Mac & Cheese

It's been a while since I made real, home-made macaroni and cheese. My husband always complains that it's too fattening, not healthy; I'd give him more credit for that complaint if he didn't eat ice cream on a daily basis and consume an inordinate amount of cheeseburgers (he skips the fries). The reality is the he wants meat and if I cooked meat, it wouldn't matter how unhealthy or fattening it was, he'd eat it. I rarely cook meat and it's hard to get excited about making something that your spouse only eats a bit of and then turns to canned soup or something regardless of how spectacular it is.

Long story short, I made macaroni and cheese last night and it was fabulous. I found this recipe years ago in a closet store magazine (yea, weird, I know) and I've been making it ever since. Sometimes I think about making a new mac & cheese recipe and someday I probably will but for now, I make it so rarely that by the time I do make m&c, I really want this recipe.

I use Tillamook Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar, which, IMO, is the best white cheddar out there.

Macaroni & Cheese

Yield: Serves 4.

1/2 lb elbow macaroni (~2 cups)

4 T unsalted butter

3 T all-purpose flour

2 c milk

coarse sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

3 c grated white cheddar, firmly packed

2 c chopped fresh mushrooms (~12 large)

topping:

1 c grated white cheddar, firmly packed

1 c Panko bread crumbs, or other dry bread crumbs

1/4 tsp sea salt

Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

While macaroni is still cooking, melt butter in a large heavy saucepan. Add flour and, whisking constantly, gently cook mixture for a few minutes. Add milk slowly and keep whisking. Bring mixture to a boil, and let simmer until thick. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Turn heat to low and add cheese, giving everything a good stir to ensure cheese is melted and mixed. Add a little milk if the cheese sauce is too thick. Do not let boil.

Add mushrooms and macaroni to the cheese sauce, stir well and pour into a lightly oiled shallow, oven-proof dish.

Move oven racks to bottom of oven. Preheat broiler. Mix together bread crumbs and grated cheese; sprinkle on top of macaroni. Season with 1/4 tsp sea salt. Broil macaroni for 5-10 minutes until topping is golden and crisp.

Hush, California Closets magazine.

Adapted from Francesca Harris, "The Food You Eat"

WTH?

This is just bad.

Generally I'm not a fan of Louis Vuitton but these are just too lovely...

What the hell is up with this though?

Good Deed Glasses

Great local company doing a good deed.

Margie Boule's Oregonlive column about 141Eyewear

Bad joke but funny

I hope I'm not breaking any rules by posting a joke (copyright or something?). One of my husband's friends emailed it to him and he sent it to me.

Why You Must Always Check Your Children’s Homework

A girl in her first year at school made the following drawing for her homework and handed it in to her teacher.

After the drawing had been reviewed by the teacher, the girl brought it back home and showed it to her mother.
The next day, she returned to school with the following note for her teacher:

Dear Ms Artsy,

I would like to clarify my daughter’s drawing.
I am NOT POLEDANSING on the podium of a striptease bar.
I work in a do-it-yourself store and had just told my daughter how much money we had earned from the recent snowfall.
Thus, I am merely selling snow shovel in the drawing.


With kind regards,

For the birds

Ever since I found this pillow online, I can't help but falling for more bird paraphernalia and today it's the Pia, Pia, Pia! bird wall decal

I don't wear shawls but I'm also loving this:

Steve Elder's work is beautiful. Buttons, pins and hair accessories, hand-carved out of some common and not-so-common types of wood.

And check out this birdhouse from S&K Creations:

Hello Kitty Assault Rifle

... because every kitty needs a gun.

I admit, I'm a Hello Kitty fan. She's cute and I'm old enough that I remember when Hello Kitty came to the United States. Somewhere, tucked into a trunk full of my childhood toys, there are various Hello Kitty knick knacks and doodads. Through a little effort, I've managed to pass my Hello Kitty fascination onto my dear, sweet toddler which enables me to feed my addiction at her expense. Regardless, I will not be securing a Hello Kitty assault rifle, for either of us...