I was in the mood for comfort food. The baby had been sick and I was off work for two days tending to his fever and taking him to the doctor, so I decided to give us all a little something special. Being home, I had the time to do some things in the kitchen I usually reserve for holidays and fancy occasions.

I pulled some short ribs out of the freezer in the morning to thaw, and later that afternoon I set them to braising. This is probably my husband’s favorite thing I cook. I needed something equally special to go alongside. Because the baby was sick, I didn’t want to take him out to the store, so I had to make do with things already in the house. Thankfully, my pantry is always stocked with various pastas and potatoes, and you can always find a hunk of cheese or two floating around in the fridge. I decided on mac and cheese, but I wanted it to be something a little zippier than the usual, so I rummaged around and found a few secret ingredients.

With short ribs I usually make a little horseradish sauce, but this time I decided to put the horseradish right into the side dish. Horseradish mac and cheese? How could it be bad?

Horseradish Mac and Cheese
1 bag large elbow macaroni
2 cups cheese (I used 1.5 cheddar and .5 smoked gouda)
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups milk (at least)
1 1/2 tablespoons salt (1 for boiling mac and the rest for cheese sauce)
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon horseradish
Cracked black pepper

I set a whole bag of large elbow macaroni to boil in a pot with a lot of salt. People, don’t just put a pinch of salt in there when you boil pasta. Put a tablespoon or more. I’m telling you. Do it.

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I was imagining a mac and cheese dish I had at Spencer Steak House in Omaha. I still dream of that mac and cheese. I cry a little sometimes because it’s so far away from me. Wah. I decided to try to do what I could to replicate it. To be frank, I didn’t even come close, but what I did come up with turned out pretty delicious anyway.

After the macaroni was boiling, I started on a cheese sauce. Recipes for mac and cheese sauce are as varied as blades of grass, and frankly, I don’t have a go-to recipe. It’s different every time, based on what I have laying around and what kind of mood I’m in. This time, I was going for big flavor and creaminess. I hoped to get a nice crust on the top, like the one at Spencer’s, but in that quest I mostly failed – but it’s not my fault. I think my broiler is broken.

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Still, it was all good. I started by melting the butter in a sauce pan, and then sprinkling in the flour. Over medium high heat, whisk like crazy to get a thickener together, and then start slowly adding milk, whisking continuously. I usually add a little milk, whisk to remove lumps, wait for it to start to bubble and thicken, and then add some more, repeat. Once I had a nice, creamy white sauce, I added liberal salt and pepper, a squirt of dijon mustard, and a heaping tablespoon of horseradish.

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Next, I added the cheese. I had some smoked gouda, so I put in about 1/2 a cup of that, and about a cup and a half of shredded cheddar. Use what you have, get creative. There really is no “wrong” cheese for mac and cheese, if you ask me.

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You want a nice, thick sauce that coats your whisk. Also, no one will know if you eat a little just plain.

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Meanwhile, I had moved my cooked pasta to my cast iron skillet (you need a fairly large one for this).

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Once all the cheese was melted and the mixture was smooth, I poured the sauce over the pasta, and popped it in the oven to bake, about 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

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At the end, I tried to use the broiler to create a crispy top, and it would have been fantastic, had my broiler worked. I guess Mama gets a new oven, right? I can’t live without a broiler. How would I melt cheese on sandwiches? How would I toast garlic bread? These are not optional things.

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The mac and cheese was delicious, if not the same as that wondrous concoction I dream of from Spencer’s. But you know, if this is what I get for trying to replicate it, so be it.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/meganstuke/photos/2011/aug/23/219431/