Reflection 8

The ubiquitous Mac and Cheese, a perfect cold weather comfort food. Now before you say: I would never eat That! Just imagine the calories!!! I ask you this; if I had a mac and cheese recipe that had half the calories and twice the flavor AND no low fat, skim milk, skinny on the anything in it- would you try it? Hmm. You don't have to answer out loud. Just think about it. Now I have always had very high standards for macaroni and cheese, and that is my grandmother fault. A a child I was most disappointed by the many glutenous dished that were passed off as mac and cheese. I saw powder packages that with a magicical stick of butter could turn into neon orange sauce. I saw the Velveta tube cheese that would take the form of any container you saved it in. And last but not least there was the dreaded cafeteria white sauce mac and cheese (that looked like glue and tasted worse) But I had been spoiled as a child. Fed by my grandmother, mac and cheese that actually had cheese in it. Not butter, not velveta and definitely not glue. And she also put jalapeno peppers and a dash of paprika in her mac and cheese. Then she baked until the noodles turned chewy on the top and edges and that was my favorite part. That WAS mac and cheese. And as an adult what I find so amazing about my grandmother's mac and cheese is that it has half the sodium and calories of most traditional mac and cheese recipes. It has about half the amount of cheese, no butter and hardly any milk. The trick is to use extra sharp cheddar. For me mac and cheese is all about flavor and texture. It should have a sharp kick from the cheddar and peppers and a warm smokiness from the paprika and an almost dry and chewy texture.

Here is what goes into my
macaroni and cheese:

Fills an 9x6 baking dish. (2-4 servings)

8 oz. Fusilli (100% Durum Semolina)
.25 lb Cheddar Extra-Sharp
1 Jalapeno pepper
1 Tsp. Paprika
1/4 cup Milk
3 Tbsp. Bread Crumbs

That's it.

How To:
Shred cheese. Dice pepper.Boil water. Add pasta, cook till al dente. Drain the pasta and set aside. melt cheese and add milk and paprika to melting cheese. Once the cheese becomes melted toss pasta and dices peppers into pot. Stir until mixed well. Pour into baking dish. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake at 425 for 30 to 60 mins - depending how chewy/crunchy you want it.

200 calories per serving