Wow, I didn’t realize I’d trigger such a debate about butter quantities and measurements. My exact wording was “a cube of butter (about 2 tablespoons)” so I did specify. The butter delivery units I’m used to come in sticks that are exactly 4-3/4" x 1-1/4" x 1-1/4". Cutting a 1-1/4" x 1-1/4" x 1-1/4" cube off of one of those sticks results in approx. 2 tablespoons of butter. I apologize for any confusion or ruined mac & cheese I may have caused.
Sidestep a bit: My wife and I went to this lake-side seafood restaurant the other day. She’s not much of a fish eater but if there’s a grouper dish, she’ll plow through. Alas, no grouper, and most of the other dishes had seafood she didn’t like–shrimp, crawdad, crab, etc. She settled on a (believe it or not) mac & cheese entree. Cavatelli pasta, Andouille sausage, chunks of ham the size of your pinkie toe and cheese sauce so thick the spoon stood up in it. Man. Was. That. Good. Excellent recommendation by our server and a gutsy move (IMHO) serving a M&C entree; there was enough for a second meal–just as good two days later.
Longhorn Steakhouse has a M&C side dish that could probably pass for an entree.
I didn’t know this was what Chronos’s original warning about cube sizes was referring to - it wasn’t quoted. Now it all makes sense.
OK, last week I broke down and bought a box of the 39 cent Save-a-Lot mac and cheese. I didn’t use butter or milk, but I used a glob of sour cream. I figured it had the fat covered, and the tartness might just add a bit of sharp cheddarish flavor. Not bad at all!
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The_VorlonCharter Member
There was something better than the powdered Kraft M&C, Golden Grain.
I remember that from back in college. It was a dime cheaper than Kraft, and it used full size elbow macaroni. It also came in a bag instead of a box, IIRC.
Kayla developed her own technique for making Kraft M&C several years ago. She follows the recipe on the box, but when stirring in the powder, she adds a torn-up slice of Kraft Singles to the pan. She says otherwise it’s too dry.
These days she discards the powder altogether, and adds a shit-ton of butter, freshly ground black pepper, and some fresh-grated hard cheeses (Parmesan and Pecarino). She calls it Cacio e Pepe, and it was her favorite lunch this summer.
The cheese powder she puts on microwave popcorn.
Why buy pasta in the little box if she’s not going to add the cheez mix? Isn’t it cheaper just to buy a bag/box of plain noodles? Or is it that you want the cheez mix for popcorn, too?
I bought the Mac and cheese. But she was living with me since her school went into lockdown in the spring, and I allowed her autonomy in the kitchen and larder.
I don’t care much for popcorn, and I bought that because she asked me to.
She sounds clever. And has good taste!
Wow, you coulda written this post for me, word for word, right down to being introduced to the stuff in college by my eventual spouse.