An Interview with Laura Werlin on her new book, "Mac & Cheese Please!"
Renowned cheese expert Laura Werlin has already earned both the James Beard Cookbook Award (The All American Cheese and Wine Book) and a World Gourmand award for best cheese book in the world (Great Grilled Cheese). Now Laura Werlin is back, and this time she’s focusing on America’s favorite comfort food: Macaroni and Cheese.
We sat down with her to chat about her latest book.
For many of us, Mac & Cheese is still a food we associate with being a kid… a box of dried pasta, a bright orange chemical-y mixture and the instructions ‘Just Add Milk.’
“Some people to this day, that’s all they grew up on and that’s all they want,” Werlin says. At the same time, “If you take it out of the blue box image and just look at it as a new way to enjoy pasta and cheese together… then it’s just a whole new fun and delicious experience.”
In writing this latest book, Werlin wanted to “elevate… down-home basic food to something that incorporates the way we eat today, [like] fresh vegetables and gourmet ingredients.” So she experimented – over and over again – with all kinds of cheeses, combinations & mix-ins: nuts, apples, truffle oil… even kale.
“Kale is very much the ingredient of the moment,” says Werlin. “I decided … to showcase it two ways. One is sauteed and mixed into the mac and cheese, and the other, it’s on top, where it becomes very crunchy, almost like a potato chip. So it’s a great textural experience and flavor too.”
Several recipes even have an international twist, including one Indian-inspired dish with garam masala and paneer cheese.
“Basic mac and cheese is kind of a blank canvas that allows the cook to be as creative as they want,” says Werlin. “Anything that’s seasonal, anything that’s in your pantry (that’s edible, of course)… The sky is kind of the limit.”
If you’re like us, you’re probably eager to get cooking already! Just quickly before you start, here are a few tips from Laura on how to choose the right cheeses for your at-home creations.
“There are certain cheeses that don’t work if you’re looking for the gooey, stretchy result,” says Werlin, “because not every cheese melts in that way. A bleu cheese or a fresh goats’ cheese becomes creamy, but never stretchy. And a hard cheese like Parmesan… it lends flavor, but it won’t really melt in the same way either.”
Instead, “try what I call mountain cheeses,” she says. “Cheeses like Gruyere or emmental – cheeses that are just a little bit different than supermarket cheeses but still widely available.”
But remember – you’ll need a lot of cheese. So keep your budget in mind:
“To make mac & cheese with some of those artisan cheeses that we have access to now can be an expensive prospect," says Werlin. "So I always say, just choose cheeses (a) that you like, and (b) that are the best you can afford for this purpose.”
To start, try her recipe for Sonoma Mac and Cheese (below), featuring several cheeses made in California’s beautiful Sonoma County.
"For those who don’t know, Sonoma County in northern California, is unquestionably one of the most beautiful places on earth," says Werlin. "It’s home to many of America’s best wineries and has other vast agricultural expanses as well. That’s why many cheesemakers have long called it home. That bounty and beauty inspired this recipe. I’ve listed substitutes for any hard-to-find cheeses so that you can enjoy this whether or not your cheeses are Sonoma-made."
You can find more of her recipes in her new book, Mac & Cheese, Please!, available in bookstores and on Amazon.com.
LAURA WERLIN'S RECIPE FOR SONOMA MAC & CHEESE
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt
8 ounces small shell macaroni
4 tablespoons salted butter
2 cups toasted or stale sourdough breadcrumbs (preferably homemade)
2 ounces dry Monterey Jack cheese, finely grated (about 1 cup; or use parmesan)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups whole or reduced-fat milk
12 ounces Point Reyes Toma cheese, coarsely grated (about 4 cups; or use Monterey Jack)
8 ounces Laura Chenel’s Chèvre Chèvre (goat cheese; or use your local fresh goat cheese brand), pinched into 1-inch pieces
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground or freshly grated nutmeg
1 wheel Cowgirl Creamery Mt. Tam (about 14 ounces), rind removed and cut into 1-inch pieces (this is easiest to do when the cheese is cold; or use another triple-crème cheese such as Marin French Triple-Crème Brie, Saint André or a double-crème Brie)
Rosemary: Add 1 teaspoon, finely chopped, along with the cheeses
Honey: Add 1 teaspoon along with the cheeses
Golden raisins: Add ½ cup along with the pasta
1. Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Butter an 8-inch square (1½ quart) baking dish or pan (or six 8-ounce ramekins). Set aside.
2. Fill a 4- to 5-quart pot about three-quarters full with water and add 1 tablespoon of the salt. Bring to a boil and add the pasta. Cook, stirring once or twice, until tender but firm, about 4 minutes, and drain. Reserve the pot.
3. While the pasta is cooking, in a medium skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Turn off the heat and add the breadcrumbs and dry Jack. Stir to combine, and set aside.
4. Using the same pot you used to cook the pasta, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Slowly whisk in the flour and stir constantly until a paste forms, 30 to 45 seconds. Continue stirring for 1 to 2 minutes more, or until the mixture starts to darken slightly and smell a bit nutty. Slowly whisk in the milk, cream and remaining 1 teaspoon salt and cook until the mixture starts to thicken and is just beginning to bubble around the edges, 5 to 7 minutes. It should be thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Add the Toma, goat cheese, cayenne, and nutmeg and stir until the sauce is smooth but not too runny. It should be similar in texture to cake batter. If it’s soupy, continue cooking until it thickens.
5. Add the pasta, and stir to combine. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with the bread crumb mixture. Place the dish on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the casserole from the oven and distribute the Mt. Tam over the top. Return to the oven and cook for 15 minutes longer or until the Mt. Tam has softened and the crumbs are golden brown. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.
(Article by Katherine Tolentino)
