more enjoyable. The vendor providing the mac and cheese was a pub I think. The mac wasn’t very memorable, nor was the name of the vendor. It was comparable to a reheated spiral box mac and cheese. You know when you reheat box mac and cheese it loses the creaminess and develops a gritty texture. Most creamier homemade macs aren’t as bad reheated, but never as good as fresh out of the oven.

We topped the mac off with a little hot sauce that definitely improved it, but not enough. It wasn’t even worth finishing. I’d rather save the calories for one of those cheesecakes on a stick.

Coming up next: some more delicious Chicagoland mac and cheese!

For some reason I love this commercial. Part of me wants to tell...

Sat, 07 Aug 2010 14:36:18 -0500

For some reason I love this commercial. Part of me wants to tell the little girl “It’s ok, the bread crumbs are going to make it”.

I really need to start making some homemade mac and cheese and posting it on here.

This is definitely one of my favorite macaroni and cheeses in...

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 09:43:00 -0500

Kuma's Corner Make Your Own Mac

Close-up of cheesy goodness

Share it with a friend

Whiskey on tap

Come for the food, stay for the art

This is definitely one of my favorite macaroni and cheeses in the Chicago area. This is Kuma’s Corner’s Make Your Own macaroni and cheese. They supply the macaroni and the cheese and you choose 2 complimentary toppings (or more at $1 per extra ingredient). The macaroni is standard. The cheese sauce I haven’t quite figured out. While I would like to think that I have a very mature palette, it’s still hard for me to taste something and name the exact ingredients that go in it. If I had to guess I’d say there’s some smoked gouda, gruyere, parmesan, and maybe one more. It’s a white cheese so possibly a white cheddar.

This particular trip to Kuma’s I went with the combination of caramelized onions and mushrooms. In a previous trip I’ve had the caramelized onions and broccoli. I’d say the latter was better, but mushrooms were still a great addition. With 12 ingredients to choose from the combinations are endless (actually it’s 2,049 possibilities [thanks barkingoutloud.tumblr for the math]). The ingredient options are as follows:

Bacon, Prosciutto, Andouille, Chicken, Roasted Red Peppers, Caramelized Onions, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Broccoli, Peas, Mushrooms, Scallions, Sweet Corn

This is a large and very rich portion of macaroni and cheese so I would suggest having it as a starter and sharing it with a large group of friends. That way you can get your Kuma’s burger fix and probably still have leftovers of everything.

Oh yeah, did I mention they have whiskey on tap?

What cheesy pasta would you recommend to a reader who hates cheesy pasta?

Sun, 04 Jul 2010 22:09:15 -0500

First I would find out what it is about cheesy pasta that you don’t like. Maybe you just...

ugh, please dont make me keep typing things here. Will you post more cheesy pasta? Y/N?

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 18:14:07 -0500

Let me start by saying this is not a strictly...

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 17:31:00 -0500

I grated a little fresh parm over it.

Let me start by saying this is not a strictly “macaroni” blog. I’ll will be eating pasta of all shapes and sizes with cheese. I guess it’s the cheese that counts. I just chose “Pleased by Mac and Cheese” because it had a nice ring to it. Pasta and cheese sounds unfamiliar and awkward. I’m sure all my readers (1; Amanda) were fretting over the inconsistency between the blog title and the blog content.

I decided to kick things off mac-and-cheese style with the good old fashioned blue box. Honestly, I prefer Meijer brand mac and cheese (dinosaur shapes, natch), but I live in the city of Chicago and am therefore without a car and about 30 miles from the nearest Meijer. I’m not sure what it is about those little dinos, but they really hit the spot. I’d say Kraft shapes are second best. I choose shapes over noodles because the pasta to cheese ratio is lower, and therefore the dish tastes creamier and cheesier.

Like the about me says, this blog is about my love of all things macaroni and cheese. It’s basically my excuse to eat lots of it. “Well, I have to do this for the blog” is what I’ll think to myself when debating between a salad and m&c at a restaurant. Of course I’ll take one for the blog and choose the mac. This is, essentially, a search for the best mac and cheese around (around is vague for Chicago Metropolitan area, nation, or world, depending on how much traveling I plan on doing while writing this). I’ll be trying it at various restaurants as well as making my own along the way.

I have the “ask me anything” tumblr option on, so please use that to recommend places that have great mac or great recipes you know of. Bonus points if it’s healthy.