COLUMN: Putting the ‘must-have’ in your mac ‘n’ cheese
While many students spent their spring breaks on cruise ships with endless buffets, I spent mine pondering food, but eating a fair amount of it as well.
During my zen-like meditation over the makeup of a meal and what both our bodies and taste buds need, I found my self in Anthropology buying a cook book titled, “The Big Book of Easy Suppers” by Maryana Vollstedt. This book is great because it isn’t just a bunch of recipes thrown in a book – Vollstedt has actually taken the time to break things down into categories such as soups, main-course supper salads, sandwiches, meats, vegetables, pizza, grilling and desserts, just to name a few. Although I enjoy a challenge in the kitchen, I don’t have time to make chicken tikka masala every night, and I know not everyone does. Easy but tasty is my main priority in life.
It is books like those written by Vollstedt that take me back to the easy, breezy suppers of my childhood. I remember my mother making the most delicious, yet simple dinners that I still have her make for me on my birthday. Shepherd’s pie with hamburger marinated in tonkatsu sauce and layers of fresh vegetables, fluffy potatoes and creamy cheese is just one of the top Mama J dishes.
Although my mom’s Shepherd’s pie-fusion dish is soul soothing, it is her homemade macaroni and cheese that takes the money. It is easy, flavorful, nutritious and makes enough to pack away for a weeks worth of lunch and dinner. This mac and cheese can also be made with gluten-free pasta and still tastes normal.
If you aren’t a meat eater, you can substitute the sausages for a soy-based sausage but if you do eat meat, use a chicken sausage instead of pork. The chicken is lighter in flavor and doesn’t sit heavy in the stomach. Choose a flavored sausage that has basil, sun-dried tomatoes or an Italian blend of herbs in it so the herbs can infuse the pasta and sauce with subtle hints of its flavor.
The recipe also calls for bread crumbs or Japanese panko, and don’t skimp on this. The bread crumbs add a little crunch that makes it that much better. Kind of like corn flakes on funeral potatoes, it’s weird but you love it. Also note that you might need a one-half cup more of milk if you want a wetter sauce. My mom has never written this recipe down so this is pure guesstimation that she thinks is right. If Mama J can dominate this, so can you.
Mama J’s Mac N’ Cheese
1 box macaroni
2-3 sausages
2 to 2 1/2 cups milk
1 package Kraft Italian Five Cheese mixture
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup Parmesan cheese (freshly grated if possible)
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 red pepper and green pepper finely chopped
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon rosemary
1/2 tablespoon oregano
1/2 tablespoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
bread crumbs
1 dutch oven or dutch oven-style pot for the oven. If you don’t have one, use a casserole dish and cover it with tin foil
1 large pot (to cook all the ingredients in if you are not using a dutch oven).
– Broil two to three sausages. After broiled, slice the sausage into bite-sized chunks. Don’t cut the sausage and then cook them, as this dries the sausage out and takes away all the juices you want.
– While the sausage is cooking, boil your pasta. Once it has cooked and is slightly harder than al dente, drain the pasta and set it aside.
– In your pot or dutch oven melt the butter and add the onion. Cook for two minutes, then add the garlic. When the onions are nearly translucent add the green and red peppers and spices except for salt. Cook for five minutes, stirring constantly.
– When the five minutes is up add in the flour; mix well with the veggies and add in the milk. Bring the mixture to simmer and add in the salt and cheese a 1/2 cup at a time stirring with a wire whisk. When all the cheese has been added and the mixture has thickened to a sauce, remove the sauce from the heat and in the sausage and pasta. Mix everything together till the pasta is well coated. If you are using a casserole dish, transfer the mixture to the dish, making sure to scrape the sides of the pot to get the remnants of sauce. Once the mixture is spread through out the dish or dutch oven, coat the top with bread crumbs, Japanese panko or both.
– Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes with the top covered and another 15 without a lid. Serve promptly with a light salad and dominate frequently.
C.Ann Jensen is a senior majoring in print journalism. She currently has a raging appetite for fish tacos and bike inspired picnics. For questions or comments e-mail her at ch.jensen@aggiemail.usu.edu