Cold Comfort Baked Mac

Nothing beats out baked macaroni and cheese as the perfect cold weather comfort food. Who diesn;t love teder macaroni with gooey American ro cheddar cheese on it. It;s just a simple classic , oen anyone can create.

baked mac is as Amwerican as Apple pie , perhaps even ore so. It was Tom Jefferson who created it. Te Rnaissance man went over to france and borught bakc a pasta machine. there he made macaroni and then had his staff cook it with butter and cheddar alogn with slat and pepper. Pretty innovative. for the time. it was so tasty that it became a classic. it has been eaten on and off in American history an d probabyl was a great comfort to s omany cooks who were short on meat. Instant baked mac was invented in 1937 an d was an instant hit during the World War II> Today its' the most popular especially among kids and college kids.

Baked mac has a variety of different recipes.Some call for eggs and flour to be added to the cheese mix. Some called for a dash of cayenne pepper or bacon bits to be added. The best is just adding a really good sharp cheddar the way Jefferson did . I think this makes the dish memorable and also adds zing. Some foodies like adding goat's cheese for the creaminess it gives. However I think that regular cheddar also gives it that as well.

There's nothing like baked mac and cheese on a cold October evening. It;s one of the best comfort foods out there. it;s tasty and filling , best of all it warms you up likea hug.

A Manhattan Foodie Tradiiton Is Gone-Balducci's Closes

Manhattan foodies will no doubt be sad these days. A great tradition, Balducci's is closing it's one Chelsea's store (however the suburbans ones will remain open). This means the end of an era for generations of New York gourmets. True, there are smaller stores but none can rival the great Balducci's

The store started in 1916 in Brooklyn but it was in 1947 that Louis Balducci introduced gourmet food to post war Manhattanites. It had several locations and the Greenwich Village location (closed in 2003) was frequently mentioned on the TV show Will & Grace. Balducci's introduced new Yorkers of all nationalities to good international ingredients such as goat cheese and fresh made pastas. I visited the Chelsea one a few years ago and marveled at their selection of cheeses and breads.It was a bit daunting, kind of like being in the Bloomingdales or Saks Fifth Avenue of food stores but interesting nonetheless. Luckily for suburbanites there will be Balducci's in the suburbs.

For people living in Chelsea , there's still D'Agastino's and Greenwich Village does offer Gourmet Garage (who has the best Parker House rolls in the area) and Jefferson Market. Both are on 6th Ave and offer a wide array of different cheese, meats and hot foods. They also have splendid cakes, rolls and fresh made bread and bagels (for visitors to New York this summer, stop at these two place for a lunch and a soda. They may not fill in what Balducci's left but they're still well stocked groceries.

It's the end of an era for new York foodies however there are many other shops and stores that can sort of replace Balducci's. It not there's the suburbs and the train trip out. It may be worth a ride to get your favorite gourmet goodies and treats.