Spieler Marlena - Macaroni & cheese

by Marlena Spieler

PHOTOGRAPHS BY NOEL BARNHURST

Text copyright 2006 by Marlena Spieler.

Photographs copyright 2006 by Noel Barnhurst.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available.

ISBN 978-1-4521-2507-7

Designed by Jay Peter Salvas

This book was typeset in Agenda 9/12 and Eldorado 9.5/12.25

Typesetting by Janis Reed

Food styling by Sandra Cook

Food Stylists Assistants: Penny Zweidinger and Elisabet Dernederlanden

Photograhers assistants: Sara Johnson Loehmann, Gene Lee, and June Young Lim

Chronicle Books LLC

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San Francisco, California 94107

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To Leah, Gretchen, Jon, and Alan, with love and macaroni... and oodles of melty cheese.

Marlena would like to thank:

Her mom, Caroline Smith, and aunt, Estelle Opper, for lokshen and cheese suppers throughout her childhood.

Thanks to Leah, whose childhood was happy as long as Leahs Homey Greek Macaroni and Cheese () was on the horizon, and to her husband, Jon, for being a great Webmaster as well as a macaroni and cheese devotee. To Gretchen, who perks her nose up fetchingly when there is a possibility of macaroni and cheese.

To Sandy Waks for sharing sheeps milk cheese, especially feta, at our special zaatar and flatbread breakfasts; Kamala for just being Kamala; Paula Aspin et sa famille for sharing cheese adventures; Judy Reay for tales of macaroni pie in Trinidad; Eileen Adams for macaroni and cheese dreams; Kiwi McLaughlan; Ben Windsor and Jenny Linford; cousin Melissa Opper, who, along with her brother Steven, charmed the good people of Paris; and to cousin Matthew Carl, who joined in with gusto on our cheese plate adventure in New York City.

To Clark Wolf, whose passion and knowledge of cheese is vast and generous, and who always makes me laugh, and to Patricia Schneider for enthusiasm and generosity, as well as very good ideas. To the cheese makers devoted to their craftCowgirl Creamery, Point Reyes Blue, Andante, Laurel Chenel, the mozzarella makers of Campania, and every cheese maker who has ever welcomed me into a steamy, milky, fragrant cheese room. To Darryl Corti, wine expert and purveyor of amazing delicacies.

Im Emmenthally grateful to Anne Dettmer and her company, Artisannes, for the fabulous cheeses of Switzerland, and to Randall Hodgson of Neals Yard Dairy for cheese excellence. To Silvija Davidson of Slow Food and the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery for her good taste always; Wendy Fogarty, whose dedication to Slow Food International is inspiring; Jenni Muir, whose hard work and sound judgment are always appreciated. To Sheona and Antonio Vianello, even if Tony cant stand cheese!

To Sotiris Kitrilakis of Zante Feast and Mount Vikos Cheese for teaching me almost everything there is to know about Greek cheese, and to his wife, Rochelle Jolley, just for being wonderful. For support and information, thanks to Marie Jose Sevilla, Londons Spanish Trade Commission, and my dear friend Antonietta Stefanic and Londons Italian Trade Commission.

Thanks to the late Pietro Pesce and to Maureen Pesce of DanMar International for pecorino delights (as well as truffled lard to make me swoon), to Elaine and David Ashton of Grania and Sarnia Importers, and Allen Laidlow of The New York Times commissary for the secrets of macaroni pie.

Thanks to Michele Lomuto and Manuela Barzan, of the Naples, Italy, Chamber of Commerce, who have been so helpful to me in my explorations of the artisanal cheeses and pastas of Campagnia and the joys of mozzarella di bufala.

Thanks to the entire country of France for being an endless source of superb cheeses, and to Italy for the pasta, 750 types at least.

To the San Francisco Chronicle food page editors par excellence Michael Bauer and Miriam Morgan, who not only come up with great ideas but also laugh at my jokes. Thank you for sending me on a Roving Feast. To fellow cheese adventuress Kim Severson of The New York Times and to the rest of my wonderful, cheese-loving colleagues.

To www.egullet.org , for always being there whenever I needed them, any time of the day or night, anywhere in the world.

To Portia Smith for her invaluable assistance, and to Alan for asking, whenever we neared mealtime during the recipe testing for this book, Whats for macaroni and cheese today?

To Frank DAlessandro of International Marketing for a wonderful lunch in Campania, Edouard Cointreau and his marvellous World Gourmand Events, and Saara Rimon of Finnfacts; Rose Levy Beranbaum, Fran McCullough, and Alexandra Sofis, all of whom love mac and cheese. Oscar Leonessa and his family business Leonessa Pasta, which makes divine artisanal pasta, Napoli style; Caroline Campion for her love of baba; and Oscar Bencivenga, without whom we would be lost in Benevento. To the indefatigable Flavia, who always remains cool and cheerful no matter what the challenge, and her Luca, who is as cheerful as she is.

To the California Milk Advisory Board and the American Cheese Society.

To Bee Wilson, who is as delightful to read as she is to spend time with.

To Noel Barnhurst for making the beautiful-tasting mac and cheese look picture-perfect gorgeous.

To Bill LeBlond for saying Yes! when I asked. To Deborah Kops, kind and careful editor, and to Amy Treadwell, who once again led me from page one to the end of a joy-to-cook-and-create project.

And to Madeleine for being the best pussycat and proofreader I could ask for.

Life is half magic, and half pasta.Federico Fellini

Who can resist macaroni and cheese? Not me! Its a divine accompaniment to any meat or poultrythink of macaroni and crusty Cheddar next to spicy, smoky, or curried sausages, or pasta and fragrant Emmenthal with chicken and mushroomsor on its own as a robust vegetarian course to delight even the most committed carnivore.

Macaroni and cheese calls to me when I enter my kitchen tired from a long day, and Im hungry, and everyone around me is hungry, and I cant even think clearly to organize a meal. I put the water on to boil and look around the refrigerator for cheeses that look ready to grate and toss into my hot pasta. Maybe they are very interestinga chunk of strong Cheddar; a wedge of pungent blue; a slab of fragrant, cave-aged Gruyre. If Im lucky I have some crme frache, or the energy to make a little bchamel. Immediately, Im in a happy frame of mind, awaiting my macaroni and cheese dinner, the coziest bowlful I know. If I were a cat, Id be purring at this point.

Those who love macaroni and cheese probably loved it as children, too. Do you remember the casserole of chewy macaroni, topped with crispy crumbs and awash in rich, saucy cheese, spooned up lovingly from a big pan at home, or ladled onto your tray at the school cafeteria? Was mac and cheese the only thing that could brighten days when boring teachers droned on and on and you thought youd never grow up? While I loved the traditional casserole that we ate at school, at home we ate a different sort of macaroni and cheese lokshen (Yiddish for noodles), buttered and tossed with cottage cheese. I would have eaten it every night if I had been allowed to! Even today, there are times when that is my choice of supper, lunch, or midnight snack for more days in a row than I might want to admit!