Macaroni & Cheese 52 Recipes, From Simple to Sublime by Joan Schwartz (2001) Hardcover

by Joan Schwartz

52 recipes, one for every week of the year, for Mac & Cheese, the most basic of comfort foods.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction, Reference

145 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

When my children were little, one of their favourite dishes was macaroni and cheese. In an attempt to broaden their culinary experiences, I would experiment with pastas different from the ubiquitous elbow macaroni, with sauces made from various cheeses and with amendments of interesting herbs. My daughter remained steadfast in her preference for "the one that comes in the blue box." This was sometimes enhanced by slicing medallions of hot dog into it. Joan Schwartz has written/edited an interesting book which claims to survey the field of mac-n-cheese "from simple to sublime." She did this by asking a large number of well known chefs for their recipes: Bobby Flay, Charlie Palmer, John DeLucie, Rick Bayless, Rocco DiSpirito and Wylie DuFresne. The result is a less-than-encyclopedic but nonetheless thorough survey of the genre. The book would have been improved by more attention to the theory and practice of fabricating variations on the basic recipe. As it is, there are a great many ideas which can be appropriated from the 52 recipes offered and incorporated by the innovative home cook.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up on the sale shelf at the library and it's the best 50cents I've spent lately. I like to read cookbooks (is that weird?), and this one makes me very hungry. So many ways to mix pasta and cheese!
With 52 recipes you can choose from simple and homey to as intricate as you could imagine. There are a few recipes that I'll actually try like "Tomatoey Mac and Cheese", and then others such as "Chunks of Lobster Swimming in Cheesy Macaroni" with heavy cream and white wine which I will only drool over. Yum!

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mac and cheese, it's just a great combination. We tried the swiss mac and cheese with potatoes. Very tasty, the potatoes were fantastic, and the swiss cheese not overwhelming. Also had a mac and cheese with diced tomatoes, very simple recipe, and anytime vegetables can be added to something full of cheese and pasta it makes it healthier, right? Lots of other interesting possibilities...

[Kathy McC · Rating 2 out of 5]

For me, most of recipes in this book required too much effort and too many unique ingredients to be comfort foods. But- there were 45 pages of macaroni and cheese recipes which I found fascinating.

[Arlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this 3 stars only because the majority of the ingredients were a bit "fancier" than what I'd typically keep in my kitchen. I did find maybe 10 recipes that are awesome though, and a guaranteed part of our dinner rotation.

[Michele Fitch · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointed

On a scale of one to five, I would give it a zero. I could read the directions but the ingredients had to have been done with the smallest font you could find. It would be wonderful if I could have my money refunded, but I know that won't be happening.

[Donna Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some different recipes

I was a bit disappointed in the layout of this cookbook. It's very difficult to read and navigate around. Once you decipher the recipes, they sound pretty good.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many great mac and cheese recipes, from traditional to much more creative kinds.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

comfort diner recipe; sweet noodle and cheese kugel; macaroni and cheese croquettes. well worn copy.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Try this book for some delicious and unique Mac & Cheese dishes like Swiss Mac with Potatoes, Macaroni and Cheese with Oysters and Pork Sausage and Terrine of Macaroni, Goat Cheese and Foie Gras.

[Carissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

The recipes were okay. However, the layout was terrible. It was also tough to read because of the fonts and size. I found better mac n cheese books.