The Other Vegetable! (Come on! You know you're wondering what the heck I'm talking about!)

What vegetable comes to mind when I use descriptions like hot & steamy; creamy, golden & delicious; sometimes stringy; ooey gooey! Do you have any clue? Think about it. This is something that almost every reb-blooded American kid absolutely loves. Ok. Truth be told, it's not really a vegetable, but it might as well be. I can't think of a kid, or adult that wouldn't love to find a heaping spoonful on his or her dinner plate. Maybe the picture below will help.

OOOOH BABY!

Oh yeah! That's right, Baby! We're talkin' mac-n-cheese today. Of course, some of you are probably rolling your eyes at me right now, since I am calling mac-n-cheese the other vegetable. Well...lump it! Why shouldn't it be called that? Isn't that where you find mac-n-cheese on 75% of restaurant menus...listed with all the vegetables?

Mac-n-cheese is just like society. It ranges all the way from the inexpensive, non-assuming, box of powdered mac-n-cheese dinners (think Kraft Mac-n-Cheese), to luscious casseroles of macaroni noodles baked in 40,000 varieties of cream and cheese (including cheeses made from milk that came from animals we never knew made milk). That's right, folks. Even mac-n-cheese has a social class structure.

My brother-in-law tells me that he fed his kids Kraft Mac-n-Cheese so much, they wouldn't touch anything else. I have to admit, there is something about that simple packet of powder that mixed with milk, butter, and boiled macaroni, just can't be beat. It is cheap. But, cheap does not always equate to bad. This type of mac-n-cheese is by far, the most versatile variety. There is no end to the possible dinner creations that can spring from that little cardboard box. Slice and saute some smoked or polish sausage, then mix in with mac-n-cheese. One simple ingredient and you have a new dish. What is Hamburger Helper? Mac-n-cheese in a box with instructions to add ground beef. Wow! That was hard...Not! However, after time, the masses revolted. "We're tired of ground beef!" they said. "We want something different!"

"Fine!" said the Hamburger Helper people. "Use a can of tuna instead!" With that, mac-n-cheese became a great seafood dish.

Add a can of chili, and what do you get? Chili Mac! Mac-n-cheese has gone Tex-Mex.

It is truly one of the great wonders of the world how versatile a box of macaroni noodles and powdered cheese is.

My son, Joseph, is an equal opportunity mac-n-cheese lover. His loyalties don't just lie with the cheap stuff. He'll just as gladly go for the gooey, stringy, fancy concoctions that come out of the ovens. He loves the stuff so much, that no restaurant is worth its salt if mac-n-cheese can't be found either on the entree menu or the side menu. I have to agree with Joseph, while the cheap mac-n-cheese in a box is absolute bliss to eat, sometimes one craves something with a little more glamor. While 40,000 cheeses might be overkill on flavor (and certainly the wallet) there is certainly something to be said for the flavor that comes from mixing the creaminess of cottage cheese, butteriness of provolone or jack cheese, and the sharpness of cheddar. Boxed mac-n-cheese will never give you the image of a spoonful of heaven with strings of cheese stretching from spoon to dish.

I know I am not the only one with opinions on mac-n-cheese. I also know there are other great ideas for elevating the boxed stuff out there, just waiting to be heard. Leave me some comments. Please! I beg of you! Tell me your favorite way to fix mac-n-cheese.

At the end of this post is a link to a recipe from the Food Network show, Diners Drive-ins & Dives. This recipe for mac-n-cheese is easy, and absolutely awesome! For all of you campers out there, who love to do dutch oven cooking, the recipe is perfect. Joseph and I have fixed it in dutch ovens several times, to rave reviews.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ruths-diner--gramma-claires-macaroni-and-cheese-recipe/index.html