Yesterday’s post on macaroni cheese provoked such an outpouring of passion on this blog and on Twitter I thought it would be fun to have a post-Christmas Macaroni (aka Mac’n’Cheese) Challenge to see if we can come up with the ultimate version.
I’ve decided there will be 3 categories, each of which will win a prize which I will scrounge from various sources including the long-suffering publisher of my cheese book (quick opportunity for a plug) Ryland, Peters & Small. They are:
* Best original recipe - meaning original as in invented by you rather than wacky/off the wall. We’re not particularly looking for recipes that include fish sauce though I wouldn’t rule them out.
* Most mouthwatering mac’n’cheese pic
That gives you scope to make someone else’s macaroni cheese (Simon Hopkinson’s seems to be a strong contender so far) and create a drop-dead gorgeous photo of it
* Best use of artisanal cheese
Let’s celebrate the fact we have some of the best cheeses in the world in the UK by challenging you to use them in your macaroni cheese. A good category to enter if you like your mac'n'cheese plain and unadorned
There will be an appropriate prize for each and a judge for each category who I haven’t yet identified but will announce when I do. The competition will be launched on December 28th to give you something to do after Christmas apart from going to the sales but you can obviously start thinking about it now. Post your recipe/photo on your blog with a link to this post - or send it to me via the contact email on this blog.
Fun, eh? Get thinking . . .
16 comments:
Brilliant Fiona! love the idea of a mac n' cheese competition - the perfect antidote to all that roast turkey and millions of vegetables.
Mmm...cheese :-)
Lovely idea! Count me in! :)
Jaz
Brilliant idea! Let's create the best Mac&Cheese ever!!
Do you have to use cheese from the UK only? :-)
Great. Thought of another version. Something to do after Christmas though? Working flat out till 4 Jan. Closing date?
I'll be out of the country, in a place with no cheese sadly. (Sri Lanka - I remember my old flatmate Marissa, whose wedding I will be attending, used to take those huge supermarket blocks of cheese back with her for the holidays)
Excellent idea! and nice that there are 3 different categories, so most people's ideas can fit in somewhere.
Glad you all like it!
If you want to enter the best use of artisanal cheese category it has to be from the UK, yes, Mathilde ;-)
Closing date will be mid-Jan, James. 18th, I'd say. (Hopefully you'll be back by then too fingersandtoes)
Looking forward to the entries :)
Brilliant idea, Fiona! I've just blogged about the mac cheese I made last night (http://tastytottenham.blogspot.com/) but it's not really an entry. Artisan version to follow!
Nice post, Fran. I'm also a big fan of Angela Nilsen - I loved that series where she analysed what made the perfect version of well-known dishes. Good advice about the sauce, I think. Looking forward to your artisanal version!
Can I enter a recipe I've already blogged? Pretty please?
I am all over this challenge - ALL OVER IT!
Yes, course you can Meemalee so long as you tell me which category it's for and link it to the post. And thought it might be up your street Helen ;-)
I made a mac and cheese with Greens of Glastonbury cheddar for my 9/11/I love New York night.
I used large ridged macaroni from an Italian shop...more rigatoni than silly little macaronis.
I made a cheese sauce with double cream butter and a roux adding tons of the glasto cheddar.
I also added some mustard, grained French stuff.
3/4 cook your pasta in boiling salted water...then drain and lay in a baking tin.
Spread your sauce over it...add a final layer of cheese on top to get that crunchy feel. Bake for 20 minutes.
The cheese was very strong but one person said it was the best she'd ever had...
I have blogged my entry (artisanal) at: http://blog.myfitnessyear.com - the challenge is a great idea, and allows me to share something I make each year after Christmas with our cheddar truckle!
That sounds a serious mac'n'cheese Ms Marmitelover. Are you entering it. If so need full recipe ;-)
And thanks, Donna, I've clocked yours. Sounds great too.
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