All Things Melted Cheese

Revision of I Got The Blues

Hi All.  In a previous post, I indicated that Seller's Market Mac N Cheese with Blue cheese was less than stellar.  i must say, they just opened a new location near my office, and... while still not the best... I would def. say it was better than before.  Nothing is better than having comfort food close to work, and this fits the bill.  I am still not sure if it is the location or timing that makes a difference, but definitely worth a second look.

Land of the 10 p.m. sun

Hi all.  For the last 3.5 months, I have been commuting between San Francisco and Seattle for a temporary work assignment.  There are several beautiful things I have learned about the city of Seattle:

1st - It may rain a good chunk of the year, but in the summer, which is BEAUTIFUL!

2nd - During said summer, the sun is up until 10 p.m., which is AMAZING!

3rd - This city loves it's mac n cheese, which is DELICIOUS!

So... in my exploration of this fine city, I have had both wonderful and not so wonderful experiences with this delicious dish.

First, lets explore Seattle's love for mixing seafood with mac n cheese.  Several places in the city add crab meat to their mac n cheese.  I tried this fat-filled treat at Belltown Bistro in (duh...) Belltown.  It was pretty disappointing, but I think it was because they brought it out fresh from the oven.  Just like a good Guinness, Mac n Cheese must rest before being served.  After a few minutes it was better, but by that time, I had lost interest.  However, At a new wine bar/restaraunt called Purple, I tried their lobster mac n cheese, which was really good.  Great texture and the buttery lobster was excellent with the cheese.

Now, on the positive side of the "straight" mac n cheese dish (aka... no fish)... three different experiences.  By far, the best was Kingfish Cafe on 19th.  This is a true southern-fine-eatin' establishment.  Given I am from the South, I feel qualified to say that I think I saw Jesus when I had their mac n cheese. It comes in a sort of brick cut from the pan and just mets in your mouth.  I suggest sharing though; it is pretty huge. In second place was the mac n cheese at Beecher's Handmade Cheese in Pike's Market.  It was a fantastic consistency... just the right level of flavor with a pure taste for those who like a classic.  Plus, it is quick, convenient and portable to boot.  Finally, The mac n cheese at the Icon Grill.  At first, I was skeptical as they brought out the mac casserole and a little pitcher of something that looked remarkably like cheese whiz.  As I have never been one to turn down cheese of any kind... even the fake kind... I pushed aside my fears and dove in.  I must say, it was tasty.  In addition, you had the nice bonus of feeling particularly decadent with dumping cheese sauce over mac n cheese.

More soon.

Sign of the Times

How fantastic to have the love of Macaroni and Cheese validated by the January 4 food section of the New York Times.  That section's cover story, "Macaroni and Lots of Cheese" not only trumpeted one of the world's most comforting foods, but it called for a return to simplicity with the dish and gave two recipes considered to exemplify this simplicity.

One recipe was creamy, and one crusty, but they both had a few unusual things in common.  One, was that they both called mostly for cheddar, which has sometimes caused issues in my Mac-N-Cheese recipes as it tends to glob up a bit.  The other commonality was that they were both SO simple and had relatively few ingredients that we were pretty sure they would bomb. 

All of this being said, when faced with two recipes in the NYT of my absolute favorite food, of course there is only one option... bake off.

Several of my coworkers who all happen to be on the same client team were overdue for a team off-site.  We decided the best activity was to gather at my house and break into two teams, the creamy and the crusty.  With very little effort, and an 1 Hour 15 minutes, we had two very beautiful Mac-N-Cheese dishes.  After much tasting and little debating, creamy emerged as the hands-down winner.  This was mainly due to the flavor.  We all loved the crusty topping, but the creamy version had both cottage cheese and a bit of dry mustard in it which gave it just the right amount of tang.

I have pasted both recipes here for anyone who would like to try them.  Special thanks to Gina, Kerry, Jennifer, Melika and Mark who sacrificed their Wednesday night to help propel forward the quest for the perfect Mac-N-Cheese!

NYT CREAMY MACARONI AND CHEESE

Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

2  tablespoons butter

1 cup cottage cheese (not lowfat)

2 cups milk (not skim)

1 teaspoon dry mustard

Pinch cayenne

Pinch freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 pound sharp or extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1/2 pound elbow pasta, uncooked.

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees and position an oven rack in upper third of oven. Use 1 table­spoon butter to butter a 9-inch round or square baking pan.

2. In a blender, puree cottage cheese, milk, mustard, cayenne, nutmeg and salt and pep­per together. Reserve 1/4 cup grated cheese for topping. In a large bowl, combine re­maining grated cheese, milk mixture and uncooked pasta. Pour into prepared pan, cover tightly with foil and bake 30 minutes.

3. Uncover pan, stir gently, sprinkle with re­served cheese and dot with remaining table­spoon butter. Bake, uncovered, 30 minutes more, until browned. Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

NYT CRUSTY MACARONI AND CHEESE

Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

3 tablespoons butter

12 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated

12 ounces American cheese or cheddar cheese, coarsely grated

1 pound elbow pasta, boiled in salted water until just tender, drained, and rinsed under cold water

1/8 teaspoon cayenne (optional)

Salt

2/3 cup whole milk.

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Use one tablespoon butter to thickly grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Combine grated cheeses and set aside two heaping cups for topping.

2. In a large bowl, toss together the pasta, cheeses, cayenne (if using) and salt to taste. Place in prepared pan and evenly pour milk over surface. Sprinkle reserved cheese on top, dot with remaining butter and bake, un­covered, 45 minutes. Raise heat to 400 degrees and bake 15 to 20 minutes more, until crusty on top and bottom.

Yield: 8 to 12 servings.

Right on Q - Mac N' Cheezy at "Q" on Clement St.

Hi all.  Sorry to be MIA for so long.  I have quite a backlog of posts to put up, so I will try to get on that this week.  Last December, Chris and I headed to an old Mac N' Cheese standby on Clement called "Q."  This place holds a special portion of my heart, as they not only have a very delicious Mac N' Cheese with just a hint of spicy zing to it, they take it one step closer to nirvana with the ultimate topping.... Tater Tots.

Yep, you heard me correctly, Tater Tots.

This goes beyond the average breadcrumbs to add that extra crunch, plus about another 100 cholesterol points.  This dish is certainly not for the Atkins fan, but it is by far one of the "must have" Mac N' Cheese experiences in the Bay Area.  One word of warning.  When we sat down for brunch, we decided to get Mimosas.  They asked if we wanted small or large.  Given I had never had any choice before (just a champagne glass) I boldly said "large please" and Chris agreed.  The beverages were dispatched to our table in (not kidding) pint glasses.  Needless to say, the size of the Mimosas may have impaired our judgement, but I still think the Mac N' Cheese is good enough to stand on its own.

I Got the Blues - Seller's Market, Pine St., SF

Well, in the name of exploration... there is a LOT more Mac N' Cheese in the world to be tasted :-)  Last Friday, three of us went to try the Mac N' Blue Cheese at Seller's Market on Pine St. near Market in S.F.  The spot was discovered by the one and only Chris Taylor who was baptized in the ways of Mac N' Cheese at Tablespoon (See previous post).  Therefore, the whole group has pretty high standards in general for Mac N' Cheese.  Unfortunately, those standards were not met.  First of all... You would expect Mac N' Blue cheese to look like... well.. blue cheese.  No such luck.  It was actually the color of Kraft Mac N' Cheese without the same flavor (I know... traumatic to have the glorious blue box mocked so publicly by this imposter Mac N' Cheese)  There were flecks of "blue" in the Mac N' Cheese, but frankly... it just looked like the pasta was a tad moldy.

All in all, it certainly was not awful, but it is definitely more of a "God I just need some cheese and this place is close by" choice as opposed to a "wow, I am really craving that" choice. Either way... It is always good to try... on to the next.

Oh... and... Happy Birthday Mr. Taylor :-)

Mecca - Tablespoon - Polk St., SF, CA

For those of you who know me, you know that I LOVE Macaroni and Cheese.  This is not a simple hobby, it is a full-fledged obsession.  I am on a constant search for the best Macaroni and Cheese in a restaurant.  So far, the clear winner is Tablespoon on Polk St. in San Francisco, CA.  Keep in mind, even though I now live in SF, I am originally from the south where Mac N' Cheese is a religion, so bestowing this honor on a California restaurant is a pretty big leap for me. Many have doubted the superiority of the dish... until I take them to try it. If you are ever in the area... definitely check it out.  Advice... get the appetizer size.  I have yet to see anyone finish the dinner size.

The dawn of a new Day

Well.... here it is.  The "All Things Melted Cheese" blog.  Yep, that is right. When making my mark on the blog world, I decided to do it with cheese.  This will be a forum for those who love melted cheese in all forms, Mac N'Cheese, grilled cheese, croques, fondue, etc.  Watch this space for recipes, the best eating establishments and more proclamations of the love of cheese!

Happy Eating!