An Old Favorite Improved

January—a long, cold month in which most of us are starting an austere program of eating less and exercising more. Doesn’t sound like a lot of fun, does it? Of course, in the first couple of weeks, it’s not too bad because we’re all coming off of a month (or more) of indulgence and scaling back (no pun intended) actually seems sort of exciting. The gym is crowded, the produce section of the grocery store is mobbed and we’re all full of good intention.


But—it’s cold outside and the days have been short for awhile, depriving us of that mood boosting sunshine. The determination and fortitude of the dieting life abates quickly and people are looking for comfort—even a reason for getting up in the morning. Enter the comfort food craving.

Comfort foods are generally creamy, smooth, velvet-y and white. I can’t think of a single green comfort food. Some might be brown like chocolate, but in the savory category—they’re usually light in color like pasta, rice, potatoes, custard, applesauce, and ice cream. For many people, the all-time favorite is macaroni and cheese.

I developed the craving for macaroni and cheese one afternoon after pulling fish and broccoli out of the freezer for the third time that week. I suddenly knew I couldn’t face another healthy, low-fat dinner and visions of creamy, cheese-y pasta dishes danced in my head.

I would never stoop to open a box of Kraft macaroni and cheese dinner as I used to do in the days when I had young children and was desperate; so off to the internet to track down an “adult” recipe for mac and cheese. Food.com had the perfect recipe: Fannie Farmer’s Classic Baked Macaroni and Cheese from the 1946 edition of Fannie’s Boston Cooking School Cook Book. There were over 400 comments and I read the first couple of pages wherein it got one 5 star rating after another followed by observations such as, “This is the best macaroni and cheese I have ever eaten.”

Running down the recipe page, after printing it off, my heart stopped cold at the calorie count: 836 calories per serving! After a quick calculation I determined that I could have two tablespoons of this wonderful dinner. I would have to eat a lot of broccoli to fill up. There must be another way.

Well, I did make the recipe exactly as it was printed and then set out to develop one that had almost half the calories and that would taste just as good. It wasn’t even hard! Zig and I agreed we actually liked the reduced calorie version better, although it does use a processed cheese food—which I don’t usually care for and use only for very specialized applications where the addition of a natural cheese might end up with separated, stringy cheese.

Here are the two versions with their respective calorie counts and a couple of changes that I made for our tastes and some shortcuts in the process that did not affect the quality at all.

Fannie Farmer’s Classic Baked Macaroni and Cheese

1 (8 ounce) package macaroni
4 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp flour
1 cup milk (whole)
1 cup cream (heavy)
½ tsp. salt
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded, good quality
½ cup breadcrumbs, buttered

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook and drain macaroni according to package directions; set aside. In large saucepan melt butter; add flour mixed with salt and pepper, using a whisk to stir until well blended. Pour milk and cream in gradually, stirring constantly. Bring to boiling point and boil 2 minutes (stirring constantly). Reduce heat and cook (stirring constantly) 10 minutes. Add shredded cheddar little by little and simmer an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese melts. Turn off flame. Add macaroni to the saucepan and toss to coat with the cheese sauce. Transfer macaroni to a buttered baking dish. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Bake 20 minutes until the top is golden brown. Makes 4 servings at 836 calories per serving

Easier, Lower Calorie Macaroni and Cheese

8 oz. macaroni
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour
1 cup whole milk
1 cup fat-free half and half
½ tsp. salt
Fresh ground pepper to taste
2 cups processed American cheese from brick (such as Velveeta), shredded or diced
2 dashes Tabasco
Paprika

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Cook and drain macaroni according to package directions; set aside. In large saucepan melt butter; add flour mixed with salt and pepper, using a whisk to stir until well blended. Pour milk and half and half in gradually; stirring constantly. Bring to boiling point and boil 2 minutes (stirring constantly). Reduce heat and add shredded cheese a little at a time and cook on low until cheese melts. Stir in Tabasco sauce. Transfer macaroni to a sprayed baking dish. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake 20 minutes until hot and bubbly. Makes 4 servings at 571 calories per serving.