Thursday, July 28, 2011

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

9 comments:

Lisa said...

mmmm that looks really good. I think the tomatoes are an interesting addition to mac and cheese.

I love Food Network. Many a dish I make comes from there including Giada's Minestrone she made the other day which I made 2 days ago . I see it and if it looks easy enough and delicious enough I usually make it within a day or 2.
She isn't my favorite but I happened to catch this:
and it did come out good.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/beef-and-cannellini-bean-minestrone-recipe/index.html

Lisa said...

Being I missed your Superbowl post this is what I made for the party we went to:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/neelys/bbq-pot-stickers-recipe/index.html

Scotty said...

The wife puts a can of Campbells tomato soup(condensed) in her mac & cheese....it gives it all a nice push to the flavor. It's the only way I'll eat it!

Scotty said...

...oh yeah and uses Velveeta cheese.

Trekkie4Ever said...

Don't shoot me, but we eat out of the box. *running for cover*

Z said...

You mean like Kraft Mac'nCheese (actually, I haven't had that in years, but LOVED it when I was young and bought it all the time!)
no shooting coming from ME :-)

Scotty..that's very interesting...why not put the tomato soup in it? hmmm

Those recipes sound fabulous, Lisa..thanks so much!! I like Giada, too.........she's had a pretty charmed life except for losing her brother to cancer a few years ago. Her mother's gorgeous, too, isn't she?
Have you noticed how STERN and almost mean Giada (and Bobby Frey) can get on the "Next Chef" shows...? Kind of surprises me!

cube said...

I'm a mac & cheese purist. Nothing but pasta and cheese sauce for me. I might add some bread crumbs at the top if I bake it, but usually it's just the classic for me.

I will eat the Kraft mix in a pinch (my girls love it), but I think the Deluxe mix is tastier.

Lisa said...

I don't watch Next Chef but I am not surprised they both seem to have that underlying personality.
What cracks me up is when Giada say she can eat a whole bowl of something she made. Yeah right.
Yes they are beautiful women even her grandmother was who also had cancer.
My favorite show is Diners,Drive- Ins and Dives.
Guy Fieri cracks me up. One time this cook was making quesadillas and he had about 7 layers of stuff on them and Guy says to him "That has more acts than a Shakespeare play"
He just makes me laugh.
My friend's sister works at a place that was on that show in Florida "The Whale's Rib"
I don't want to hog this thread but there is a good site for flavorful healthy recipes called Chefmd.com.
I made a few things from there too and they don't taste healthy and most of the recipes are easy.

Z said...

Cube, me, too, that's why I did this particular post; I was surprised to find something I might DEIGN to put on my mac'n' cheese :-) I'm not usually a bread crumb adder, either.

Lisa, you're not 'hogging'...
I like Guy Fieri, too...he does say some very smart/funny things and I LOVE watching the Diner/Dive food..mmmm It always blows my mind when there's some really low priced REAL "dive" and the make dishes with homemade broths that will go INTO sauces, for example. That is a LOT of trouble to go to for a dish that costs $6.50! That's impressive.
THanks for the link to the healthy good food!