An all-American dish, right?
Nope. Historians believe a 14th-century Italian cookbook, Liber de Coquina, contains the first written mention of pasta and cheese. Americans can thank Thomas Jefferson, who brought a macaroni and cheese recipe and pasta maker home from Europe.
My grandchildren aren’t interested in mac ’n’ cheese history. They simply want to fill huge emptiness inside. Grandma boasts two recipes: their great-grandmother’s, plus one recently discovered on the Internet.
Unlike many 1960s homemakers, Mom didn’t cook the 19-cents-a-box food made popular during the Depression. Instead, she boiled spaghetti, then added inexpensive margarine and whatever cheese had escaped five-kids-in-the-house foraging.
Her recipe proved invaluable during my Hubby’s medical school years. Once, I looked up from saying grace before one spaghetti-and-cheese supper to see my work-weary husband face down in a plateful of our entrée.
Fast-forward several decades, when he invited students for a cookout. Would they consider my spaghetti fetish — and me — weird? Risotto or gnocchi might boost sophistication ratings, but costs would skyrocket.
Cheap won. I prepared mac ’n’ cheese — not only popular with students, but later, with our grandkids.
Not everyone welcomes different versions, especially as cheese enthusiasts rarely compromise. Some insist on American or cheddar. Discerning palates may require brie, smoked Gouda, or goat cheese.
Others, if stranded on a desert island, would refuse the stove-top version, as real mac ’n’ cheese demands an oven-baked crust.
A recent San Francisco macaroni and cheese contest’s entries might raise Midwestern eyebrows, with additives like nutmeg, mustard and even cinnamon and sugar. Vegetables took center stage: mushrooms, tomatoes, brussels sprouts and that darling of the veggie world, kale. Some added fruit, such as figs.
The judges, including Smithsonian Magazine writer and cheese merchant Gordon Edgar, awarded first place to a dish featuring aged Vermont cheddar.
The cultured audience, however, chose a different entry — and were shocked to silence when the winner revealed his main ingredient.
Velveeta®.
This dish, even in its many variations, will endure. When my family needs comfort or celebration food, mac ’n’ cheese will be there for them.
Americans’ political views are even more diverse than our versions of macaroni and cheese. But acknowledging differences, can’t we lean on the basic recipe, our comfort and celebration for almost 250 years?
I want that to be there for my family, too.
Your Extraordinary Ordinary: What’s your favorite macaroni and cheese recipe?
