Ode to Cheese...

The word of the day is "Turophile." by definition a lover or connoisseur of cheese! 

You know you have a cheese addiction when you plan on naming your first born daughter Brie or Cheddarella.  Me and cheese have a long history, and the roots of my obsession can be traced back to my childhood.  The earliest records can be found in my middle school year book where every single person who signed my yearbook refered to me as “cheez girl.”  Yikes! In highschool, one of my defining moments was being photographed with String Cheese Man: 

I wont bore you with all of the details of my personal cheese history.  A more recent cheese adventure took place when fellow turophile Molly gave me the grand cheese tour up in Washington.  We visited Beecher’s cheese shop at Pike Place Market in Seattle, where you can shop for cheese, watch people making cheese and eat cheese all at the same time!  This goes on record as the best Macaroni and Cheese I have ever had!  Apparently Oprah agrees with me: http://www.beechershandmadecheese.com/

 We also took a cheese making class at Blue Rose Dairy (http://bluerosedairy.com/).  At this small scale farm and dairy we were shown the ropes of cheese making by a conservative middle aged woman who somehow manages to  run a small cheese making business, homeschool all of her children, And  teach complete strangers how to make cheese from scratch in her farmhouse kitchen!

Macaroni and Cheese has been one of my favorites since I can remember.  Back in highschool my friend Dominique and I used to make the Kraft version on a weekly basis. Sometimes we would take a mac & cheese picnic to our favorite canyon hideout, "The Hobos Nest."  Later on we realized that the Hobos Nest wasn't really an exclusive hideout when we found our holy grounds desecrated by a sleeping bag and a porno magazine, but for the time being we were happily content to huddle and eat the cheesy elixer by the bowlful.

Anyways, here's one of my favorite recipes for macaroni and cheese.  The recipe is from Saveur magazine:

http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Artisanal-Macaroni-and-Cheese

Kosher salt, to taste

12 oz. hollow pasta, preferably penne

6 tbsp. unsalted butter

3⁄4 cup dried bread crumbs, preferably panko

1 oz. finely grated Parmesan (about 1 cup)

1⁄4 cup flour

3 1⁄2 cups milk

4 oz. grated Gruyère (about 1 1⁄2 cups)

4 oz. grated Comté or Cantal (about 1 1⁄2 cups)

4 oz. grated fontina (about 1 1⁄2 cups)

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Heat oven to 350°. Bring a 4-qt. saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until not quite al dente, about 7 minutes. Drain pasta, transfer to a bowl, and set aside.

2. Melt 3 tbsp. of the butter in a 4-qt. saucepan over low heat. Add the bread crumbs and Parmesan, toss to combine, and transfer to a small bowl; set aside.

3. Wipe out the saucepan and set over medium heat. Melt the remaining butter and whisk in the flour until smooth. Whisk in the milk and cook, continuing to whisk often, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon, about 10 minutes. Stir in the Gruyère, 1 cup of the Comté, and 1 cup of the fontina and whisk until the cheese is melted and incorporated. Season with salt and pepper. Remove pan from heat and stir in the reserved pasta. Pour the mixture into a 2-qt. baking dish and top with the remaining Comté and fontina. Sprinkle bread crumb mixture over the top and bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

 

This is the shredded fontina cheese.  I also used parmesan, but instead of the other fancy cheeses the recipe calls for, I substituted a  preshredded Italian cheese mix.  I think you can use any kind of meltable cheese and this recipe will come out good. Enjoy!

 

I hereby dedicate this post to my one true love: CHEESE!