Stovetop Mac and Cheese

That most comforting of comfort foods, this is the dish that I have prepared the most in my life, possibly with the exception of the Bolognese. There are so many ingenious, fine ways to make this great, but this is my most usual way, and the results are hard to argue with. It is fast, simple, and easily varied; it often serves as a late night snack, dinner, or anything in between.

You can use almost any kind of cheese, although cheddar is probably the best, and in my kitchen, most often available. Cheeses that melt well into milk, such as cheddar, Colby, and many swiss cheeses, tend to work best. Cheeses that hold their form as they melt, such as jack or Oaxaca just clump up and do not incorporate into the sauce. American cheese or string cheese will not work at all; I suppose velveeta would work brilliantly, although I’ve never tried it. Soft goat’s milk cheeses would probably work just fine, but that is not the desired effect; a semi-firm sheep’s milk cheese works wonderfully, and you’ve got something closer to a Cacio e Pepe, which is one of my favorites, although not made often enough in my own kitchen to include in this collection. You can mix and match cheeses to no ill effect, and I often throw three or four together, if I’ve got ends of a couple different types. A sheeps milk, a blue, a cheddar, and some Parm would be ticklishly wonderful; if you’ve got some marscapone lying around in addition, watch out. Strangely, Parmiggiano does not do as well on its own, but if it is not included in a mixture it should be grated on top of the pasta at the table whenever possible.

I often add frozen peas – bacon or pancetta can be added as well, but the point of this dish is usually to keep it to as few steps as possible, so I usually do not.

Ingredients:

• ½ box of pasta (short usually works best)
• 5 oz coarsely grated cheese of choice
• 2 oz frozen peas (optional)
• 2 oz milk
• 1 oz parmiggiano reggiano
• Salt and coarsely ground black pepper

Directions:

Cook the pasta according to taste. If you’re using peas, add them for about the last 30 seconds of cooking, then drain the pasta.

Return it to the pot that it was cooked in, add the milk, and turn the heat back on to medium. While the milk is coming to a simmer, grate the cheese directly into the pasta. Add salt and plenty of black pepper. Once the cheese is grated, stir with a spoon (or in the spirit of a simple late-night snack, with the fork that you will eat with) to combine, stopping once or twice to scrape off any cheese that has collected on the sides or your utensil. Continue stirring until all the cheese is melted and well incorporated. If the cheese begins to bubble vigorously, turn off the heat and continue until finished.

You may mount it with a tablespoon of butter at this point, but it’s not really necessary. I’m sure there are those that would disagree, but I think of mounting sauces with butter as a finishing step that is often as much about body and character as it is flavor, and the spirit of this dish is to provide an expedient delivery system for items that trigger the release of endorphins, and thus mounting with butter usually seems an extraneous step to me.

Serve, of course, with more cheese.