mac and cheese people...

[jaybonitrane]

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This is a private chefs thing - - -

Are you a chef ?

Chime in if you are ,

but ,

lemon zest in mac and cheese , your way out in left field and as for Alfredo sauce ,

If your a chef I would fire you .

Some take poetic license with recipes and that's cool , the proof is how many eat at your table .

Lemon and lime zest is truly a beautiful flavoring accent and I use them a lot too . But if your talking Alfredo your not going to really please a true died in the wool Alfredo lover with that addition of a flavor bust on their pallet . The fact that in a true dining experience things like citric accents serve as pallet cleansers between meal courses , like a sorbet .

Better rethink this " chef " .

Peace :

HR

No I didn't say it would be good in all mac n cheese or any mac n cheese.
You two were discusing Bechamel.
But it could compliment certain types of cheese...as a chef you would know.

[Hurricane]

I have no clue as to what your point is. .

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It's obvious you don't have a clue .

John John made a reference to the base of Mac & Cheese in he post about the back bone " bechamel " and then - - I addressed him and we exchanged info , stuff it seems way over your head , O .K . I can understand , then YOU mention Alton's recipe and well - - -

It sucked in my opinion , but it's cool if YOU like that flavor I don't and I bet if you tried to serve that one to a bunch of kids they'd barf .

So now that we cleared that up .


Peace :

HR

[Hurricane]

No I didn't say it would be good in all mac n cheese or any mac n cheese.
You two were discusing Bechamel.
But it could compliment certain types of cheese...as a chef you would know.

====================

Point made and taken .

Yep you are right .

HR

[garublador]

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It's obvious you don't have a clue .

John John made a reference to the base of Mac & Cheese in he post about the back bone " bechamel " and then - - I addressed him and we exchanged info , stuff it seems way over your head , O .K . I can understand , then YOU mention Alton's recipe and well - - -

Who said I care about any of that stuff? I was actually talking about the topic at hand and made no reference to bechamel or anything that you guys were talking about.

It sucked in my opinion , but it's cool if YOU like that flavor I don't and I bet if you tried to serve that one to a bunch of kids they'd barf .

The OP asked for my favorite recipe. I gave it. I'm not a little kid. I'm not sure if any little kids post on here. I'm not sure where you got the idea that this is supposed to be geared towards little kids, but my experience is that they just want the Kraft stuff. I'm not sure that really warrants it's own thread, though.

So now that we cleared that up .


Peace :

HR

So you were just being argumentative and a jerk for no apparent reason. That does clear it up quite a bit.

[Hurricane]

Who said I care about any of that stuff? I was actually talking about the topic at hand and made no reference to bechamel or anything that you guys were talking about.

The OP asked for my favorite recipe. I gave it. I'm not a little kid. I'm not sure if any little kids post on here. I'm not sure where you got the idea that this is supposed to be geared towards little kids, but my experience is that they just want the Kraft stuff. I'm not sure that really warrants it's own thread, though.

So you were just being argumentative and a jerk for no apparent reason. That does clear it up quite a bit.

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It's obvious your offended , I am sorry .

HR

[jaybonitrane]

Velveeta..like I said.

And the war is over.

[LesStrat]

, I'll go ahead and insult the local chefs: the Great Value thick n creamy Mac in the box is tasty. We stopped making it because of the high sodium content.

Recently I had a Mac n cheese dish with bacon and grilled chicken yes, from a professional kitchen. It was while I was sick and I wanted something easy to chew.

Otherwise I would've ordered the prime rib.

[Hurricane]

, I'll go ahead and insult the local chefs: the Great Value thick n creamy Mac in the box is tasty. We stopped making it because of the high sodium content.

Recently I had a Mac n cheese dish with bacon and grilled chicken yes, from a professional kitchen. It was while I was sick and I wanted something easy to chew.

Otherwise I would've ordered the prime rib.

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¡ Fresh - How Dare You !

[Fresno Bob]

The term " Au Gratin " is the way to go G : http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/glo.../Au-Gratin.htm

Mix seasoned bread crumbs ( make em your self or buy ) with your parmesan , and get a good parmesan too ! Kraft just started to sell good parmesan , before it tasted like saw dust .

Then take a fork and with the fork lightly drizzle olive so it " dots the au gratin . Do this after the cheese has baked and is totally melted then sprinkle on the au gratin mix as described . Make sure you turn up the oven to hi as it gets and then check every 5 minutes till golder brown

Bon appetit G , and yes this is the advice from a chef with Michelin 5 star experience to boot and can prove it .HR

Sorry, been out for a while, but I couldn't help myself when I read this...

Michellin 5 stars? Really? And can prove it?
I wonder how that's possible as Michellin ratings only go as high as 3 stars.
Where'd you wash dishes at? LOL

And I don't know of ANY real chef worth their weight that would say Kraft makes a "good parmesan" ...especially someone "with Michellin 5 star experience"!

/end rant

[Hurricane]

Sorry, been out for a while, but I couldn't help myself when I read this...

Michellin 5 stars? Really? And can prove it?
I wonder how that's possible as Michellin ratings only go as high as 3 stars.
Where'd you wash dishes at? LOL

And I don't know of ANY real chef worth their weight that would say Kraft makes a "good parmesan" ...especially someone "with Michellin 5 star experience"!

/end rant

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This clearly falls under the " look before you leap " category I guess :P


Oh Bob :

I can understand why you wrote that so I will school and clue you in on 5 star ratings since I know Fresno being the cross roads of epicurean excellence and some how you missed it .

5 star Michelin goes only to hotels that offer a menu that is open for service 24 hours a day all year . And not just any old menu , we're talking white truffles - $1500.00 a bottle cognac to cook with - Kobe beef from Japan - gold leaf in your desserts get the picture man ?

If you ever stayed in one you would have known this . But they are very expensive so - - - -.

As for the comment on Kraft I can understand your point of view here as well as I did not like that product for years and recently at the home of a friend who " served " this I was pleasantly surprised to taste something very close to a good parmesan .

A chef when served by a friend in his home would never complain about what is served to him when it is served with love and respect .

Hope you learned something about the world of real chefs from this - - - if not -? - .

Sincerely :

Hurricane Ramon

[Hurricane]

Oh and yes I did wash dishes - loads of them at the Hilton Hotel in Palm Springs . I am not ashamed of it either .

All chefs know their dish washers are more important than waiters or waitresses too .

You earn the title Chef , and those who realize what it takes to be a chef respect them as well .

Americans know very little about real professional chefs and the kitchens they operate .

Europeans do know and do respect chefs by far more than the USA .

HR

[Hurricane]

For Fresno Bob's benefit :

http://www.newyorkology.com/archives...in_guide_1.php

HR

[ginormous]

This is a thread about macaroni and cheese. I'm asking for your favorite recipes.

There will be no personal attacks, disparaging put-downs, or insults.

This is my last warning. Anything further remotely approaching a flame war, and I'll lock this puppy.

[Lucid_Lunatic]

I like the Kraft deluxe by itself with a little salt and pepper and butter.

[Hurricane]

This is a thread about macaroni and cheese. I'm asking for your favorite recipes.

There will be no personal attacks, disparaging put-downs, or insults.

This is my last warning. Anything further remotely approaching a flame war, and I'll lock this puppy.

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I agree , sorry about the off topic stuff and how it got started I was trying to address some one's post and well the snowball got going .

HR

[JOLLY]

What a screwed up thread. It's really pathetic that this forum can't even have a thread about macaroni and cheese without it getting f'd up.

[Hurricane]

This recipe goes way back beyond American traditions . It's base comes from the world of Italians and the way they look at the pasta itself .

The pasta named " pipette " :



This pasta is what most Italians use when making a dish like the topic's about .

This pasta differs from the commonly used " elbow " macaroni in that one side has been pinched a tad .

This is to help in carrying inside the pipette more of the sauce inside of it .

Northern Italian's prefer the smaller type ( I worked with a Chef from Milano ) and southern tend to choose the large size .

Another popular shape for this dish is the shell pasta , also called Gnocchi & Conchiglie or Maruzze depending on what area of Italy your in :



Some of the most favorable flavors I have enjoyed use Asiago



in the mix as well as the different parmesans available :

Romano :



The above is Pecorino made from sheep's milk , there are also types made with goats milk to and are mostly just called Romano only dropping the Pecorino . These two are quite salty compared to :

Parmesano Reggiano :



This is a sweet tasting cheese , it is claimed is touted to be to be the perfect food because it's used to strengthen the weak - old and newborns

Most here have mentioned only cheese in their mac & cheese but its' not so with many others who make it with a meat based ragu .

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - . - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

To make a ragu you need ground meat , it can be anything you like from pork , beef , turkey to veal and or sausage . I like the veal personally .

I LB meat , well caramelized and add minced :

1 large onion - 1 carrot - 2 celery stalks - 1 shallot - a bunch or garlic*.
1 Table spoon tomato paste .
3 to 4 table spoons paprika .
pinch cayenne chile pepper & black pepper .
1 small twig/sprig each Rosemary & Thyme to taste ( marjoram too is cool and fresh spices in this case is/are better than dry )
1 bay leaf .
Basil* ( small bunch ) fresh and beautiful - not dry .
1 cup red wine ( Marsela is great ) and a couple shots of your favorite good tasting spirits like cognac - Wild Turkey .

4 cups savory rich flavored : Chicken - Veal - Beef - Pork stock .

When the onions - carrot & celery are browned add minced garlic and then the paprika and tomato paste and make it into a paste like mass and add the liquor , step back it will flame be careful , then the wine and other spices and then add the the stock and let reduce by two thirds at least .

To your cooked paste make your standard cheese mixture and then the cooked meat ragu . The cheese mixture should be very thick and the ragu is used to thin it down from the super thicker consistency of your cheese mix so make the cheese mixture very thick compared to what it would be if it was only a cheese dish .

When it's melted down in the oven then top with the " gratinella " mix . I like equal amounts of Asiago - Parmesano Reggiano - Pecorino ( sheep ) - Romano ( goat ) to the breadcrumb mix .

This more or less is what gave birth here in these United States to what most call mac and cheese . It's my favorite .

* GARLIC Rule #1 : " When you think it has enough garlic , throw in as much as you just started with to begin with and then add more . "


* Basil is used at the very end when done , you just toss a few whole leaves or a tender basil " top " on each bowel as a garnish , far better than parsley and better tasting too .

Peace :

HR

[jaybonitrane]

Seems like your making Bolognese Espezito insead of Ragu Saga.
And not Mac n Cheese.

[ginormous]

It has macaroni, and it has cheese.

Judges?



No more picayune pontificating.

[jaybonitrane]

No I don't see any pasta in the recipe.

Hello Judges?

Enjoy that bowl of Spaghetti sauce and call it whatever you like.