Macaroni and cheese

Eastside Road, February 27, 2013—

THREE GOOD FRIENDS were by for lunch today: Lindsey made macaroni and cheese. It's a staple, of course; it was almost a weekly occurance in my childhood — though never like this: ours came in kit form, in a box, sometimes with Kraft's name on it, sometimes with Chef Boy-ar-dee's.

Lindsey used a recipe she's had for years, in an old pamphlet called Casserole Cookery, published in the mid-1950s, to judge by the copyright notice, by Culinary Arts Institute, which was directed by Melanie De Proft. Lindsey has a number of these pamphlets, on various subjects, all gathered into a binder with WEST BEND stamped on the cover; perhaps they were originally sold with cooking equipment marketed by the West Bend Company, which made cookware, electrical appliances, and two-stroke engines; I see on their website that "For 100 years, West Bend® has connected home chefs and matriarchs across generations." I'm glad to be helping them out in this worthy endeavor.

The recipe is simple enough: macaroni, previously cooked and drained; white sauce flavored with a bit of dry mustard; grated Cheddar cheese; minced onion; a bit of Worcestershire sauce. Lindsey wisely omits the pound of tomatoes called for.

After the main course, accompanied by olives and pickled green beans, we had a green salad; then warm applesauce with vanilla ice cream. Good old comfort food, perfect for a lazy afternoon of conversation.

Cave, Bohigas, nv; Rosé, Domaines Bunan (Bandol), 2011