Macaroni and cheese, AND..................????

Most of you know I don't believe in adding anything to great mac 'n cheese.   To me, the noodles and cheese are enough if they're delicious.  THAT is 'real' macaroni and cheese.  I'm not a 'designer pizza' person, either...keep smoked duck off my pizza or call it something other than pizza :-) 

BUT.......today, I saw Paula Dean make mac 'n cheese with thinly sliced tomatoes on the top  and I thought that looked pretty good and that the sweetness and moisture of the peeled tomatoes, baked on top, so they're even sweeter, could be a nice addition.........kind of a 'break' from the gorgeous richness of mac 'n cheese.......

The other night, I ordered macaroni and cheese for an APPETIZER at a terrific restaurant nearby which serves mostly less 'traditional' dishes than macaroni and cheese and they make that dish rather 'untraditionally'....My friend had a glass of wine, I had a gimlet, and I don't drink a cocktail without food, so I figured "Why not order a side of macaroni and cheese to share with our drinks?"   Even the waiter laughed and kind of liked the idea.  WE sure did! Their macaroni and cheese is wonderful;  I think there's some Fontina and white Cheddar in the sauce and plenty of rosemary and buttered Panko crumbs on top......fabulous.   So, I do like different cheeses, it doesn't have to be cheddar, and the rosemary was a very nice touch......but I don't go too far from my norm!

Do you make macaroni and cheese, and do you put ham in it, or tomatoes on top, or?..............Do you have a family tradition or a new recipe which includes something else?   Anything unusual or different about your macaroni and cheese?

Let us know......thanks!
z

DIET???

DIET is probably a very weird thing to talk about on a food site with a title like mine, but I thought it would be fun to share successful diets some of you might have followed?

So.........what do you do when you want to quickly take off five or ten pounds?   Lots of  salad?  Only protein?  Just stay off sugar?    Let us know!

Thanks!  Z

FATTENING FOOD........mmmmmm!!

What is THE MOST fattening thing you personally LOVE to eat.........whether you eat it every day or rarely, tell us all about it!  I love this kind of conversation and hope you join in!
HERE is a list of what the Yahoo staff says is awful for us to eat............Please add to it!

I have to admit I LOVE macaroni and cheese (as you can tell from my blog's name and image) but there are other things I like which are fattening...like almost every fried thing imaginable!   How about you?
z