When Mom served mac 'n cheese to us, and later her grandchildren, she often served it with a cumulative or chain tale like Old Macdonald Had a Farm, The Gingerbread Man, and even Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham. The tale is about a boy named Mickey who will not eat his macaroni no matter what his mother says or does. So Mother asks for help from things around her: a stick, fire, water, the ox, the butcher, a rope. They all refuse-and Mickey still wouldn't eat his macaroni-until mother asks for help from a knife. We enjoyed the Mickey story but I don't think Mom ever had to call on any helpers like sticks and ropes to persuade us to eat our macaroni.
I tell the Mickey story here, embellished a bit from Mom's plain vanilla version.
Once upon a time there was a boy named Mickey. One day Mickey's mother made macaroni and cheese for lunch and gave Mickey a bowlful, but Mickey wouldn't eat his macaroni. Mother turned to the woodpile next to the hearth: "Stick, stick, beat Mickey; Mickey won't eat his macaroni." But stick just lay quietly on the woodpile, and Mickey wouldn't eat his macaroni.
"Fire, fire, burn stick; stick won't beat Mickey, and Mickey won't eat his macaroni." But fire just sizzled and hissed and didn't come near stick, and Mickey wouldn't eat his macaroni.
"Water, water, quench fire; fire won't burn stick, stick won't beat Mickey, and Mickey won't eat his macaroni." But water just lay quietly in its bucket, and Mickey wouldn't eat his macaroni.
"Ox, ox, drink water; water won't quench fire, fire won't burn stick, stick won't beat Mickey, and Mickey won't eat his macaroni." But ox just swished its tail and kept on munching grass, and Mickey wouldn't eat his macaroni.
"Butcher, butcher, kill ox; ox won't drink water, water won't quench fire, fire won't burn stick, stick won't beat Mickey, and Mickey won't eat his macaroni." But butcher yawned and continued his nap, and Mickey wouldn't eat his macaroni.
"Rope, rope, hang butcher; butcher won't kill ox, ox won't drink water, water won't quench fire, fire won't burn stick, stick won't beat Mickey, and Mickey won't eat his macaroni." But rope just coiled up lazily next to the old apple tree, and Mickey wouldn't eat his macaroni.
"Knife, knife, cut rope; rope won't hang butcher, butcher won't kill ox, ox won't drink water, water won't quench fire, fire won't burn stick, stick won't beat Mickey, and Mickey won't eat his macaroni." Well, that knife was sharp more ways than one. And before you know it:
Knife began to cut rope,
rope began to hang butcher,
butcher began to kill ox,
ox began to drink water,
water began to quench fire,
fire began to burn stick,
stick began to beat Mickey,
and Mickey began to eat his macaroni-
and he ate till it was all gone.
Here are four recipes for mac 'n cheese, two baked in the oven and two made on the stovetop. With so many possibilities for mac 'n cheese, how could Mickey not like at least one of them?
GRANDMA GLEATON'S BAKED MACARONI LOAF
This is one way Mom made mac 'n cheese, with tomato sauce and ground beef. "Or sometimes it was tuna," says Chazz. Her recipe serves 5 or 6, though all bets are off if any teenage boys are at the table.
Mix in a bowl:
2 beaten eggs
1 cup milk
3/4 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon minced onion
1 tablespoon minced parsley
1 tablespoon chopped pimiento
Cook:
8 ounces elbow macaroni
Add macaroni to bowl with cheese mixture and stir well. Put half the macaroni in a greased baking dish. Mix in bowl:
1 pound ground beef (or similar amount of canned tuna, drained)
1 small can tomato sauce
Spread this mixture over the macaroni, then top with the rest of the macaroni. Sprinkle grated cheese over the top. Cover with foil and put into 350° oven. Bake for about 1 hour, removing foil halfway through so the top gets browned.
GRANDMA GLEATON'S ONE POT MACARONI & CHEESE
In this stovetop version, you put everything in a pot and stir until the sauce develops, which doesn't take long, about 5 to 10 minutes. I had to use more cheese plus a good shake of paprika to bring out the cheese flavor. The supermarket standard brand cheese I used can't compare for flavor with Mom's cheddar, which we bought at Sitler's General Store in East Prospect. Sitler's clerk Marie would cut the cheese off a large wheel, and the cheese was creamy, crumbly and really sharp! Serves 4 to 6, depending on appetites.
2 cups elbow macaroni
Turn macaroni into a saucepan and stir in:
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar1 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard (or a squirt of Dijon)
Black pepper
Any other seasonings you like
Cook over medium heat, stirring all the while, and adding more milk if the sauce isn't creamy enough.
ONE-POT MAC 'N CHEESE
Here's another one-pot mac 'n cheese which doesn't involve precooking the mac. Adapted from Sam Wong's recipe at newscientist.com/article/mg25634143-000-how-to-hack-your-macaroni-cheese/. He began with 3 cups of pasta. When I measured 1 pound of elbows into a pot, they came to about 4 1/2 cups. So I revised the amounts of everything. The original amounts, for 3 cups pasta, are in parentheses. I was a bit careless but it makes no never mind. You can always add a bit more liquid if needed.
Bring to simmer:
4 - 4 1/2 cups pasta
3 1/2 cups milk
2 cups water
6 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Simmer on low for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, especially toward the end. When pasta is done to your liking, stir in:
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 teaspoon paprika
5 cups grated cheddar
Adjust seasoning. I added 1 teaspoon of Aleppo pepper but do as you like. Then simmer and stir until the cheese is melted. If it's not as creamy as you'd like, add water along the way.MARIA CATTELL'S SUPER DUPER MAC 'N CHEESE
If you make mac 'n cheese like this, you'll not need to call on Stick to get folks to eat it. Put plenty of good sharp cheddar in your dish-and if Mickey won't eat his macaroni, you know what to do. I measure roughly (by eye and experience), so amounts given are guesstimates. Usually 1 pound of pasta suffices, but if you're faced with a ravenous horde or a few teenage lads, use 1 1/2 or 2 pounds of pasta, increase everything else accordingly-and use BIG pots.
Over medium heat, in large skillet or saucepan, make a medium-thick cream sauce:
3 tablespoons butter
4 1/2 tablespoons flour
3 cups milk
Season with:
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/8 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
Gradually add:
1 pound sharp cheddar, grated
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon turmeric*
1/8 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
Gradually add:
1 pound sharp cheddar, grated
When cheese is melted, combine sauce with cooked elbow macaroni or any other pasta which holds sauce well, e.g., pipettes, rotini or campanelles-which weren't available in the old days (we always had elbows). Stir well and serve immediately to oohs and aahs.*WebMD says one likely benefit of turmeric is to ease the joint pain, stiffness and inflammation of arthritis. Since I have arthritis, I like to add turmeric to foods. It may deepen the creamy color of the mac 'n cheese but I don't find it changes the flavor.
KHARRAN CATTELL'S MAC 'N CHEESE
And here in the third generation is yet another take on mac 'n cheese. Not so different from her mom's, but finished in the oven with a crunchy bread crumb topping.
Cook 16 ounces elbow macaroni al dente.
Cube lots of bread.
Melt 1 stick butter in large frying pan; put bread in pan and stir till golden.
Make cheese sauce.
Melt 1 stick butter in saucepan.
Stir in 1/2 cup flour and cook a bit.
Remove from heat and whisk in 4 cups milk (or use reconstituted powdered skim milk, a good use for powdered milk and a minor compensation for all the calories).
Return to heat and boil 1 minute.
Whisk in 1 pound cheddar or colby, cubed, till cheese melts.
Taste for salt needs. Add paprika to sauce if you like.
Combine sauce with macaroni and pour mixture into buttered ovenproof dish (can rub dish with a peeled garlic clove before buttering). Top with bread cubes and bake at 350° till bubbly and bread is golden brown.