Macaroni and Cheese: A dish that is usually only ok when I make it.

Wherein Mr. Ullman cooks a meal that is not on his "A" list and has to take it seriously this time

Mac and Cheese is something that I am usually not going to write about. My Mac and Cheese, like its lowlife (mine anyway) brother known as stir-fry, is not something you should mention in polite company. In my extreme youth I knew a woman that did a damn good casserole. However, my stir-fry and Mac and Cheese are made for the same reason my mother made casseroles: It is hardy, somewhat tasty and, frankly, easy.

The other day I looked into my fridge and discovered very little in the way of supper. All meat and fish was frozen. Mac and Cheese was it for want of anything else.

So not being toasty, worse from drink or tired meant taking this seriously. There were veggies of various types available, one plain and one tasty pasta, garlic of course and various spices. Two types of cheese (actually three).Macaroni and Cheese

First I started the good pasta. It takes 18 minutes to finish so it had to be started first. While I was waiting for the long pasta to cook I finely chopped up two cloves of garlic, two stalks of celery, cilantro and Italian parsley with stems.  Added some apple cider vinegar for some zestiness. I mixed them all together and placed them in a Ziploc bowl and shook vigorously.

By this time the long cooking pasta was long enough along that I added the plain pasta and continued to boil. I sat down and had a beer.

Once the beer was complete I drained the pasta and put it into a mixing bowl. I then added the mixed stuff from the Ziploc bowl and tossed. Since I still had some pine nuts around I added them. I folded in some olive oil mayo I made earlier in the week for some tuna salad. I added two squirts of a mild horseradish sauce.

The two major cheeses were a mass market cheddar and a mass market Swiss. Both are tasty but nothing to write home about. I used my cheese grater to add some cheese to the bowl, tossed, added some more cheese and tossed again. Added a bit of dried Rosemary and a bit of dried Thyme. Put in some pepper oil a friend made for me and tossed again.

I turned the oven to 350 degrees and let it heat up. I put the mixed concoction into my Pyrex, grated some more cheese on top and, after noticing that I had a small bit of goat cheese, crumbed it on top. Put it in the oven and thirty minutes later I had a very tasty supper.

Serve with nothing. However, consider replacing the noodles with a baked potato.

Knives

I recently purchased a ceramic knife. A friend was praising these to heaven and, since I needed a paring knife, went ceramic. I am a believer and this same friend got me a larger ceramic knife for Christmas. These knives are terrificly sharp and keep their edge. Put a tomato on your counter for a day or two until it is soft. A ceramic knife will still go through it like butter and you can get extremely fine slices.