This may be my favorite recipe ever.
In my quest to read something, anything other than US political news at the moment, I came across this great recipe for Mac-n-Cheese. How to Make Mac and Cheese like a 47 year old Black Man:
First, get a big baking dish. You know, the big one. Glass is fine. Preheat the oven to 400. Get a big pot, the big one, put some water in it, about half way. Get the water boiling. My mom told me to salt the water first, make it taste like the sea, so do that. It’ll make it boil faster anyway. While you wait for it to boil, shred your cheeses. Shred all of it. All of it. All of it. This is a Holiday. Just shred all of it into a big bowl. Shred all of it. Monterrey Jack gives it a punch. The Cheddar gives it depth. Gruyere and Gouda make it creamy. You need all the different cheeses to give it that flavor and depth. Shred all of it. Even when you think you don’t need all that cheese, shred all of it. All of it! Now, go to the pasta. It’s done by now. Drain it. Empty out the water from the pot you used to boil the pasta. That’s going to be our sauce pot now. No sense making more dishes.
It was a joy to read, whether you like M&C or not.
Am I the first to point out that adding salt to the water does not make it boil faster. It will boil at a slightly higher temperature and as such will take longer to boil. Don’t get me wrong. I do add salt to the water, and from the start, not when it’s boiling. That’s a whole other rant.
Cooking by the vibe. Eyeball those measurements and know that it's cooked by feel.
I get that cookbooks and recipes need to be prescriptive, but nothing will ever compare to a meal that is cooked differently every time yet always comes out perfectly.