Killer Mac

Comfort Food - Ivan Style

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Comfort food. What does that mean to you? I guarantee it means something different to every person. It is usually a dish that is warm, fattening, reminds us of our childhood, and fattening. I always thought of the chicken paprikas that my mother would make when I was a child, or lasagna that my brother and I would devour by the pan full. That being said, there is one dish in particular that I think about, and my wife dreams of on those cheat days we so look forward to… mac and cheese!! Now, I could sit here and tell you stories of fancy butters and really fancy cheese based concoctions. They are good, but it seems like I always fall back to the one that is not good for you at all. Velveeta. That’s right, processed, (I don’t even think it is cheese), creamy, smooth... well you get my drift. There are a few things in this world that we had as kids that we know are really bad for us. Shortening, lard, the can of bacon fat that sat next to the stove, and yes, Velveeta.

Now, you can supplement your mac and cheese with other fancy cheeses. Hell, it is based off of one of the five mother sauces of the old French regime called a mornay sauce. Flour, butter, milk, small onion, bay leaf, add cheese... I could go on and on. Benefits of a culinary school education (I could go on about how this is not needed to be a cook in this world, but that is for another rant). Now where was I? Oh yeah, Velveeta. Use a mixture of some sort of American processed cheese to really remind you of your childhood. Still, very simple.

Cheese Sauce

2 oz Butter
2 oz AP Flour
16 oz Whole Milk
8 oz Velveeta

Melt the butter in a pan, whisk in flour. This is called a roux (culinary geek term). Cook flour in butter for 2-3 minutes. Slowly add cold milk to the roux. Must bring back to a boil to make sure that it is thick enough. If you do not do this you will not activate the flour in the roux to thicken. Add cheese (if you must use a different kind amounts will vary), and whisk until smooth. You can definitely add more cheese if you would like. This is not a science, and can be changed to your taste.

Pasta

Use what you have. Granted, a long pasta is probably not best for this. You want the cheese sauce to end up inside of the pasta. So stick with macaroni, penne, rotini; something of that nature.

.5 lb dry pasta

Fill the pot with enough water so that it more than covers the amount of space that the pasta would take up. The more water the better. Now salt the water. I mean really salt it. Salty as the sea. It’s important. Adding oil to the water is one of those things I never bought into. Never understood it. I want my pasta to be completely devoid of oil until the end. This way it soaks up what ever flavors I add to it. Think about it. Coat the pasta with oil, and it will just taste like oil. I want the pasta to finish cooking in the sauce. Just my opinion.

Cook the pasta until there is a slight ring in the center when you break or bite in half. Remember, you are going to cook the pasta again. The professionals call this al denté. Or, cook the pasta until it's your favorite texture. Your call in the long run.

Bread Crumbs

I always take the ends of the bread loaves and cut them into cubes. Nobody eats them anyway. So why not use them for something useful. Toss them with olive oil, salt, pepper and then bake them until they are crunchy.

2 ea Bread Ends
2 oz Olive Oil
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper

Follow above commentary, and then bake at 350 degrees for about 10 to 15 minutes. Move them around and turn them over every 5 minutes during the cooking process. That way they bake evenly.

Now, let the croutons cool a bit. After they are cool, place them in a zip lock bag and beat them. I use a rolling pin.

Assembly

Now you have all of the components. Mix the pasta with the cheese sauce. Here is the point where you could top with some other sort of cheese. This can be the fancy stuff. I like using smoked cheeses at this point. Then top that with the bread crumbs.

Bake at 350 degrees until it starts to brown on top and bubbles up the sides. About 20 minutes.

Let sit for about 5 to 10 minutes. It will be nuclear hot.

Options, Option, Options

I sometimes will add stuff to the base of the mac and cheese like sausages, bacon, or mushrooms. Completely up to you. You just need to cook everything ahead of time and then mix it in before you top it. I usually keep everything on the side. Welcome to living in a picky family. Some like mushrooms, some don’t, some like sausage, some don’t.

Mushrooms I cook with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Sauté them until they start to caramelize.

Onions get cooked the same as the mushrooms. Just let them cook low and slow in a pan until they caramelize. Stir every couple of minutes.

Tomatoes, little bit of olive oil, salt, pepper and dried thyme. Slow cook at about 200 degrees for about 45 minutes.

Sausages I just grill until done.

Simple is Sometimes Better

Here all along you all thought I was some fancy pants. Don’t get me wrong, there are things that I am picky about. The type of salt I use is Diamond Crystal (it is the only Kosher salt I like, something about the texture in between my fingers). I can’t handle pre-ground pepper. Yes, I use it in my cafes, doesn’t mean I like it. My knife always gets wiped off after every use, and my cutting board always gets cleaned in between tasks. Primadona Chef, I know.

Comfort food. That is a very personal thing. What makes you feel comfortable? At the end of the day it really is determined by you. I can sit here and tell you what I think is good and what I think is bad, but that would make me a hypocrite. I will judge you on the salt you use, but all the rest is completely your call (no judgement). Hell, I am just some over paid cook who sometimes gets called chef. Take me with a grain of salt, as long as it's kosher.