I have always loved macaroni and cheese, but well into my twenties the only version I attempted to make at home involved powdered cheese. Homemade recipes took too long to cook, involved too many ingredients, or had too many different steps. When I came across the macaroni and cheese recipe in Cook's Illustrated's New Best Recipes, I thought I had found my answer. But while the cheesiness and simplicity in this recipe were right, it was missing something. Around this time, we were trying to get through a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, and after some experimentation, I came up with this southwest-style spicy macaroni and cheese.
While this version does take more time than just adding powder to milk, the prep work for the sauce can all be done while the pasta is cooking. Now that I've got this recipe down, the total preparation and cooking time is less than half an hour.
Click below for the recipe.
Finally. The flavor hibernation is over. After a long winter, the vegetable stands are returning to NYC farmers markets and with them an array of textures and tastes that are sadly absent throughout the cold half of the year. While a couple more weeks remain before the lettuce arrives, early offerings of asparagus and spring garlic are enough to keep me happily occupied.
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