I realized that I've been very lax lately about posting recipes, mostly due to a continuous sinus infection, coupled with a bout of the stomach flu for everyone in the house.
But I'm back to cooking new things, and tonight we decided to try out a possible macaroni recipe for Jack's birthday. We're planning to serve pulled pork and baked beans (Jack's favorite veg), so we thought some mac and cheese would work well with that, but we don't have a really fabulous mac and cheese recipe yet. So, we'll be trying out a few over the next two months.
Tonight we tried The Barefoot Contessa's Macaroni and Cheese, which was absolutely delicious, to the point that we both helped ourselves to extra spoonfuls, more than once.
The Recipe: Mac and Cheese
The Source: Barefoot Contessa (Food Network)
The Rating: 5 out of 5
We loved the nutmeg flavor and the nuttiness of the gruyere cheese. I especially loved the tomatoes on top. Brian says,"It just kind of snuck up on us how good it is" because at first we thought it was merely good. By the third extra helping, we knew it was fabulous.
My only complaint is the pricyness of the meal. Getting a GOOD gruyere cheese cost about $12 for 12 oz., plus the cost of the cheddar. Not cheap. But worth it for a special occasion.
Next time, we're going to try Paula Deen's Mac and Cheese recipe, which includes a can of cheddar cheese soup. I'm mildly appalled, but Brian says it's his birthday party, too, so he wants to try the Paula Deen dish. Personally, I think he might be a little in love with Paula Deen. ;)
