It has been exciting to me to see the amount of response and support I have been receiving from my last post requesting recipes and stories related to our connection to comfort food.  I have heard from those of you wanting to exchange recipes and enhance your own comfort food repertoire.

I have also been impressed with how much is being written about the current trend and interest in what could have been termed as “poor food” and questioning our judgement as to why we ever strayed from it.  At the same time I was having similar thoughts, I read a great little tidbit by John Baxter titled Taking Pride in Poor Food.   John is a prolific writer of some 36 books.  In this article published in Food & Wine’s February issue he was able to express my feelings of discovery in the fact that we should celebrate and be proud of the earthy and basic dishes.  The same dishes that have been filling our bodies and warming our hearts for generations are now the focus of new cookbooks, revised restaurant menus and topics of the most widely read publications of the food world. 

There is nothing more basic than this recipe I am about to share.  I must have prepared it once a week for a span of five years.  My older daughters remember it fondly as the one that originated with their most colorful and lively great aunt.  I remember it as one of the girls’ favorite and one that only needed a fresh green salad to round out the meal.  In addition, could be made ahead and popped into the oven after a typically over-scheduled day. 

After years of being shoved to the back of the file, I was relieved to actually find it and then laughed out loud upon reading:

Aunt June’s Macaroni

Creamettes(green box)

blanch with cold water, butter dish, beat 3 eggs or more, pour lots of milk, salt and pepper, lots of grated cheese, dot with lots of butter and bake at 375 degrees until like custard and brown on top(about 45 minutes).

As you can tell there were no measurements except the eggs.  I have defined the measurements and added some options for creativity.  I hope you enjoy it.

1 box of high quality macaroni

4 eggs

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

2 cups of grated sharp cheddar cheese or similar cheese combination

1 1/2 cup of milk

3 tablespoons of butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Butter bottom and sides of oven-proof baking dish that measures 10”X 10″ and 2 1/2″ deep.

Cook macaroni in boiling, salted water for 5 minutes.  Blanch with cold water.

In large bowl, beat eggs well and continue to beat while adding milk.  Add cheese, salt and pepper.  Mix well to blend seasonings.

Combine macaroni to egg mixture, stir to combine and pour into prepared pan.

Dot the top of macaroni with dabs of butter.

Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes until set and brown on top.

Optional additons: cubed ham or olive oil packed tuna.  Whole wheat or whole grain pasta can be substituted for additional fiber and texture.

Jan