Macaroni and Cheese: 52 Recipes, from Simple to Sublime
by Joan Schwartz

Photo-Adam @ Sliceny.com Gothamist knows it's been a rough couple weeks. Many of us have been drowning our sorrows in liquor and cupcakes. But, as Joe Klein foretold over a year ago, what we're really hungry for following is some macaroni and cheese. Not, however, as a metaphor, for Gephardt or otherwise (though we'd be happy with him as our president!), but actual, gooey, rich, salty, macaroni and cheese. Like fondue without all the bite-by-bite preparation.

One of our favorite mac&cheese recipes to make is from the now-defunct Matthew Kenney restaurant Canteen (now home of Lure). Rachel Lusty Lady reports that it used to cost $25/serving; this costs about $30 to make an entire casserole. It's pretty fast to make if you have a food processor (or kids! Gothamist was always enlisted to shred cheese when we were growing up!). This recipe has a great crunchy top and complex, creamy flavors inside--very few can resist.

Having an entire cookbook just for macaroni and cheese seems indulgent, until you realize that, if you are addicted to Canteen's mac, this is the only way you'll get it. In addition to traditional mac & cheese recipes from Mitchel London, the Soho Grand, City Bakery, Home Restaurant, Fairway, Chat & Chew, Comfort Diner, and City Hall, the book also features international mac recipes and modern mac recipes (like Katy Sparks' Macaroni with Many Cheeses in a Red Chile-Herb Crust and Rocco DeSpirito's Macaroni & Cheese Croquettes-which remind us of the state fair fried mac&cheese we heard about earlier this year.) There is even mac & cheese dessert!

Gothamist has also achieved mac & cheese success with the mac in Marian Burros' Cooking for Comfort, as well as the Macaroni and Blue Cheese with Chives from Seattle's Blue Onion Bistro.