Mac & Cheese

Do you ever go through phases of craving the same thing over and over again?  I've had an on-again / off-again craving for macaroni & cheese the past few months.  I'm not talking about the kind that comes in a box with the orange powder - I mean GOOOOD mac and cheese...with special cheeses or other extra ingredients besides just the noodles and cheese.

Martha Stewart is known for her mac & cheese recipe(s) - she now has 16 of them listed on her website.  I tried making this one (see below) once...but I didn't love it...

She has some interesting recipe ideas, one involving slow-roasted tomatoes, one involving seafood (blech), and one with butternut squash, just to name a few...

Noodles & Company has a variety of noodle dishes - Asian, Mediterranean and American...in addition to their traditional Wisconsin Mac & Cheese, they are currently offering "Grown-Up Mac & Cheese" options for a short time:

I've tried the Bacon Mac & Cheeseburger, and the SW Chili Mac & Cheese and they were both really good...I'm not a fan of mushrooms but I can imagine the Truffle Mac is just as tasty as the others...but today I stuck with the traditional Wisconsin Mac & Cheese.

I think my current (semi) obsession with Mac & Cheese came from Panera.  I LOOOVE their Mac & Cheese...I first tried it this past winter, breaking from my traditional pattern of ordering one of their soup in a bread bowl offerings...

And I'm so glad I did!  It's SO creamy and gooey and delicious (it's also rather expensive in my opinion) so I don't indulge in it QUITE as often as I'd like.

I've seen some attempts to re-create the recipe for it here in blog land so I may have to give that a try...my cravings and my wallet will thank me!  :)

Of course, I can't talk about Mac & Cheese without mentioning my ALL-TIME favorite Mac & Cheese...for my fellow "Friends" lovers, you know what I mean!  :)

Happy Friday!!