Customer Reviews

Macaroni & Cheese: 52 Recipes from Simple to Sublime

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Is there any food dish that is more American than Macaroni and Cheese? Many of us, myself included, grew up with the 'blue box' and as our tastes developed, so did our disdain for this dish. I tended to equate 'Mac & Cheese' with that meat product that comes in the blue can.

But Joan Schwartz has exploded the low-brow image of America's comfort food. This book is incredible! There are so many varieties of this dish from the 'classic' dishes to international flavors to what Ms. Schwartz calls 'Mac and Cheese Today'. And don't think that the cheese is that orange stuff. Swiss, Fontina, Mascarpone, Feta and Mozzarella are just a few of the varieties that you will use in your recipes. And just when you thought that the cheeses were a stretch, recipes with lobster, prosciutto, artichoke hearts, portabello and crimini mushrooms and chiles and chipotle peppers to mention a few, will delight your tastes.

I'll admit that I bought this book with a great deal of skepticism. A few bites of the 'Chunks of Lobster Swimming in Cheesy Macaroni' dispelled my reservations. Other favorites include 'Farfalle with Fontina, Tasso Ham and Baby Spinach' and Mac and Smoked Cheddar with Ham and Chipotles'. Imagine the look on guests' faces when you announce that you are serving them Mac and Cheese and their surprise when you serve a dish approaching haute cuisine.

Let's admit it...we liked the 'blue box' growing up and most of us are ashamed to reveal our love of this American staple. Now we can proudly bring this long demeaned dish back to the table and rekindle our fondness for it. Buy the book....it's a keeper!

Macaroni and cheese - kids like it, it's affordable, quick, simple to prepare and easy to digest. However, this is not your typical macaroni and cheese in a famous brand name box that you can prepare in less time than it takes to iron you socks! I liked this book particularly because it had so many variations and quite honestly, some I had never thought of and others that did not sound too appealing on the surface but turned out to be down-right delicious! There is a version found here with lobster that will pass for a gourmet meal! The choices are endless and the cost of preparing these recipes can be as extravagant or as modest as the ingredients you choose to add. If you are one who does not care for that "little blue box," do not give up on the macaroni and cheese idea yet, as least not until you have tried some of the recipes found in Schwartz's book. You can tickle your taste buds with a different delight each week of the year!

This book was simply outstanding. I like to cook in my free time, and I have a lot of cookbooks, but I thought the recipes here were just terrific: clear, easy to follow...and with great results. Plus, you get insights and ideas from some of the best chefs on the world. I never knew that macaroni and cheese could be so delicious in so many ways.

Macaroni and cheese enthusiasts this book is for you. A great collection of recipes and treats to wet your deepest appetite.

The only color photo in this one is the great looking bowl of mac and cheese on the front cover. There are cute nostalgic looking black and white drawings through out the book. In addition to the recipes from the author there are recipes from many well-known chefs, including Bobby Flay, Rocco Dispirito, Rick Bayless and many more. Also in the back, included are the chefs' Biographies.

Chapters included are:
The Classic Dish
International Mac
Mac and Cheese Today

There are recipe that are truly simple, using only a few ingredients and one or two well known cheeses and also those more spectacular, which use things like lobster, truffles or truffle oils, wild mushrooms and exotic cheeses. I can't wait to try more recipes from this book and I'm sure I'll use this book many times. If you love mac and cheese too then this would be a great addition to your cookbook collection.

Clearly written, with easy to follow instructions, and guide to ingredients, including definitions and sources. I love the 50's style art and kitchy-ness of this wonderful comfort food book. The recipes go from simple and basic to complex and gourmet. Even my husband loved this book so much, he followed a recipe and made a decent meal from scratch for the first time in his life.

I plan to attempt most of the recipes in this book.

In this time of uncertainty, there is nothing more comforting than a big bowl of macaroni and cheese! These recipes are easy and absolutely scrumptious! I recommend highly! Who knew that truffles and mac could be so fabulous!

I couldn't believe it- my favorite comfort food made in so many wonderful ways! The recipes are easy to follow and the results, so far so good!

I have never viewed macaroni and cheese as a comfort food (I'm more of a tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich kind of guy when I am in need of comfort) but I know that many people do. Since I like to please others by cooking for them I decided to get this book and try out some of the recipes. I could not believe the reaction! People really love this dish and the recipes here seem to be among the best ever offered in one cookbook.

The book is divided into four sections:

* Introducing Mac and Cheese
Here the author explains the basics of the dish including it's history (Thomas Jefferson served a Macaroni Pie to his guests at Monticello after his return from Europe), the different types of pasta used (elbow macaroni is the preferred choice in the U.S. but many others are used in this book), a list of different types of cheeses and a brief description of each as well as cooking tips, such as how to make the important Bechamel sauce used in many of the book's recipes.

* The Classic Dish
This section includes simple but creative versions of the titular dish including Manhattan's Chat n' Chew restaurant's version of Macaroni and Cheese (my friends and I loved this one) and the author's (Joan Schwartz) own cold Mac and Cheddar Salad.

*International Mac
Here the author introduces recipes that show influences of many cultures and traditions other than the U.S., such as Greek Macaroni and Cheese made with Feta, Swiss Mac and Potatoes and Allen Susser's Macaroni & Manchego (wonderful!).

* Mac and Cheese Today
This chapter offers some very creative and daring versions that can be found in some of our nation's top restaurants. My favorites here are: Penne with Roquefort from New York's Beacon restaurant; Terrine of Macaroni, Goat Cheese and Foie Gras (an expensive dish but well worth it); and the Wild Mushroom and Truffle Macaroni and Cheese (it uses truffle oil and truffle butter, both relatively easy to find and afford).

Joan Schwartz has co-authored many great cookbooks including "Boy Meets Grill" with Bobby Flay and "Cooking Provence" with Antoine Bouterin and has contributed six of her own recipes to this book, the rest were created by the many well known chefs, restaurateurs and food writers whose biographies are offered towards the end of the book, right after a list of sources for some of the harder to find ingredients used here.

The recipes found in this book are incredible, my only question is WHERE ARE THE PHOTOS? I have often discovered a great recipe only after being inspired by a picture of it in a magazine or cookbook rather than by the text. Other than the photo on the cover this book has no photographs of the dishes. Instead we are subjected to generic 1950ish illustrations that look like clip-art available for free on the internet. With 52 recipes even a paperback cookbook like this should have contained at least 20-30 full color photos of these enticing dishes. I felt very let down here, otherwise I would have given Macaroni and Cheese 5 stars and considered it a great cookbook instead of a very good one.

This is such a great idea for a book. Everyone loves macaroni&cheese and to include chefs recipes from across the country is creative and inviting. Plus, the recipes themselves are just divine. Chunks of Lobster Swimming in Cheesy Macaroni and Macaroni with Many Cheeses in a Red Chile-Herb Crust are just two of the delicious recipes you'll find here. This book is recommended for children and adults of all ages. A perfect gift idea too!

Macaroni & cheese has been my favorite comfort food for forever, so I was thrilled to buy this book when it came out. I've made about 5 of the recipes (multiple times) and all but one have been fabulous. I wanted to make Rocco DiSpirito's croquettes (pages 74-75) as part of my Thanksgiving dinner for tomorrow, but I could never get the mixture to form into balls no matter what I did. I added egg to a test batch, more mayo, more sour cream, some flour. Nothing worked. If anyone can figure out how to get these things to stick together, please email me at martha@terracepartners.com. While you're at it, if you happen to have any recipes for those divine little cheese croquettes they sell all over the south of Spain, send those along, too.