From my Mac of the Week blog:

This week I decided to keep it simple, a nice Garden Vegetable Macaroni with Sharp Yellow Cheddar and Mild White Cheddar. It was simply amazing! A creamy delight. It’s very pungent and sharp in flavor and gives a subtle surprise of sweetness thanks to the addition of the grated carrot The best was reheating the next day, the sauce didn’t break and it was just as creamy as the night before. :

- 1/2 bag elbow macaroni
- 1/2 cup chopped broccoli
- 3/4 cup chopped brown mushrooms
- 1/2 cup zucchini julienne
- 1/4 cup grated carrot
- 2 1/2 tbsp fresh fennel
- 1 1/2 cup sharp yellow cheddar shredded
- 1 1/2 cup mild white cheddar shredded
- 1 tbsp dry mustard
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 garlic clove grated
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter or margarine
- 1 tbsp flour
- water
- salt and pepper to taste

Bring a pot of water to boil. Add salt to the water. Drop in elbow macaroni and cook for 7-9 minutes or until the macaroni is al dente. Once macaroni is finished cooking, drain and set aside.

In a sauce pan begin making your cheese sauce. Heat pan on medium-high heat. Add margarine or butter and allow to melt fully before adding flour. Once you add flour, use a whisk to make sure all flour is incorporated with the melted butter. Add milk and grated garlic. Turn the heat to low and allow milk to heat up for about a minute or so and the garlic to flavor the milk. The reason i’m using such little milk is because this will allow the sauce to be really thick and also prevent it from breaking the next day when you want to re-heat. After about a minute or so return heat to medium and add cheddar cheese. Whisk to quickly melt. Then add White Cheddar and continue whisking. Once there are no lumps add dry mustard, fennel, salt and pepper, zucchini, broccoli, carrots and mushrooms and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes to soften the vegetables.

Once vegetables are soft, I like to add the macaroni directly to the sauce pot so I can ensure that everything is covered in cheesy goodness, after all it IS the star of the dish. Fold in macaroni with cheese and vegetables until it is fully incorporated.

Serve immediately

Sarita’s Macaroni & Cheese
345 East 12th Street, NY, NY 10003
http://www.smacnyc.com/

I don’t remember who told me about this place or how I cam across it but once I did I knew I was in heaven.  I made it a point to visit here when I went to NYC because really? How could I not? An entire restaurant dedicated to my favorite comfort food? Going here was the one thing I was looking forward to most when I went back East (I know that sounds strange but I go to NY frequently) so during my family’s day in the city we made a stop here for dinner.  I had obviously checked out the menu and everything i possible could find on the place long before hand so I was pretty prepared by the time we walked in.  S’Mac allows you to choose exactly how much mac you want by offering 4 options of size Nosh, Major Munch (which is what I got), Mongo, and Partay! (the latter two better suited for sharing). They even have a sampler that you can choose which allows you to have a little bit of multiple types of mac that’s featured on their menu.  There’s 12 different kinds of mac & cheese on the menu from your traditional strictly macaroni and cheese to more interesting varieties such as Masala (cooked in Indian spices) and Buffalo Chicken. But if you’re not in the mood for any of those you are free to “Make your Own.”  My brother and I both opted to get the La Mancha which consisted of Manchego Cheese (a dry cheese from Spain), onion and fennel. I selected this mostly because I LOVE the taste of fennel (it has a licorice-y flavor).  Bread crumb crusted top is optional so if you like your crunch be sure to answer “yes” when they ask you.  My parents, being the brown people that they are shared a Masala; I of course tried theirs as well.

Let me tell you, hands down the best macaroni and cheese I’ve had ANYWHERE which is fantastic considering I expected nothing less from a place that only specializes in one kind of dish. Cooked perfectly, creamy and very flavorful and the top crust was baked just right for both myself and my parents’ dish. I enjoyed savoring the fennel.  The Major Munch was actually too much for me I ended up only finishing half of it and packing the rest in a doggie bag which was great for me the next day.  I will definitely be making return trips here during any future NYC trips. Overall grade: A+