Outside of the Sacred Wheel Cheese and Specialty Market, on 51st and Shattuck Ave. in Oakland. Photo by Marlene Saroni

"Wait, there's still 10 cheeses here you haven't tried!" insisted Chris Howse, the enthusiastic, lavishly tattooed general manager of Oakland's' new Sacred Wheel Cheese and Specialty Market.

When was the last time you heard that over a cheese counter? Especially a few minutes before closing time, after you've already tried several dozen different cheeses, each handed over eagerly, complete with full description.

In my experience, 3 tastes is about the limit of most cheese-wranglers' patience. After that, there seems to be a tacit agreement that you'll pick one, pull out your wallet, and seal the deal, or else slink away to make room for the next dairy-loving freeloader in line.

Not at Sacred Wheel Cheese and Specialty Market, which opened early January in the rapidly foodie-izing district of Temescal. Here, the staff seems much more eager to discover your new favorite cheese, reveal their latest find, or simply blow your mind with a groovy but unfamiliar flavor or texture. Specializing in domestic cheeses from mostly small, farmstead producers, the emphasis right now is on mostly Northern California cheeses. But you'll also find wheels and wedges from Oregon, Utah, Minnesota, Wisconsin, New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire.

Going all-American was part of co-owner Jena Davidson Hood's plan to create an unpretentious, unintimidating, neighborhood-friendly shop, where anyone could drop in, taste, and learn, without being overwhelmed by an enormous selection or a wall of hard-to-pronounce names. And while Jena may have the most food knowledge, thanks to her culinary-school training and years as a chef with Michael Mina's restaurant group, she emphasized that "no one here is pretending they know everything. We really encourage tasting--we'll taste any cheese in the shop, because it's fun to learn with people."

Said Jena, "Now that we've been open a little while, people are starting to come to me," with handmade accompaniments. "I'd really like to see the shelves fill up with local stuff, tiny, small-batch products." Already, the shelves are stocked with hot-pepper jellies from Inna Jam; honeys from Five+Dime and Bay Area Bee Company; and baguettes from Berkeley's Bread Workshop.

Not everything will be local, however. Sacred Wheel is a family affair, and Jena, her brother Merrick Davidson, and her mother Bernice Davidson, all of whom work in the shop, are proud of their Virginia roots. "We grew up country," Jena laughed, "on a farm in Bedford County, so we wanted to bring a little bit of home here." In a green shelving unit (made by her husband, Brian Hood, out of an old truck bed) are all manner of edible Virginiana, including jars of sweet chow-chow and hot zucchini relish from Meadowcroft Farm and cans of she-crab soup and blue crab chowder.

Still, Jena is proud to be living "100% Temescal" lately. She and her husband, who did much of the carpentry and design work needed to turn the long-empty storefront into a homey and welcoming space, live just a few blocks away, close enough so that she can run home to walk their dogs at midday. Said Jena, "We moved here 5 years ago, but I think even if we hadn't, it would have ended up being our favorite neighborhood. We're hoping this will help make Shattuck less of a stepchild" to the more popular and already restaurant-lined Telegraph Ave. "I'm happy we got in when we did."

While the bulk of the business is in take-home cheese and products, there's also a short menu: a couple of soups, including chunky, beer-spiked "tomato PBR" and a daily special, like silky, creamy carrot and roasted garlic; and a simple, kid-friendly grilled cheese sandwich of Cowgirl Creamery's Wagon Wheel cheese on sourdough bread. On the second Saturday of each month, James Whitehead of Fist of Flour will be setting up his mobile pizza oven on the sidewalk outside, making pizzas with a variety of Sacred Wheel's cheeses.

So, it's clear: Temescal likes its cheese, the bigger and bolder the better. And what could be better than grilled cheese dunked in tomato soup? Well, how about mac and cheese washed down with beer?

A few blocks east of Telegraph, a lunchtime line is snaking from the counter at Homeroom, past the Kraft-yellow wall almost all the way to the door. As you might expect, woolly hats, trucker caps, goatees, and I hella (heart) Oakland tees are much in evidence. But despite the line's slow crawl, everyone seems to be smiling. And why not? Above the counter is a chalkboard reading A is for Apple, B is for Beer, C is for Cheese.

It's the last two that Homeroom is banking on, with a menu that's all mac and cheese, all the time, serving ten varieties (loaded with Vermont cheddar, Mexican chorizo, goat cheese, Prather Ranch hot dogs, and more--and yes, they do make both vegan and gluten-free versions) alongside a dozen draft and bottled beers. There's wine, too, a few veggie sides (broccoli with ranch dressing, roasted carrots, salad) and a handful of simple desserts (brownies, peanut-butter pie, homemade Oreos, ice cream floats made with housemade root beer or Old Rasputin stout). The mac and cheese, plenty of it, comes bubbling in wide ceramic dishes, while the beer arrives in Mason jars, a few ounces shy of a pint. Just enough for a pleasant little lunchtime buzz, especially over the ballast of all that cheese and starch.

In the kitchen, a wiry crew is sweating over the pots, shoulders hunched with the pressure. "Even working in a mac and cheese restaurant, I think I've lost 5 pounds since we opened," laughs co-owner Erin Wade. Less than a week after opening their doors on Valentine's Day, Wade and her co-owner Allison Arevalo are still getting their systems down, gearing up for an all-day schedule that will see them dishing up from 11am to 9pm from Tuesday through Thursday (and Sunday) and from 11am to 10pm on Friday and Saturday.

Like the crew at Sacred Wheel, Arevalo and Wade have made Homeroom into a community affair; with the help of their husbands and friends, they did much of the space's renovation themselves, giving the big, open space a sweet and quirky feel that's almost kitschy, but not quite. The chunky red coffee mugs, decorated with the Homeroom logo, are instantly covetable; the old-fashioned library card catalog, now a repository for customers' "buy 10 get one free" cards, is a nice touch, even if few of the 20something patrons here would remember ever using a card catalog for real. Still, there's no denying the moneymaking appeal of cheesy-good nostalgia, especially with beer and without homework.

The only thing missing? Some no-nonsense lunch ladies to keep the din down.

Sacred Wheel Cheese and Specialty Market
Address: Map
4935 Shattuck Avenue
Oakland, CA, 94609
(510) 653-1653
Hours: Tues-Sun: 11am-8pm
Twitter: @SacredWheelOak
Facebook: Sacred Wheel Cheese and Specialty Market

Homeroom
Location: Map
400 40th Street
Oakland, CA 94609
(510) 597-0400
Hours: Tues-Thurs: 11am-9pm, Fri- Sat: 11am-10pm, Sun: 11am-9pm
Twitter: @homeroom510
Facebook: Homeroom

Susie Bright. Photo: Jill Posener

When it comes to talking about food and sex for Valentine's Day, you don't want to ask a chef. For a professional, Valentine's Day is like catering for Noah's Ark: a long, sweaty, jammed-full night making dinners for all those expectant couples tromping in two by two for champagne and crab salad, rare steaks and roses, not to mention the anticipation of double-caret diamonds hidden in the passion-fruit mousse.

Instead, why not talk to someone who has made the pleasures of the flesh her life's work? Here in the Bay Area, there's no shortage of experts on this subject, but few have influenced the cultural, political, and literary landscape like Susie Bright. She has written and edited dozens of books of erotica, cultural critiques, personal essays, how-to's, and more, worked as the "lesbian sex consultant" on the butch-femme neo-noir Bound, helped bring quality sex toys into the mainstream, raised a daughter, spoken and taught all over the world, and fought for the personal expression of freedom and pleasure in all its forms. Her popular blog (and its accompanying podcast) is sharp, smart, funny and unabashedly political. Her latest book is the sure-to-be-juicy memoir Big Sex Little Death, to be released by Seal Press next month.

But only close readers of a book like Mommy's Little Girl: On Sex, Motherhood, Porn & Cherry Pie might catch that the pie of the title isn't metaphorical. Head to the last chapter, and you'll find a recipe for a real pie, filled with fresh Bing cherries and laced with lemon zest, almond extract and a splash of brandy, and called, completely appropriately, Eternal Cherry Devotion Pie. Susie, it turns out, is a truly passionate cook, eater, and cocktail aficionado (yes, she makes her own nocino). As she writes about her cherry pie,

"Sometimes you need to prepare a meal that will make someone fall in love with you. Sometimes you need a dessert with an enchantment so strong that your lover will never leave you, no matter what the temptation.

Don't make this pie if you're just toying with someone--you'll be sorry. Don't make this pie for your lover if you don't want him or her by your side forever, then moaning at your grave when you're gone. This is serious stuff."

So, what would Susie propose for a Valentine's Day meal? Red and spicy is on the top of her list. Red velvet cake, beet salad, rice with tomatoes or red peppers--and for the piece de resistance, tandoori chicken, fiery and magenta-skinned, picked up from your favorite Indian restaurant.

"Living in Santa Cruz, I'm really deprived of good Indian food," she laments. "In San Francisco, I could just walk to my tandoori chicken," usually from one of the Tenderloin's many hole-in-the-wall Indian and Pakistani restaurants. "For a luxurious place, though, Amber India, near the Yerba Buena Center, has a hot and spicy green apple-curry soup that's insane."

But Santa Cruz does have its delights, not the least being its status as a perfectly laid-back, spontaneously romantic getaway. Where you can stroll the boardwalk, wake up to the sound of waves and barking seals, take walks on the beach or hikes under the redwoods...and then wallow in the hot-fudge sauce that the veggie-punk Saturn Cafe ladles over its ice-cream sundaes.

"It's the best hot fudge I've had in a lifetime of international travel. It blows my mind, especially over vanilla-bean ice cream." She's been known to beg a pint of it to go, and isn't above pleading and cajoling former Saturn Cafe waiters and cooks for the recipe. "But it's supersecret, and no one will tell me." (Happily, Saturn now has a branch in downtown Berkeley with the same secret sauce on tap.)

So, what about some first-date eateries? There's Betty Burgers (slogan, "Juicy Patties, Hot Buns") which now has two locations, the better to fill up hungry diners with handfuls like the Big Betty (described on the menu as "a half-pound burger with Betty's secret lube") or the Betty on Top, a burger patty nestled into a piled-high veggie salad.

There's also Engfer Pizza Works, "started by a couple of lesbian feminists, which warms my heart," as does the ping-pong room, the checkers, the excellent beer selection, and of course the pizzas, baked in a wood-fired oven and topped with everything from spectacular local sausages from Corralitos Market to a tofu-based vegan cheese alternative they've dubbed Megan's Vegan. "Even as a cheese fanatic, I get it as a topping. With extra cheese!"

Afterwards, of course, there's Penny Ice Creamery, whose locavore owners are chummy with Michelle Obama, as well as longtime favorite Marianne's. "Marianne's cardamom-pistachio ice cream...holy shit! It's unreal. You go get some hot fudge sauce from Saturn Cafe, pour it over that, you can just lay down and die."

To really cinch the deal, there's the rapidly expanding "food heaven" in the Swift Street Courtyard on Ingalls Street, including Bonny Doon's tasting room and Cellar Door Cafe, shaped like an enormous wine cask; Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing's taproom; and Kelly's French Bakery.

Follow it up by nightcaps for two, shaken or stirred by bartender Jeff Pappas at Clouds, right around the corner from the movie theater. "He's our unofficial mayor, the most charming, sensitive, professional bartender ever. I don't know how he keeps that many people happy."

And for waking up with a smile on your face? Lavender-white chocolate scones or a poached egg on a chile-chive biscuit from the sweet folks at Cafe Iveta.

Valentine's Day, it turns out, is one of Susie's very favorite holidays. "I'm a traditionalist. I get out my heart-shaped cookie cutters, braid dough into the shape of a heart--I really like doing things in shapes, using all the Valentine symbols." She makes a lot of valentines and valentine treats for friends and their kids. "Just go with it: you've got your red, your cuteness, your sweetness...it doesn't always have to do with Mr. or Ms. Right."

"My first cookbook was Betty Crocker's Cookbook for Boys and Girls. It was full of all these color pictures of the great things you could make. But my absolute favorite was a mac n' cheese casserole topped with a heart made of hotdog slices, with the word "mom" spelled out in hotdog inside."

Telling this story, she's suddenly inspired. Why not make a "yuppie gourmet" version of her old Betty Crocker favorite, with real bechamel sauce, fancy cheese and those dreamy Corralitos sausages, for a Valentine's Dinner for two with her longtime partner? Sometimes, the simplest things can say the most.

Texas Caviar, a.k.a. Black-Eyed Peas Salad. Photo by Wendy Goodfriend

Big men. Shiny pants. Bendthrowrunjumponeachotherfalldown. Repeat.

For 4 hours. Plus commercials.

Yes, skill is involved, strategy, stamina, hometown loyalty, all that. My 70-something-year-old mother adores football. So does her older sister, my aunt. In Minnesota, my nieces will be wearing green and yellow, waving Packers pom-poms in honor of their Wisconsin-born, cheesehead-wearing dad, who put his firstborn down for Packers seats as soon as the birth certificate was signed. The lesbian poets and gay novelists among my acquaintance are rooting for the Steelers and planning chili cook-offs.

Well, then, football: Americans like it. But why the rigidity of Super Bowl-appropriate menus? Why the endless wrap-around-the-earth parade of chips, chips, guacamole, hoagies, chili, take-out pizza, and clumpy nachos glued down by spray-on cheese-in-a-can?

Even the Prius drivers at Berkeley Bowl got a special guacamole display by the entrance this week--a DIY display, naturally, stacked high with fresh avocados, tomatoes, jalapenos, and organic corn chips, plus a recipe.

For avocado growers, Super Bowl Sunday is the biggest holiday of the year. We'll eat some 50 million pounds of our Vitamin-E-loaded little green friends today. But we'll also load up on a breathtaking pile of junk.

Not that it has to be that way. Even the Panda is laying off the chips and swinging for the veggies instead. Why not you? As photographer-writer-marathon-runner (and Steelers fan) Sara Seinberg suggests, "A huge salad with all kinds of citrus is also great since the citrus is off the hook right now. Cucumbers, blood oranges, pomelo, cara caras with some super thinly sliced dino kale and a champagne vinaigrette to soften up the kale. Even Super Bowl people can like a salad."

(OK, to be honest, she also suggested, "for the boozers in the house: mac-and-cheese. A classic. A heavy starch. A crowd pleaser. A timeless delight with incredible variations abounding. The muscle car of the menu. The Super Bowl's '68 Camero" as well as "some kind of exciting popcorn, like chile and lime.")

So, yeah, salad. If you haven't already gotten your order of bratwurst and beer salami, or your six-pack of Iron City brew, you could think about noshing a little further afield. To Texas, for example, Dallas to be exact.

Go down home with Texas caviar, the southwest's gussied-up term for a tart, tangy salad of black-eyed peas. Yes, just like those Black Eyed Peas, this year's designated half-time entertainment.

If you loaded up on black-eyed peas for a lucky New Year's hoppin' john, then went out for dim sum instead, now's your second chance at a little cheap luck. And may the best team win!

Texas Caviar, a.k.a. Black-Eyed Peas Salad
This recipe was inspired by Field Caviar: A Southern Pea Salad for Dipping in the snacky chapter "Boiled Peanuts, Grazes, and Hors d'Oeuvres" of The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook.

Makes: about 2 1/2 cups

Ingredients:
4 cups water
1 tsp salt
1 lb black-eyed peas, soaked in cold water to cover for 4 hours or overnight
juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp red-wine vinegar
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp avocado oil
1/2 tsp sugar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
freshly ground pepper to taste
1 small red onion, peeled and minced
1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 Meyer lemon
1 avocado, optional

Preparation:
1. Bring water to a boil. Add peas, and let simmer over medium-low heat until tender. This varies widely with the age of the beans, but should take anywhere from 35 to 60 minutes.

2. Once peas are tender, drain, rinse, and let cool.

3. In a serving bowl, whisk lime juice, vinegar, oils, salt, sugar, mustard, and pepper together. Add peas and toss.

4. Chop the parsley leaves roughly. Slice the ends off the Meyer lemon, and chop the entire thing into little bits, peel, pulp, and all. Stir up the peas again, and mix in onion, parsley, and lemon.

5. Taste for seasoning. Serve now or refrigerate for later, tossing when you think of it, just to keep everything moist and evenly mixed.

6. Just before serving, add the avocado, peeled and diced.

Did you know that today is National Cheese Lover's Day? Isn't that lovely?

To commemorate this happy holiday, the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board is launching a Macaroni & Cheese Blog which will feature a new macaroni & cheese recipe every day for thirty days. There goes that New Year's resolution (unless your resolution was to be happier in life).

I've always been partial to using gruyere and parmigiano for mac 'n' cheese, but the good people at Wisconsin Milk convinced me to give American a try. They sent me some aged Marieke Gouda and Stravecchio Parmesan from Sartori Reserve...and I was promptly inspired.

Without a question, the ultimate comfort food is macaroni and cheese. Gooey, cheesy, warm, and indulgent. The inspiration on this twist on the classic mac 'n' cheese comes from one of my favorite pasta dishes, Tortelli di Zucca (large ravioli-like pasta stuffed with a pumpkin filling).

I first sampled this taste of heaven during my year abroad living in Italy. On a visit to the charming Renaissance city of Mantova (Mantua), I was introduced to the town's signature dish of handmade ravioli stuffed with a velvety smooth puree of pumpkin, crushed almondy Amaretti cookies, and a hint of spices. The al dente pillows of precious filled pasta were bathed in a luxurious sauce of brown butter and a shower of parmigiano.

That meal has haunted me for 6 years.

And it has coaxed me into creating this Italian-American fusion of ultimate comfort, Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese with Sage and Gingersnap-Pecan Crust.

Butternut squash is one of my favorite ingredients to work with during the fall and winter because it just exudes a sweet, hearty, warmth. When it's roasted, all the sugars caramelize and the flavor of the squash is intensified.

Pair it with the other star ingredient in this dish, the aged Gouda, and we have ourselves a sweet-and-savory homerun!

The technique to making this dish is pretty standard as far as mac and cheese goes. After sautéing the onions and sage, a roux is made with flour, chicken stock, and milk.

Then the squash is added to the mix...

...and smashed in a bit to fully incorporate.

Once the sauce is made, it is added to the macaroni (since we can't all be as blessed as the Mantuans with their homemade pasta at a finger's snap).

After that, comes the magic of toppings. I loved how the nutty spice of the Amaretti cookies played with the flavor of the pumpkin in the Tortelli di Zucca. In this mac and cheese, that sweet, unexpected crunch translates as gingersnaps. I also threw in a handful of chopped pecans too because I love how their faintly maple flavor goes with sweet potatoes, and I thought...butternut squash? Sweet potato? Pretty similar, no? (At the very least, both orange.)

I may not be able to jet-set to Italy whenever I get the craving for some tortelli lovin', but that doesn't mean I can't get my fix of pumpkin and spice and everything nice! Surprise your guests with this dish this winter. The presentation is beautiful and homey, and one bite will have them coming for more.

Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese with Sage and Gingersnap-Pecan Crust

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:
1 small butternut squash (about 1 pound), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes (about 3 cups)
1 lb elbow macaroni
1 small onion, diced
1 cup chicken stock
1 ½ cups nonfat milk
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 tablespoon fresh sage, minced
2 cups grated aged Marieke Gouda cheese
1 cup grated Stravecchio Parmesan cheese (Sartori Reserve, 2 year aged)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
pinch of cayenne pepper
½ cup crumbled gingersnap cookies (about 8 cookies)
½ cup chopped pecans
1 tbsp olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Toss the squash with olive oil, salt and pepper to season. Roast on a foil-lined baking sheet for 20-25 minutes until lightly browned. Set aside and turn the oven down to 350 degrees.

2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add macaroni and cook until al dente according to the package instructions, about 8 minutes.

3. While the pasta cooks, heat a large pan over medium heat. Add the butter, chopped onion, and sage. Saute about 4-5 minutes until onions are translucent. Add the flour and stir to combine. Let the mixture cook for 1-2 more minutes. Whisk in stock and milk, and let come to a boil to thicken up.

4. Next, add the cheeses, mustard, nutmeg, and cayenne. Stir to combine. Then, mix in the squash. Use a whisk to mash up the squash a little. I prefer to leave a few chunky pieces of the squash in the sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Drain the cooked pasta and return it to the pot. Pour the sauce over the pasta and combine well. Pour the mac 'n' cheese into a buttered casserole dish. Sprinkle the gingersnap cookie crumble and pecans over the top and drizzle with a little olive oil.

6. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until lightly browned on top, about 30 minutes more.

Crawfish Po' Boy with Remoulade Sauce (mind you, that's just a half order)

When I first visited New Orleans as a young and adventurous 21-year-old (with nine other young and adventurous 21-year-olds), it was under the incredible hospitality of the generous Miss Dawn. Like a good southern hostess, Miss Dawn kept us well-fed, full of hearty, delicious, filling sustenance that would provide the proper base for a night of revelry.

Two memorable meals from our time there was the epic crawfish boil she set up our first night in, and the constant supply of po' boy makings she kept on hand for 1 pm breakfasts...5 pm snacks...and 4 am nightcaps. Piles of roast beef, fresh French bread, and dressed to the nines.

As soon as I saw the menu at Yats, I was brought back to sultry nights of sucking crawfish out of the shell and feasting on the ubiquitous po' boy.

Yats, San Francisco

In case you're wondering about this order window with the sign "Yats" pointing to it, well, that's it. Yats is actually, brilliantly, located inside Jack's Club, an homage to the divey friendly bars of New Orleans.

NOLA Fries: thick-cut steak fries showered in parmesan cheese, salt and pepper

The humble establishment makes good use of its well-loved deep fryer. Cue specimen A: NOLA Fries. Thick, golden, wedges of starchy goodness, dusted in a snowfall of parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. These huge steak fries are crispy on the outside, nice and soft on the inside.

You may be overwhelmed when you see the lengthy selection of Famous Po' Boys on the menu. I don't mean to be bossy, but get the Crawfish with Remoulade, and ask for extra sauce! Succulent bits of crawfish meat, coated in a crunchy cornmeal crust, and stuffed inside a loaf of fresh French bread with a soft airy center, and crispy flaky crust. And, you should probably get the whole foot-long. Trust me.

Mac-n-Cheese

You will also want to complement your sandwich lovin' with a side of Mac-n-Cheese. Quite possibly the best in SF. Do I have any challengers? This mac-n-cheese is no joke. Creamy and rich with a little coarse-grained mustard thrown in. Pure comfort food.

Yats takes bar food to a whole new level. The only down side is that the hours are a little tricky for a weekday visit unless you work in the neighborhood. Otherwise, your Saturday afternoon may have just found a new best friend.

By the way, if it's an authentic crawfish boil you seek, Yats is celebrating its One Year Anniversary with a Crawfish Boil this Saturday, May 16th, noon - 5 pm.

Yats
(Inside Jack's Club)
2545 24th St
San Francisco, CA 94110
Map
415-282-8906
Open Mon-Thurs, 11 am - 4 pm; Fri, 11 am - 8 pm; Sat, 11 am - 6 pm

Before I start talking about Homemade Macaroni and Cheese, I wanted to say hello and introduce myself, as I'm a new blogger on BAB. I am a writer, editor, and mother of two 7-year old twin girls. I am also obsessed with food and so spend a lot of time thinking about what to feed those two girls (as well as my husband and myself). Meals at our house are often a struggle between what I want to make and what they want to eat, with compromises on both sides. Luckily we all have pretty open palates so everyone is usually happy.

Last Friday night was a perfect example for how this little game of tug-of-war works. I wanted to make a brisket (a lovely Prather Ranch grass fed cut that I got at the farmer’s market). My daughters, however, had other plans. When I mentioned in the morning that I would make them a barbecued brisket during our traditional Friday Movie Night dinner, they both looked at me and frowned. Maddie said she wanted macaroni and cheese and Sophie agreed. As we were late for school, I ignored the comment so we could finish our morning routine, find shoes and rain jackets, and leave the house five minutes late for the bell. Although I like my children to want to eat whatever I make, my general rule is that I'm the mom and the cook, so I get to decide and I was determined to make brisket. Later that day, however, as I walked toward the grocery story in the cold rain, shivering and trying not to step in puddles, I realized that my daughters might be on to something. It really was the perfect day for homemade macaroni and cheese, all oozy and gooey and warm. My cold body started to crave it.

One thing I love about macaroni and cheese (other than its wonderful comfort food appeal), is that you can tweak it to suit your family’s needs. You can pretty much use whatever cheeses you like: I’ve had Italian versions with mozzarella and provolone, traditional versions with cheddar and American cheeses, and more epicurean types made with a roux, beautiful European cheeses, and heavy cream. You can add meat (such as ham, which I think tastes delicious), vegetables and herbs (parsley, peas, spinach and wild mushrooms are great), eggs (to fluff it up in the oven), or even toasted nuts (which I once saw and, I must admit, found appalling).

At our house, however, macaroni and cheese is usually simply what the name suggests –macaroni, cheese, and some milk and butter along with seasonings for a little extra flavor. I'm a food purist (well, at least most of the time) and so don't like to add too many ingredients to the dish as I want to taste the delicious cheese and pasta flavors. I also like to use at least three different types of cheeses as it gives the dish a richer and more nuanced taste. It's great to throw in something creamy (I like medium Tillamook cheddar or Colby), something sharp like aged provolone, Parmesan, or Gruyère, and something with a slightly distinct taste like Fontina or Cotswold.

A general rule for homemade macaroni and cheese is to make sure that every piece of pasta is covered in some creamy goodness. You don’t want a rude awakening from comfort-food nirvana by biting into a piece of plain pasta instead of bubbling savory cheese-coated noodles. Likewise, it's unappealing when the cheese clumps together in separated blobs.

To coat each piece of pasta, I make a roux and then add in some warm milk and whatever creamy cheese I'm using, which makes a thick cheesy sauce. I then pour this over some previously cooked al dente pasta. I try to cook the pasta ahead of time, so it's room temperature or cool when I use it, which in turn brings the cheese sauce down in temperature when you mix them together. The pasta, now blanketed in the cheese sauce, is ready to mix with the other cheeses. Because the pasta isn't hot, the other cheeses don't immediately melt when you add them in, allowing them to instead melt into and permeate the pasta while it's baking. This also allows the three cheeses to maintain more distinct flavors in the final dish as they melt on their own instead of together. Once I add the pasta to the buttered baking dish, I top it all with fresh breadcrumbs (usually heels of sliced bread chopped in the Cuisinart), which end up melting into the cheese on top to create a crunchy and slightly salty topping for the dish.

When I pulled the final dish from the oven last Friday, the cheeses were bubbling up and the top was crispy and crunchy. I served everyone a healthy portion alongside a plate of green salad (the cool crispness of the lettuce nicely accented the hot cheesy pasta). So there we were, kids and adults devouring homemade macaroni and cheese while watching Home on the Range. As I sat there watching Maggie and Mrs. Calloway outwit Alameda Slim, I realized this was really the perfect dish for our evening. If you’re unfamiliar with the movie, Maggie and Mrs. Calloway are cows, and so it would have been unseemly to have the beef brisket for dinner.

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:

1 lb smallish pasta (such as celentani, small penne, or elbow)
1 ½ cups grated and packed Tillamook medium cheddar or Colby cheese
1 cup grated and packed Fontina or Cotswold cheese
1 cup grated and packed Gruyère, Parmesan, or aged provolone cheese
2 cups whole milk plus ½ cup to pour in later
1 Tbsp butter
1 tsp flour
½ - 1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
A dash of nutmeg
½ cup fresh bread crumbs

Preparation:

1. Cook pasta until al dente. Run cold water over it in a colander until it cools. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Butter a large casserole dish.
3. Grate cheeses and set them aside.
4. Heat the milk in a sauce pan, being sure not to let it boil. Turn off heat and cover until ready to use.
5. In a medium sauce pan, melt butter on medium heat. Whisk in the flour when it starts to bubble, making a roux .
6. Add in the 2 cups of warm milk, whisking to incorporate it into the roux. Warm on medium until small bubbles start to form in the milk.
7. Turn off the heat and add the Tillamook or Colby cheese, stirring until it evenly melts and becomes smooth.
8. Add a ½ tsp salt, the nutmeg and the pepper to season.
9. In a large pot or bowl, mix the cooled pasta with the cheese sauce. Stir until the sauce is completely incorporated. Taste a piece of pasta and add the other ½ tsp of salt and more pepper if desired.
10. Add in the other two cheeses and gently stir so most of the cheese retains its grated appearance.
11. Place pasta and cheese in the buttered casserole dish and drizzle the remaining half cup of milk on top.
12. Spread the fresh bread crumbs evenly on top.
13. Oil a piece of aluminum foil large enough to cover the casserole dish and tighten it around the sides, oil side down.
14. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until the cheese starts to bubble up from inside the pasta.
15. Uncover the dish and bake for another 5-7 minutes or until the top starts to nicely brown and crisp up. Serve immediately.