Poll: What utensil is proper to eat macaroni and cheese?

[collinsmark]

Just curious to what others feel. Last time I used a fork. But on every attempt I always wonder if I'm missing something.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

Pretty much the answer to any pasta dish is "fork and spoon" or "garlic bread"

 

[OmCheeto]

Fork.
Unless you make it wrong, which I'm prone to do.
Then, the rest of the options are open to how badly you made it.

ps. Now, after ZZ's "food thread" post, and this, I've decided I'm famished, and do not have a box ready.
pps. Does anyone know how to make it from scratch? I've 3 cheeses, milk, and butter in the fridge, and pastas galore in the cupboards.
ppps. Does anyone know what the hell is in that powder, that makes it so yummy?
pppps. I've forgotten how to do a survey of my own, if you haven't noticed.

 

[George Jones]

"Proper" as in "eigenstate of the utensil operator"?

 

[collinsmark]

Pretty much the answer to any pasta dish is "fork and spoon" or "garlic bread"

Good point. Perhaps I should have allowed multiple selections.

Okay, which primary utensil?

I just don't want to miss out on any of the tasty goodness.

pps. Does anyone know how to make it from scratch?

When I was a wee lad, my father would simply cook up some pasta and throw in Velveeta. This, by the way, was years -- decades even [perhaps] -- before Kraft sold macaroni (shells) and Velveeta together as a single product.

I've 3 cheeses, milk, and butter in the fridge, and pastas galore in the cupboards.

That should do nicely! My mother's Mac & Cheese was more along those lines. As for specifics though, I'll defer to others.

 

[cjl]

Clearly the spork. Preferably titanium.

 

[OmCheeto]

...
When I was a wee lad, my father would simply cook up some pasta and throw in Velveeta. This, by the way, was years -- decades even [perhaps] -- before Kraft sold macaroni (shells) and Velveeta together as a single product.

That should do nicely! My mother's Mac & Cheese was more along those lines. As for specifics though, I'll defer to others.

Oh! You're from the Rockefeller family I see.
I have no recollection of either of my parents ever even making "mac-n-cheese".

Velveeta was the only cheese I knew, and we used it like Parmesan, sparingly, on top of our spaghetti*. ----------------
*Made of boiled straw and pigs blood, for color. Mom scrubbed the floors at the local butcher shop, and got pigs blood for next to nothin'.

 

[collinsmark]

Velveeta was the only cheese I knew, and we used it like Parmesan, sparingly, on top of our spaghetti*.

Now that you mention it, my father did treat his brick of Velveeta like gold. Or rather like a prized possession that we children were discouraged from handling because of our naivety.

If we ever did approach the Velveeta directly it must be done so sparingly and then only with the utmost reverence and veneration. He was pretty serious about his Velveeta.

 

[russ_watters]

"Proper" as in "eigenstate of the utensil operator"?

Proper:
1. adapted or appropriate to the purpose or circumstances; fit; suitable:
the proper time to plant strawberries.
2. conforming to established standards of behavior or manners

Based on definition 1: spoon.
Based on definition 2: fork.

 

[Andy Resnick]

Fried mac-n-cheese sandwich. It's the only way to go.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Spoon, I need to shovel it into my mouth quickly

 

[Evo]

The only mac n cheese I can eat is the Kraft box with the cheese powder, anything else is too thick and makes me vomit.

 

[JorisL]

pps. Does anyone know how to make it from scratch? I've 3 cheeses, milk, and butter in the fridge, and pastas galore in the cupboards.

A little late but maybe next time you can use this.

Make a roux (butter+flour), this is prone to burning so whisk constantly.
Add milk part by part. keep whisking.

You can manage the thickness by adding more or less milk (if you don't like milk, chicken stock works equally well perhaps even better).
When it's quite runny, add cheese and let it melt. This will thicken the sauce which is why I suggest making the sauce runny (bechamel sauce).
Season with pepper, salt and perhaps some nutmeg.

 

[OmCheeto]

A little late but maybe next time you can use this.

Make a roux (butter+flour), this is prone to burning so whisk constantly.
Add milk part by part. keep whisking.

You can manage the thickness by adding more or less milk (if you don't like milk, chicken stock works equally well perhaps even better).
When it's quite runny, add cheese and let it melt. This will thicken the sauce which is why I suggest making the sauce runny (bechamel sauce).
Season with pepper, salt and perhaps some nutmeg.

Thank you!
I did manage to get to the store and make myself a box & homemade combo version.
Eaten with a fork, btw.

ps. Someone should add: Through a straw
Video Of Disorderly UConn Student Demanding Mac And Cheese Goes Viral; Student Arrested [Hartford Courant]
as, had I been present, the punk^[1][2] would be eating everything through a straw, for the rest of his life.

If you are interested in watching the video, I would recommend watching the 1st 30 seconds, and then fast forwarding to 6:15, as the middle part is all the same.

[1] I may have watched one too many Dirty Harry movies
[2] Reason #72, why I chose never to have kids. I was once one, and know how they can be. Had my mom and I swapped roles, I would be in prison, for murder. I was bad. mmm.. kay. But never that UConn Student bad. My mom knew how to wield a cooking spoon, like a ninja.

 

[Silicon Waffle]

... would be eating everything through a straw, for the rest of his life.
...

I truly love it.

 

[nsaspook]

ps. Someone should add: Through a straw
Video Of Disorderly UConn Student Demanding Mac And Cheese Goes Viral; Student Arrested [Hartford Courant]
as, had I been present, the punk^[1][2] would be eating everything through a straw, for the rest of his life.

What happened to just asking nicely?


We now also know that Steven Seagal makes a great Mac and Cheese.
http://i.imgur.com/6yVTKGW.gifv

 

[OmCheeto]

What happened to just asking nicely?

That looks like Tina Fey. Hmmmm...
I would comment further, but I would be veering very off topic.

ps. Currently eating leftover mac-n-cheese, with an added can of tuna fish, on toast, lightly spiced with Sriracha sauce.
pps. With a fork!

 

[nsaspook]

That looks like Tina Fey. Hmmmm...
I would comment further, but I would be veering very off topic.

ps. Currently eating leftover mac-n-cheese, with an added can of tuna fish, on toast, lightly spiced with Sriracha sauce.
pps. With a fork!

With a fork, yes and Mac-n-cheese never seems to have a cake dessert with my organic TV dinners.

 

[Silicon Waffle]

Definitely spoon for me. I like the juices (from cheese and sauces), very yummy, and so won't waste any drops in the big dish.

 

[dipole]

I would rather throw my Mac n' Cheese on the floor than eat it with a spoon!

Ok not really, but I've always hated eating it with a spoon. A fork is so much better, for some reason.

 

[lisab]

Definitely spoon for me. I like the juices (from cheese and sauces), very yummy, and so won't waste any drops in the big dish.

Spoon for me too! Plus, spoons are much easier to clean than forks - especially for thick sticky sauces like a good cheese sauce.

 

[DaveC426913]

Now the followup question: What is the preferred condiment (for those who do not feel that a condiment on their M&C is blasphemous)?
Obviously ketchup.

But you know what's really good on M&C? Horseradish-based seafood sauce. Try it!

 

[collinsmark]

Black pepper is always good on Mac & Cheese. 'Can't go wrong there.

Occasionally I'll squirt in a splash of Sriracha or Tabasco, but that depends on my mood.

 

[DaveC426913]

Black pepper is always good on Mac & Cheese. 'Can't go wrong there.

It's funny you mention that one. For me, black pepper stands out as the one thing that doesn't go with M&C. M&C is too ... creamy.

And I looooooove black pepper. Many foods (such as avocados and potatoes) are just vehicles for transporting black pepper to my mouth. I bring seasoned waiters with pepper grinders to their knees.

 

[nsaspook]

http://www.armyproperty.com/nsn/8950-00-682-8188

 

[Astronuc]

The only mac n cheese I can eat is the Kraft box with the cheese powder, anything else is too thick and makes me vomit.

One could add margarine and/or milk to the Mac & Cheese if it becomes too thick.

One can also sprinkle Parmesan or other cheese (grated, e.g., Provalone, Gouda, Havarti, Manchego, Sirene, . . . .) according to preference on top.

Spoon, I need to shovel it into my mouth quickly

Ditto

 

[nsaspook]

I see one vote for other. Chopsticks?

 

[OmCheeto]

A little late but maybe next time you can use this.

Make a roux (butter+flour), this is prone to burning so whisk constantly.
Add milk part by part. keep whisking.

You can manage the thickness by adding more or less milk (if you don't like milk, chicken stock works equally well perhaps even better).
When it's quite runny, add cheese and let it melt. This will thicken the sauce which is why I suggest making the sauce runny (bechamel sauce).
Season with pepper, salt and perhaps some nutmeg.

Ok, I tried that. Quite a lot of work for something that's not much better than what takes 3 minutes out of a box.
But, I only ate half.
The other half, I mixed my other go-to ingredient: a can of chili

10 stars!

I may simply not have let the mac-n-cheese "rest" for the appropriate amount of time, for my first plate.

ps. And as always, I complicated the recipe with all manner of freakish overkill: 3 types of flour, 3 types of cheese, greek yogurt, chili and garlic powder, and no nutmeg.
pps. Still ate both helpings with a fork, even though helping #2 was more like soup.
ppps. Evo and I are definitely related, as both the hybrid batch on Wednesday, and today's batch, gave me an upset stomach. I haven't barfed though. Perhaps 3rd cousins.

 

[collinsmark]

Some news just in:

UConn mac and cheese incident spawns fundraisers

http://news.yahoo.com/uconn-mac-cheese-incident-spawns-fundraisers-182300689.html

 

[collinsmark]

More Mac-n-Cheese news:

Kraft Mac & Cheese just got duller.

For many Americans, the color of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese is the color of childhood. Nothing triggers nostalgia like the sight of a steaming plate of sticky pasta, as unnaturally orange as a nuclear dawn.

Almost 80 years after its invention, however, Kraft Mac & Cheese is about to change. Under pressure from “healthier” competitors and a controversial food blogger, the company says it is stripping all artificial preservatives and synthetic colors from its most iconic item.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...-duller-you-can-thank-or-blame-the-food-babe/

[Edit: Actually I just realized that this article is dated back in April. I suppose it's not recent news after all.]