Homemade Macaroni and Cheese: The Ultimate Comfort Food

In honor of Mother's Day, I'm sharing one of the tastiest and most reliable recipes my mom taught me: macaroni and cheese. Thanks to my mom, I never tasted the instant boxed kind until I was in college, when a friend convinced me to try it. Let's just say I was not impressed. Why would you ever eat that processed stuff when the real thing is so ridiculously simple? Trust me, if you try this once, you won't feel the same way about powdered cheese ever again.

This mac and cheese method isn't made with a cheese sauce (though I have tried some pretty excellent homemade varieties that are), so it couldn't possibly be any easier to make. Here's how:

Step one: Boil water, add macaroni noodles, and cook until done. Drain.

Step two: Grease a casserole dish or baking pan really well. Put half of the noodles into the pan, spreading evenly. Cover the noodles with a generous layer of shredded cheddar cheese. Layer on the rest of the noodles, then put more cheese on top.

Step three: Splash a little milk over the top of the dish, and put a few slices of butter on top. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes or until the cheese is melted and lightly browned.

Step four: Eat your delicious creation! It is the best thing when the weather is gross or if you've been having a rough week. Cheesy, noodley goodness!

Variations: You can easily make this dish a little fancier if you feel so inclined. When I was a kid, I thought I was very adventurous when I added a little powdered garlic with the cheese. More recently, we mixed in some Gouda cheese with the cheddar, and added caramelized onions in the final cheese layer. Scrumptious! Do you like your mac and cheese topped with breadcrumbs? Or maybe you want to add some spicy peppers for a more exciting dish? Perhaps some diced mushrooms or chopped spinach for a slightly healthier version? The only limit... is your imagination!

Squash Sauce with Pasta

One day there was a tupperware of leftover cooked squash and a bowl of half rotten shallots, so I invented a meal. Don't worry I only used the salvageable shallots. Yesterday I decided to try to recreate it - this time with a squash (whose name we've already forgotten; perhaps Ambercup, it was very vibrant red) that was beginning to rot.

The ingredients:

1 squash
1 large onion
3-4 garlic cloves
3/4 - 1 cup milk
salt
pepper
Parmesan cheese

I cut up the squash, discarding the rotten bottom, into chunks that I threw into a pot of boiling water to cook. I didn't bother pealing off the skin cause I was hungry and that can take a while. I think the squash took less than 30 minutes to cook, but you can test for doneness periodically by stabbing a piece with a fork.

Meanwhile, finely chop some onions and caramelize them in some olive oil. This should take about 30 minutes. Ideally they should slowly turn a soft golden brown color, but I didn't cook mine long enough or at a low enough temperature, doesn't matter they were still delicious. At some point, after the onions have got a good head start add 3-4 cloves minced garlic.

Once your squash is soft, yielding to the caress of a fork, fish it out of the water and set it aside to cool slightly. Now add your pasta to the same water once it is boiling again (see this way you save water and energy). Once you can bear to touch your squash, you should dispose of the skin. Next add about 3/4 cup to one cup of milk to the onions, stir for a minute or two then add the squash and use a potato masher to mix it all up together into a sauce or thick paste; really you can control the consistency of the sauce by adding as much or little milk or water as you like. I typically prefer thicker sauces.
Ladle up some noodles and smother them with the squash sauce. The final note is a generous sprinkling of real parmesan cheese to accent the dish. Enjoy!

I actually like the flavor of the shallots in this dish better than onions, but I didn't want to go to the store this time. If you happen to have a little half and half or cream, a bit swig added in addition to the milk would add some richness. I also suspect adding some ricotta cheese might be tasty and add some protein power.

Butternut Squash and Fried Sage Penne

almost exactly this recipe

This recipe helped me get rid of a few of things that I was worrying were getting really old (a squash, a red onion). The original recipe only called for 8oz of pasta (boxes are usually 16oz). After cutting up the squash, I thought half a box of pasta would not be enough so I used more, and increased everything else too. Look at the picture! Squash to pasta ratio did not need to increase! I liked this a lot, except for the pasta. I used Barilla Whole Wheat Pasta (not the Barilla Plus, which was a dollar more per box) and didn't really like that much. That's the only thing I'd change. The flavors are good, as is. They are simple, but go together so well!

I had a bottle of Dogfish Head Punk beer with it. That was a good match. I know it's kind of past pumpkin beer time, but I love DFH beer and I found a 4 pack of this at Whole Foods, so I had to buy it!



Ingredients:
16 oz penne (or other similarly sized pasta)
3 Tbsp olive oil
12 whole sage leaves
1 medium to large red onion, sliced thin
4 (or more) cloves of garlic, minced
2 lb. butternut squash, peeled and seeded and cut into 1 inch cubes
3/4 cup water
salt and pepper to taste (I used about 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper)
grated parmesan for garnishing (or not, if you're vegan)

Directions:
1. Bring large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to directions. When draining, rinse with cold water so it doesn't get sticky. Return to pot (if the pot is huge!) or a large mixing bowl.
2. In the largest skillet/wok you have, heat oil over medium heat.
3. Fry sage leaves until crispy, about 1 minute on each side. Remove to paper towel. Step out of the kitchen and then back in so you can really appreciate the smell of the fried sage.
4. Add onions and garlic to the skillet and fry until soft, stirring pretty much constantly.
5. Once soft, add squash, water, salt and pepper to skillet and stir to mix.
6. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until squash is soft, stirring occasionally. The recipe says this will only take 5-7 minutes. It took me more like 20 or 25. Possibly because a) I cut the squash pieces too big and/or b) I didn't adequately cover the skillet for the first 10 minutes. I didn't have a lid for the skillet and so I used the two largest I had, overlapping... until! I realized that I could just use the second largest skillet I had as a lid. Ta-da!
7. Once soft (test by tasting! om nom nom!), pour the squash mixture into the pasta and mix until pasta is fully coated. Add a little more water if necessary (I didn't need more water).
8. Garnish with the fried sage (whole leaves for presentation, or crushed up leaves for a more dispersed flavor) and parmesan cheese (unless you're a vegan).