Macaroni & Cheese...

[Golf4food]

Always have mac & cheese.

Nothing un-fancy about it.

Is water too un-fancy?

Is air too un-fancy?

Is the very blood that courses through my veins?

I say, "nay nay".

 

[AnOtHeRdIsNeYfReAk]

Mac and cheese is one of those dishes you can make a comfort food version (cheddar, velveeta, etc..) you can make a gourmet version (dry Sauvignon Blanc, mushrooms, nutmeg, Emmental, Mimolette, Comte cheeses) or you can make an in between version using various things (gruyere, asiago, provolone and various add ins like prosciutto, chili -yes chili mac can be great if made right, tomato, etc..) I'm surprised by the amount of people I work with that comment on my mac and cheese when I bring some in for everyone. I guess most people make the comfort food version with velveeta and cheddar, since that's what they usually expect. My version isn't gourmet or fancy by any means, but its good enough to be served next to a green bean casserole abomination.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I do have to giggle at the idea of green bean casserole being fancier than mac n cheese

 

[Robbi]

I do have to giggle at the idea of green bean casserole being fancier than mac n cheese

 

[aprilgail2]

I do have to giggle at the idea of green bean casserole being fancier than mac n cheese

No green bean casserole has ever and will never be on my holiday table!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

No green bean casserole has ever and will never be on my holiday table!

Next year, I'm eating at YOUR house

 

[mombrontrent]

I have never in my whole life even seen a green bean casserole. It must be an American thing because I have never heard of anyone preparing or eating one ever here in Canada. Also never heard of serving Mac' and Cheese with a holiday meal either

 

[CaliBear]

LOL, in south Louisiana, a roux is oil with flour added to make a paste and then cooked until it turns the color of peanut butter. Add onions only after it's reached the correct color. Let them cook until they're translucent and then add water. It's the base for gumbos.
I have noticed on some cooking shows, they've co opted the term for a Bechamel sauce.

Co-opted? It's a cooking term. Cooking shows aren't co-opting the word roux, which is oil (or bacon fat or lard or butter) with flour mixed in to make a paste just like you said. It becomes bechamel with the addition of milk.

 

[aprilgail2]

I have never in my whole life even seen a green bean casserole. It must be an American thing because I have never heard of anyone preparing or eating one ever here in Canada. Also never heard of serving Mac' and Cheese with a holiday meal either

LOL- Mac and Cheese at a holiday meal is not a thing all over america- I have never had it anywhere I have eaten a holiday meal at. To me mac and cheese is like putting out chicken nuggets and french fries at your holiday meal!

 

[Janepod]

LOL- Mac and Cheese at a holiday meal is not a thing all over america- I have never had it anywhere I have eaten a holiday meal at. To me mac and cheese is like putting out chicken nuggets and french fries at your holiday meal!

I agree. I've never seen it at anything more formal than a backyard BBQ.

 

[Robbi]

LOL- Mac and Cheese at a holiday meal is not a thing all over america- I have never had it anywhere I have eaten a holiday meal at. To me mac and cheese is like putting out chicken nuggets and french fries at your holiday meal!

I agree. I've never seen it at anything more formal than a backyard BBQ.

What is on your holiday menus?

 

[Kathi OD]

No green bean casserole has ever and will never be on my holiday table!

While I've never had mac & cheese on my holiday table, I'm really not opposed to it, but green bean casserole??? YUCK! It doesn't even look good to me.

 

[Robbi]

Co-opted? It's a cooking term. Cooking shows aren't co-opting the word roux, which is oil (or bacon fat or lard or butter) with flour mixed in to make a paste just like you said. It becomes bechamel with the addition of milk.

Roux from rous is French for reddish brown which is a traditional French base. Bechamel is a mixture of flour and oil or butter to which milk is added to make a white sauce.

 

[Poohforyou]

While I've never had mac & cheese on my holiday table, I'm really not opposed to it, but green bean casserole??? YUCK! It doesn't even look good to me.

I agree with you. None of us like Mac & cheese no matter how it's made so it won't be served at our house. I don't think it's much different than stuffing or mashed potatoes. The green bean thing is just nasty Imo. Cream of crap soup and canned green beans

 

[DaisyD]

I do have to giggle at the idea of green bean casserole being fancier than mac n cheese

I know. LOL That stuff is nasty. Canned beans, canned soup, and canned fake onions. Toss in dish and bake. LOL Yuck

 

[tvguy]

I have never in my whole life even seen a green bean casserole. It must be an American thing because I have never heard of anyone preparing or eating one ever here in Canada. Also never heard of serving Mac' and Cheese with a holiday meal either

Well.....my mom is from Canada......and she says it was a holiday staple....green bean casserole.....on her moms table.....and my mom is 89. But headcheese was a staple as well.

 

[mombrontrent]

Well.....my mom is from Canada......and she says it was a holiday staple....green bean casserole.....on her moms table.....and my mom is 89. But headcheese was a staple as well.

While I have read od headcheese I have never ever heard of anyone actually eating it

 

[branv]

Sorry, can't remember recipe specifics as it's been years since I've made any personally (DH has to watch his diet, and it's too much temptation!). But I've used and or tasted all kinds in different cheeses in macs, from aged gouda to stilton, manchego, mascarpone, gruyere. I don't know what cheeses were in the truffle mac -- I can say it was part of a chef's menu and hooooooly caaaarp.

I will say that in terms of the classic baked with good sharp cheddar, I've found that it inevitably tastes blander without the addition of dry mustard. I'm not sure exactly why it brings out more of the sharp in the cheddar, but it truly does. Honestly, as big a foodie as I am, when I need comfort food from my childhood, I am NOT above eating the boxed stuff straight out of the pot . And even that is improved with a teeny tiny blob of mustard stirred in -- you don't taste the mustard, just more cheese. Nom.

 

[cluvsdisney]

I know. LOL That stuff is nasty. Canned beans, canned soup, and canned fake onions. Toss in dish and bake. LOL Yuck

My cousin asked me to make this for thanksgiving once. I was nauseous just having it in my house.

 

[CaliBear]

Roux from rous is French for reddish brown which is a traditional French base. Bechamel is a mixture of flour and oil or butter to which milk is added to make a white sauce.

Bechamel is the name of the sauce. It is not the flour/oil mixture. That is roux. This is what wikipedia says:

"Béchamel sauce (/bɛʃəˈmɛl/ or /beɪʃəˈmɛl/;[1] French: [be.ʃa'mɛl]), also known as white sauce, is made with a roux of butter and flour cooked in milk. It is one of the mother sauces of French cuisine[2] and is used in many recipes of Italian cuisine, for example lasagne. It is used as the base for other sauces (such as Mornay sauce, which is Béchamel with cheese)."