For Whom the Cheese Melts 2

The episode for this week is For Whom the Cheese Melts 2. I was looking for a good macaroni and cheese recipe and saw that the one from this set received high reviews. I apologize to all you out there who are having a proper summer and are turned off by the thought of using heat for your food prep, but we are cold and dreary out here by the beach. I needed some comfort food.

I'm a complete sucker for baked mac & cheese with a nice, crunchy topping. This one called for Panko bread crumbs and butter, which I really liked. I'd purchased a bag of the stuff from Costco a few months back and so I'm always looking for ways to use it.


I followed the recipe exactly, except that I decreased the salt (just trying to cut back, in general). I would not recommend doing that. Although it was flavorful with the onion and mustard, it was definitely more bland that I was expecting.

I'm glad I used this recipe, though, because I learned a new cooking skill: how to temper an egg. The excerpt from the episode gives a good explanation of how to do it. I'd never seen the show before, so it was kind of fun to see Alton Brown in action. The video showed him and a kid (his nephew?) concocting this dish together, so I decided to let my son help me out, too. Always a plus when he's happily occupied during dinner-making.

I did like the contrasting creamy and crunchy consistencies and taste overall but it was missing something. Not the amazing mac & cheese experience I was hoping for. It was easy and fast, aside from the baking time, so I will probably try it again but maybe tweak a few ingredients here and there.

Now I need to check out the other mac & cheese recipe to compare...