You know you love macaroni and cheese. Admit it.
I often make this delicacy for the kids (every Friday, for those of you who follow my meal planning). I tell everyone that it’s one of their favorite meals. To be fair, it really is. But it’s secretly one of mine, too. Yet I rarely serve myself an actual portion; rather, I sneak large spoonfuls from the pot when I think no one is looking.
Yup, guilty as charged.
So I would consider ourselves mac and cheese connoisseurs over here, which is why I was excited to come home one day and find a box on my front step with the word “Perishable.” That can only mean yummy things are inside. And I was right.
Inside, was a “Mac and Cheese Kit” from Smith’s Country Cheese, a local cheese producer right here in Massachusetts that was named “One of the Best” by Bon Appetit Magazine and featured recently in Yankee Magazine.
The kit came complete with sharp Cheddar, smoked Gouda, pasta and a recipe from the Smith Family archives for homemade macaroni and cheese (which I’ve posted below).
We tweaked the recipe slightly and omitted the breadcrumbs; we’ve learned the hard way that our son will refuse to touch mac and cheese that has any sort of breaded topping. He likes his plain and cheesy. No breadcrumbs funny business.
Even without the topping, it was delicious. My chef food critic husband even proclaimed that he will now always add Smoked Gouda to any mac and cheese recipe. Trust me, that’s high praise coming from him. And even better? The kiddos actually ate it, even though it didn’t come from a box with a bunny on it.
My only complaint (and it’s a minor one) is that I wish the kit had come with something besides Prince pasta elbows. We don’t eat a lot of white pasta here, so I would have preferred to see a slightly healthier option, like whole wheat or the “protein plus” variety (which I know is ridiculous to say, when I’m talking about pasta that’s going to be smothered in cheesy goodness.) But still …
Want to make your own gourmet mac and cheese AND support a local cheese maker? You can actually order the Mac and Cheese kit for $18.99 by visiting their website. You can also find a list there of all the regional supermarkets, orchards, restaurants, Farmer’s Markets, etc. that sell Smith’s Farmstead Cheese (they also have a retail store in Winchedon, MA).
Do you ever make homemade mac and cheese for your kids? Are they fans?
Disclosure: I received samples of these products to facilitate a review but, as always, the text and opinions are my own.
Mandy says
We pretty much only eat homemade mac n cheese around here. It’s on thing I can pretty much always count on Ben eating, an it’s serious comfort food for me, too. We us whole wheat pasta and lot of sharp cheddar cheese, but I also love using it as a way to use up bits of leftover cheese; blue cheese is a really good on to add. Mac n cheese I also on of my main vehicles go getting some veggies into Ben, as I think likes it even better when I add pureed butternut squash. I may regret his love of it come summer when I’m still turning on the oven to make it, since he is just not a fan of the boxed stuff, but for now I love it.