Return of the Mac...and Punkin Things!

First of all, you are lying to yourself if you say you don’t love that song.

Last Sunday was one of those gorgeous fall days that you always envision at this time of year, but very rarely actually experience (nothing like the horrible hurricane we experienced this past weekend.  I would have posted this earlier, but I find everyday tasks daunting).  Prime sweater weather, not a cloud in the sky, the leaves that shade of red that looks almost unnatural on the trees.  Waking up that morning there was only one thing that could set this perfect autumn day over the top: punkin things.

Punkin time is like, pretty much my third favorite time of the year. Poppy and I hit up Dunkin Donuts so I could get a pumpkin donut and pumpkin latte, which sweet Jesus was amazing, and then we headed over to Weber’s Farm in Parkville, MD to meet up with my sister, brother-in-law, and their twin boys.  We roamed the shop and the pumpkin patch, and I embarrassed Poppy by screaming when a bee landed on my coffee.  What I imagine as delicately waving the bee off of my coffee cup and casually sashaying over a few feet with the grace and elegance of Ann Romney's horse Rafalca, was in reality more like arms flailing and screams of terror while surrounded by small, better-behaved children.

I bought some old bay cheddar (whaaaaattt), apple butter and rhubarb jam that will no doubt make an appearance in a later blog.  It really was a perfect fall morning.

But what started out as a lovely day went downhill fast when the Raven’s suffered a humiliating loss to Houston.   I don’t know what happened.  I raised the green flag just like you told me, Ray.

While the game sucked, the mac and cheese did not.  Poppy and I make this mac pretty frequently, switching up the cheese and spices, our favorite being Parmesan white cheddar.  This time, we went with sharp white cheddar and pepperjack. 

  

The recipe is below.  This version was pretty good, but I like my mac spicy, so next time I’ll add a ½ tablespoon of crushed red pepper flakes.

1 pound gemelli or campanelle pasta (I like fun shaped things)

3/4 quart milk (or the whole thing if you like your cheese sauce a little thin)

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

8 ounces grated sharp white cheddar

8 ounces pepperjack (or more, why not)

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Parmesan and Garlic breadcrumbs



I don't pretend to be a good photographer, so you just have to trust that this tastes better than it looks.



Preheat the oven to 375.  Boil the pasta to a nice al dente (soggy mac and cheese is the Brad Pitts) and drain well.  In a sauce pan, warm up the milk on medium-low.  Meanwhile, melt 6 TB of butter in a medium-low pot.  Once melted, whisk in the flour in order to create a somewhat thick roux.  Then, add the milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and optional red pepper flake and stir.  Next, slowly add in the cheese, constantly stirring until it's almost fully melted.  Finally, stir in the drained pasta.  Transfer the mac and cheese into a 9x12 glass baking dish.  Top with a layer of breadcrumbs and then add the remaining 2 TB of butter, melted and drizzled over the top.  If you want, add a little extra cheese on top of the breadcrumbs, too.  Bake for 25-30 minutes

Look, you could make your own breadcrumbs but that seems like a lot of work, so don't.  But I will say don't buy pre-shredded cheese; it just doesn't melt the same as block cheese.

We have maybe 2 weeks left of punkin things time, so enjoy it while it lasts.