Sorry, its been awhile...

I cant believe its been so long since I've posted a blog. There has been sooooo much to write about; cooking with family, Pebble Beach Food & Wine, impromptu beach gathering, great recipes and good times with friends.

I am going to jump right in with an amazing mac & cheese Kevin and I made together last night. I'll admit that I am a "Mom's mac & cheese kinda girl". I don't like the fancy reincarnations of the classic comfort food. But I thought it was time to experiment.

To begin with I looooove my Mom's mac & cheese. It's simple but oh so good. All you do is butter a microwave safe dish, put in cooked elbow noodles, add a little milk, cover the top of the noodles with Velveeta, microwave until cheese is melted, mix and serve. It is the only dish my Mom will make enough of for my sister and I to take home.

Now the first time I made my Mom's mac & cheese I couldn't find the Velveeta because I did not know it was in an isle, not the cheese section. I was a little horrified at the time but got over it pretty quick. I think it is funny that now you find it in the cheese section.

As for my experiment, it was Mac & Cheese heaven......

• Cooked 12 ounces of penne noodles for 6 minutes so the noodles were still a little crunchy
• Sauteed about a table spoon of chopped garlic in 4 tbls of butter, then mixed in 1/4 cup flour
• To the flour we added two cups of half and half, sea salt and pepper to taste and nutmeg
• To that mixed in 1 pound of graded aged sharp white cheddar until melted, then stirred in the noodles.
• Placed the mixture in a buttered oven safe dish.
• Covered the top of the noodles with mixture of four pieces of toasted bread that has been pulsed in a food processor, parmesan cheese and dried rosemary.
• Bake in a 350 preheated oven for 40 minutes
• Let cool for 20 minutes.

Serve it with a drizzle of truffle oil and you have a bowl of deliciousness.......

What is your favorite Mac & Cheese?