Recipe: Classic Baked Mac & Cheesy

 I adapted this recipe from Murray’s Classic Mac & Cheese and the Baked Macaroni and Cheese recipe from Joy of Cooking.  My version is a little more rustic; I simplified the instructions and techniques and made a few substitution suggestions. I also provided metric conversions for those who use it.

This recipe uses a LOT of cheese, but it makes 8-10 servings. It's delicious and decadent, and I tend to think of it as a celebration food, made for a feast day or a birthday dinner.

Pasta:

• 1 lb / 450g  elbow macaroni (Feel free to substitute anything bite-sized that has nooks and crannies that can trap the cheese sauce. You shouldn’t have to cut the pasta or twirl it around your fork)

Cheeses:

• 6 oz / 170g Gouda
• 10 oz / 285g Cheddar
• 6 oz / 170g Fontina (or Gruyère, Swiss, or Provolone)
• 8 oz / 225g Taleggio, rind removed (or Muenster).

• Or: 30 oz / 850g of your favorite cheese(s).  Steer clear of non-melting cheeses.

Rustic Mornay Sauce:

• 1 small onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 qt / 950 ml milk
• 8 tbsp / 113g  butter
• 1/2 cup / 65g all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Toppings:

• 1 lemon, zested
• 3 tbsp / 42g butter
• 1 cup / 55g panko breadcrumbs
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme (minced) or scant teaspoon dried thyme
• Black pepper (to taste)
• Paprika, optional (either sweet or smoked).

Instructions:

1. Grate all cheeses and combine, and divide the mountain of cheese in half. Pre-heat your oven to 350°F / 175°C.
2. Melt 1 tbsp / 14g of the butter in a pan and saute the onion until it is slightly browned. Add the bay leaf, garlic,  and milk, and heat until milk is hot, but not boiling. Turn off the heat.
3. In a separate saucepan, melt the remaining 6 tbsp / 98 g of butter and slowly add the flour, whisking to combine, and cook for 2 minutes. Ladle in the warm milk mixture into the roux, whisking constantly, until combined and smooth. Discard the bay leaf.
4. Add the nutmeg, black pepper, and cayenne pepper.  Add half the grated cheese, and whisk until smooth. Remove from heat.
5. In a separate pan, cook the macaroni according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  Aim for slightly al dente. Drain and place macaroni in a bowl. Add the remaining grated cheeses and toss to combine.
6. Pour the Mornay sauce over the macaroni and toss to combine. 
7. In a small pan, melt 3 tbsp / 42g of butter and add the panko breadcrumbs, thyme, and lemon zest.  Add black pepper and/or paprika, if using.
8. Place the macaroni & cheese mixture into a shallow baking dish (a lasagna pan works well) and top with the breadcrumbs.
9. Bake for 20 minutes and the breadcrumb topping is browned and serve immediately.

Recipe: Maroilles Cheese Tart (Tarte au Maroilles)

When I was researching my grandparents' experiences in WW2, I came across descriptions of this traditional dish from northern France. It sounded so good, I wrote it into the story. I researched recipes, did some conversions, and cobbled together this recipe, which I think is reasonably authentic.

Maroilles is hard to find in the US - I had to order it from a cheese shop in New York City that imports it, and have it overnighted to me (yes, that was expensive, and so we offset the shipping cost by buying a LOT of cheeses, which was a lot of fun, but my arteries are probably not thanking me). I've provided substitution suggestions below (Muenster is probably the closest widely available cheese on this side of the Atlantic).

Prettiest dish I've ever made

Dough Ingredients:

• 2.25 teaspoons or 1 packet of active dry yeast
• 4 fl ounces (120 ml) of milk
• 2.25 cups (280 g) flour
• ½ teaspoons salt
• 2 eggs
• 4 tbsp (60 g) butter
• 2 tsp sugar

Filling Ingredients:

• 10-12 ounces (280-340g) of Maroilles cheese (or a Muenster or maybe Sharp Cheddar. Look for a local pungent, soft-ripened, washed-rind cow's milk cheese.  Any not-too-hard, slightly creamy/funky cheese will be delicious in this tart)
• 8 fl oz  (240 ml) of crème fraîche*
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 2 generous pinches ground cumin, or 1 pinch of freshly grated nutmeg.
• Sprinkle of paprika (preferably smoked), optional

1. Leave the milk and butter out until it is room temperature.  The butter should be very soft.

2. Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the milk, and let it sit for 5 minutes. Beat the eggs into the milk.

3. Place the flour and salt into a mixing bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a standard mixing paddle, and make a well in the center. Pour the milk mixture into the well, and mix well.

4. Work butter into the dough. 

5. As soon as ingredients are well combined, switch to a dough hook or knead by hand for 5 minutes. The dough should be sticky and stretchy.

6. Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place for 60 minutes or until doubled in volume.

7. Butter and lightly flour a 10” (25 cm) diameter baking dish, springform pan, or even a cast iron skillet. Ensure the sides of the dish are well buttered/floured.

8. Reserve a ping-pong ball-sized ball of dough (no bigger than 1.5" or 3.75 cm). On a floured surface, roll out the remaining dough until it’s big enough to cover the bottom of the dish.  According to French sources, it should not climb the edges, but should sit flat in the bottom of the dish. Place the ball in the center (it's to prevent the cheese custard from pooling in the center).

9. Let the dough rest another 30 minutes.

10. Preheat oven to 375F (190C).

11. Beat the egg, egg yolk, and creme fraiche together, season with black pepper and cumin or nutmeg.

12. Scrape off the thickest/hardest parts of the rind, and slice the cheese thinly.  Spread nearly all of the cheese on the dough in the tart pan. The remaining cheese should be cut into smaller chunks.

13. Spread the egg mixture over the cheese, and place the remaining cheese chunks on top (it creates a nice texture).

14. Sprinkle with paprika if using.

15. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the top is bubbly and browned.

Serve with a local craft beer (or cider or wine), and a fresh salad.

Variations: You could try including asparagus, sauteed leeks, or caramelized onions under the cheese. I've also seen suggestions for crushed walnuts.

* Crème fraîche can be hard to find in the US, particularly if you don't live near a major metropolitan area. It's VERY easy to make. Place a pint (470 ml) of heavy cream and 2 tbsp of buttermilk with active cultures into a canning jar and give it a good stir. Screw the lid on, and place somewhere warm for 12-24 hours (aim for about 80F (27C). Inside the oven with the light turned on is a good place to try. Check after 12 hours, and if it's not nice and thick, leave for another 4-12 hours until it's got the consistency of sour cream, then refrigerate. It lasts about a week in the fridge. It can be frozen, but freezing makes it grainy, so it should only be used for cooking after thawing.

Printed Copies Make it Real

    I finished Biscuit a couple of weeks ago.  

    Let me rephrase. I finished a major revision a couple of weeks ago.  It's now in the hands of an editor, and once that's done, I intend to try to find a traditional publisher.   

    In the meantime, I had four copies of the book printed and bound, just as souvenirs for my family and me.  It's not for sale anywhere, nor will it ever be. It's still an unpublished manuscript. And someday, I hope that it will be published for real.

And because this was just for me, it's not just any version, but the version that is the most blue-sky, the most ... mine. If I could have whatever I want, this is what I'd include:

• A nice, large 11-point font, with a wide 1.2 line spacing (the extra space between lines makes it more pleasant to read, but it adds to the page count).
• All 160,000 words of the story, before anyone makes me cut it down by 20k-30k words
• A full-length afterword (all 3K words or so)
• Letter from my grandfather to his commanding officer, written after he immigrated
• Essay written by my grandfather about the day he became a US citizen
• Glossary
• List of foreign phrases and their translations.
• A metric-imperial conversion table.

Anyway, I got my copy, and it makes my heart go pitter-patter.  Almost five years of work went into it, and it's looking good.  It feels great, and I'm proud of it.

First page of chapter 1

Cover design inspiration

It's a bit hefty.

Last printed page

Recipe: Maple Bourbon Ice Cream with Raspberry Ripple

This recipe is pretty special because we made the maple syrup and raspberry jam ourselves from trees/canes in our own yard.

I adapted Max Falkowitz's Maple Ice Cream recipe from Serious Eats, but used my own base recipe and substitutions.  

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• 6 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup real maple syrup (Grade A or B)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp bourbon (optional)
• 1/2 cup (or so) of old-fashioned raspberry jam (preferably seedless). Can substitute store-bought, but look for one that has as few ingredients as possible (ideally just berries, sugar, lemon juice or ascorbic acid. Avoid low sugar varieties as they might freeze too hard).

Custard Instructions:

1. Place cream, milk, yolks, and maple syrup in a saucepan with a cooking thermometer.
2. Stirring frequently/constantly, raise the custard to 175-180F. Remove from heat immediately upon reaching 180. 
3. Chill until very cold (if using a compressor ice cream maker, this step may be omitted or shortened).
4. Place the custard in the ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. Add bourbon at the end when the ice cream is the consistency of soft-serve.
5. Remove the dasher from the churn and dollop in jam and barely stir. Pack in freezer containers and transfer to the freezer for hardening off.

Substitutions for raspberry jam and other flavors:

• Candied pecans or walnuts
• Broken pieces of ginger snaps
• Peach preserves/jam ripple
• Candied ginger
• Omit the bourbon
• Increase the salt to one full tsp for a salted maple ice cream.

August 1944: Verifying Grandpa's story of befriending Americans from a downed Flying Fortress

Public Domain

    One of the coolest things that happens during research is finding evidence that corroborates a story. Here's one of my grandfather's, about meeting two members of a B-17 crew that was shot down.  He wrote this account probably in 1974.

    In the evening one of our patrols brought to the camp two American Air Force soldiers and I became an interpreter. They were crew members of a flying fortress which has bombed the bridge in Valence-sur-Rhone. The plane has been hit by flak and one man killed. All the others bailed out. One more died before reaching the ground. Three others, who were wounded, could do anything else as stay and undoubtedly became German prisoners. All the others fled in groups of two East toward the mountains and one of these groups has been picked up by our patrol. One of the two Americans was Larry Gault, first lieutenant, plane’s commander. He lived in Oregon, where he owned forests and sawmills. The other’s name was Edward Mettler, the plane’s gunner. He was before the war an art student in Chicago. 

    They were courageous, fine people. They used to volunteer for all missions. Once, when warned about a great danger of a mission, Larry Gault answered “Flying is dangerous too, you know.” They spent about ten days with us and left with the first American Intelligence officer who reached us. Edward Mettler cried then like a child. He fell in love with one of our intelligence girls, who traveled between the German occupied Rhone Valley and our mountains. The separation seemed cruel on him indeed.

    Grandpa didn't mention the date, but from other details in the text, I narrowed it down to August 15, 1944.  Today, I did an internet search for "edward mettler flying fortress ww2" because I'd love to find out if he and the intelligence girl (FFI courier) ended up together, and I found this page, and this page.

    They confirm that Lt. Gault was the pilot, and Mettler was a gunner, and it mostly confirms the events in question (that the ship had been downed by flak, and one man killed), including the date. It also provided Mettler's rank (sergeant), which is great because I'd guessed wrong (corporal), and this allowed me to correct it.

    Grandpa said another guy died, but the page contradicts that; it's possible Grandpa remembered that part wrong, or that Gault and Mettler were simply mistaken when they told him about the incident.

    Anyway, how cool is that???

    Hopefully, I'll eventually find out whether Mettler and Jeanne stayed together.  The romantic in me likes to think that they did.

1944: Marie Moreau and pop-culture coincidences

Source: Vintage Photos of Beautiful Female Partisans and
Resistance Fighters During World War II

     After my grandfather died, my mother found a handwritten account of his time in the maquis (Fourth Company, Second Battalion, Drôme FFI). He wrote at least two stories about the courageous couriers for his unit, whom he referred to as "intelligence girls."  

    Other of his stories might also have involved the couriers, but he didn't explicitly say so (he used phrases like "we found out," or, "later someone told us," that might have been referring to information from the couriers).  But he rarely identified people by either their real or code names in his stories, so I don't know if his stories referred to the same woman or more than one.  

    So, I created a composite character codenamed "Jeanne" (after Jeanne d'Arc), who became the unit's best intelligence officer and the moral heart of the group.  Jeanne became the intelligence girl of my grandfather's stories, a smart, clever, and no-nonsense woman my grandfather admired, and I reveal her "real" name toward the end of the book: "Marie Moreau." Yes, the alliteration in her initials was deliberate.

    I actually know the names of several real-life women who served in my grandfather's FFI unit, but there's no way for me to connect Grandpa's stories with their real-life counterparts, and because I didn't want to misidentify anyone, I gave the composite Jeanne a fictitious real name.

    Coincidentally, it turns out that Marie Moreau is also the main protagonist in Gen V, a spinoff of The Boys TV show.  

    Sigh.  I had to rename my character to avoid sharing with a TV show. She is now "Marie Morand."

Thoughts on the 2026 Oscar Nominations

 

    This year's movies were characterized by surprise. A big part of it is that, other than Frankenstein, I knew almost nothing about the movies before they were nominated. It was really nice going into them without preconceived notions.

• Sinners packed in a lot of surprises - who would have thought a vampire movie could pack in so much symbolism and layers of meaning? And such great music?
• Who would have thought a race car movie (F1) could be not just worthy of a best picture nomination, but also break my top five?
• Who would have thought that del Toro, who has had a lifelong fascination with the subject, could make such a disappointing Frankenstein movie? It's way better than Kenneth Branagh's version, but still.
• Sean Penn, in an acting tour de force, pulled off his character in One Battle. He made me believe that weirdo could be real. I wouldn't have thought that possible.
• Hamnet did not shy away from showing the death of a child.  That is rare.
• Bugonia had several surprises, most of which I won't discuss to avoid spoilers. But it did not shy away (or cut away) from showing a suicide. That is also rare.
• I would not have thought a filmmaker would go too far in depicting a thoroughly unlikeable cast of characters. But nearly everyone in Marty Supreme was odious.  The main character was so unlikeable that I quit halfway through.
• I never expected to see a severed leg hopping around, kicking people in a park, but The Secret Agent had that.  

    So, here's how Chris's and my ranking of the movies falls out:

1. Sinners (Southern gothic vampires sing the Blues; Cathy: 1, Chris: 1)
2. Bugonia (Alien-hunting conspiracy theorists; Cathy: 5, Chris: 2)
3. Train Dreams (Dreamy old logger survives ... life; Cathy: 3, Chris: 3)
4. Hamnet (The Bard's wife; Cathy: 2, Chris: 5)
5. Winner: One Battle After Another (Daddy-Daughter Revolution; Cathy: 7, Chris: 4)
6. F1: The Movie (Mesmerizing Top Gun for Formula 1 Fans; Cathy: 4, Chris: 6)
7. The Secret Agent (Strange, sweaty movie about life in fascist Brazil; Cathy: 6, Chris: 8)
8. Frankenstein (Monster-'splaning; Cathy: 9, Chris: 7)
9. Sentimental Value (Slow-paced movie about a family of actors; Cathy: 8, Chris: 9)
10. Marty Supreme (Odious ping-pong hustler no one respects; Cathy:10, Chris:10)

    This year, Chris and I only agreed on Sinners, Train Dreams, and Marty Supreme.  Where we disagreed, we were at least two apart.

     I also try to draw conclusions about interesting cross-movie themes:

• Four movies take place in modern times (Bugonia, F1, One Battle, Sentimental Value)
• Six movies are historical period pieces  (Frankenstein - early 1800s, Hamnet - late 1500s, Marty Supreme - 1952, Secret Agent - 1977, Sinners - 1932, Train Dreams - 1917-1968).
• Three movies contain a language other than English.  Frankenstein was mostly in English (a few brief scenes in Danish or French), Sentimental Value was mostly in Norwegian (maybe 1/3 in English, with a little French), and The Secret Agent was almost entirely in Portuguese (one brief scene in English).
• One actress (Kerry Condon) had supporting roles in two of the nominated movies (F1, and Train Dreams).
• Two movies dealt with child death (Hamnet, Train Dreams).
• There were two horror movies (Frankenstein, Sinners).
• There were two science fiction movies (Bugonia, Frankenstein).
• This year's movies averaged some rather low scores for relatable situations (2.85) and identifiable protagonists (2.8). Average is 3.

    I'm hesitant to offer predictions or opinions for other categories because I haven't seen all of the performances, but here are my opinions in spite of my ignorance. I underlined the one that I thought should win.  Highlight indicates the winner.

    Note: There should be five nominees per category. If I don't mention a nominee (or indicate a winner), it's because I haven't seen the performance. If I didn't mention a category, it's because I have no opinion.  

• Best Actor:  Timothée Chalamet/Marty Supreme, Leonardo DiCaprio/One Battle, Michael B. Jordan/Sinners, and Wagner Moura/The Secret Agent.
• Best Actress: Jessie Buckley/Hamnet, Renate Riensve/Sentimental Value, Emma Stone/Bugnia. 
• Best Actress (Supporting): Elle Fanning/Sentimental Value, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas/Sentimental Value, Wunmi Mosaku/Sinners, Teyana Taylor/One Battle.
• Best Actor (Supporting):  Benicio Del Toro/One Battle, Jacob Elordi/Frankenstein, Delroy Lindo/Sinners, Sean Penn/One Battle, Stellan Skarsgård/Sentimental Value.
• Best Casting:  Nina Gold/Hamnet, Jennifer Venditti/Marty Supreme, Cassandra Kulukundis/One Battle, Gabriel Domingues/The Secret Agent, Francine Maisler/Sinners.
• Best Cinematography: Dan Laustsen/Frankenstein, Darius Khondji/Marty Supreme, Michael Bauman/One Battle, Autumn Durald Arkapaw/Sinners, Adolpho Veloso/Train Dreams.
• Best Costume Design:  Kate Hawley/Frankenstein, Malgosia Turzanska/Hamnet, Miyako Bellizzi/Marty Supreme, Ruth E. Carter/Sinners.
• Best Director: Chloé Zhao/Hamnet, Josh Safdie/Marty Supreme, Paul Thomas Anderson/One Battle After Another, Joachim Trier/Sentimental Value, Ryan Coogler/Sinners.
• Best Film Editing:  Stephen Mirrione/F1, Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie/Marty Supreme, Andy Jurgensen/One Battle, Olivier Bugge Coutté/Sentimental Value, Michael P. Shawver/Sinners.
• Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey/Frankenstein, Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine and Shunika Terry/Sinners.
• Best Production Design/Sets: Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau/Frankenstein, Fiona Crombie and Alice Felton/Hamnet, Jack Fisk and Adam Willis/Marty Supreme, Florencia Martin and Anthony Carlino/One Battle, Hannah Beachler and Monique Champagne/Sinners.
• Best Sound: Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo and Juan Peralta/F1, Greg Chapman, Nathan Robitaille, Nelson Ferreira, Christian Cooke and Brad Zoern/Frankenstein, José Antonio García, Christopher Scarabosio and Tony Villaflor/One Battle, Chris Welcker, Benjamin A. Burtt, Felipe Pacheco, Brandon Proctor and Steve Boeddeker/Sinners.
• Best Sound (Original Score): Jerskin Fendrix/Bugonia, Alexandre Desplat/Frankenstein, Max Richter/Hamnet, Jonny Greenwood/One Battle, Ludwig Goransson/Sinners.
• Best Visual Effects:  Ryan Tudhope, Nicolas Chevallier, Robert Harrington and Keith Dawson/F1, Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl, Guido Wolter and Donnie Dean/Sinners
• Best Writing (original screenplay):  Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie/Marty Supreme, Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier/Sentimental Value, Ryan Coogler/Sinners.
• Best Writing (adapted screenplay): Will Tracy/Bugonia, Guillermo del Toro/Frankenstein, Chloé Zhao & Maggie O'Farrell/Hamnet, Paul Thomas Anderson/One Battle, Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar/Train Dreams.