What do I cook when the grandkids come for a visit? Well, lots of things depending on which one, but I know I am safe if I have some Macaroni and Cheese on hand. Just in case.

All of my grandchildren like Macaroni and Cheese.

Doesn’t everybody?

If I have time, I make the recipe ahead and freeze portions in one-serving casserole dishes, then thaw and bake them until they’re hot enough.

Macaroni and Cheese is easy enough to make. And yet people ask me questions about it all the time. Mostly about the sauce separating or feeling grainy or gritty. So, here’s some tips for would-be Macaroni and Cheese makers out there. Followed by my standard recipe.

1. You can use a variety of cheeses, even blue-type cheeses, which give the dish a tangy taste. Although most people use cheddar by itself, that can make the texture grainy.

2. Use young cheeses such as asiago, non-aged cheddar, havarti, muenster, non-aged gouda, and so on. These have more water content than aged, older, drier cheeses and melt more easily, keeping the mixture stable.

3. Include American cheese; adding a bit of American cheese to the mix can stabilize the sauce too.

4. Use whole milk rather than skim because fat serves as a stabilizer.

5: Shred, chop or grate the cheese so that it melts more easily when you add it to the hot white sauce. Only add a little at a time and mix it in thoroughly before adding more. If you add cheese all at once there’s more of a tendency for the sauce to separate.

Macaroni and Cheese

8 ounces elbow macaroni

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups whole milk

1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste

pinch or two of freshly grated nutmeg

4 ounces American cheese, shredded or chopped

2 ounces Muenster, Gouda or a blue-veined cheese, shredded, chopped or crumbled

2 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded or chopped

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook the macaroni until it is al dente, drain and set aside. In a saucepan melt the butter over low-medium heat. When it looks foamy, add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes, without letting the mixture become brown. Gradually add the milk and stir constantly using a whisk until the sauce is smooth and thickened. Stir in the salt, nutmeg, American cheese, Muenster (or other) cheese and 2 ounces of cheddar cheese and whisk the sauce until the cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth. Stir the sauce into the cooked macaroni. Spoon into a baking dish and top with grated cheddar cheese. Bake for a few minutes until the grated cheese is hot and melty or the bread crumbs are golden brown. Makes 4 servings

When I think about comfort foods I’m no different than most people. I’ll go for Macaroni and Cheese, Mashed Potatoes and Chocolate Pudding just like the next guy.

But my list also includes Chicken Fricassee. My mother made Chicken Fricassee with chicken wings, gizzards and necks. She included potatoes and little meatballs, lots of onions and sometimes mushrooms. She loaded it up with paprika, covered it and cooked it slowly for hours until there was a rich, russet gravy and chicken soft-as-you-know-what. 

That was good.

When my mother was much older and not well, I would make some for her and bring it to her house in a kind of comforting culinary role reversal. She loved Chicken Fricassee too.

This dish was such a regular when I was a child that when I became a Mom and my kids were young, I made it too. 

They hated it. Made fun of it. Wouldn’t eat it.

I still don’t get it.

But, it wasn’t something I made because what’s the point? If your family doesn’t like something you don’t cook it for dinner.

I did however, continue to make braised chicken. Which is actually, for most purposes except the strictest definition, the same as fricassee. My daughters did eat many of the newer versions. And one day Gillian actually called me out on it and said she knew it was fricassee only with different spices and no meatballs.

This is one of the recipes that proved to be a big winner. Call it Braised Chicken with Dates if the word fricassee is not a word you want to use in your house.

Braised Chicken with Dates

1 cut up broiler-fryer chicken

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, sliced

1 large clove garlic, chopped

2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 cup chicken broth

12 whole dates, preferably medjool

Rinse and dry the chicken and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Cook the chicken a few pieces at a time until they are lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Remove the chicken to a dish and set aside. Add the onion to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger an cook briefly. Return the chicken to the pan and spoon the onions on top. Sprinkle with the cumin, cayenne and nutmeg. Pour in the chicken broth. Stir the liquid, cover the pan and turn the heat to low-medium. Cook for 15 minutes. Add the dates and cook for another 10-15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Makes 4 servings

I usually hate when there’s a month (or more) long approach to a holiday. Like seeing Hallowe’en paraphernalia right after Labor Day.

But it’s been so cold and snowy where I live that the Valentine’s Day heart things and the boxes of chocolates and a host of articles I’ve been noticing for the past week actually cheer me, even though the holiday is nearly 3 weeks away. Valentine’s Day means February is half over and we’ll be almost through this winter.

But Valentine’s Day is also a little sad for me because it’s one of the days I miss my Dad the most. He always sent me Valentines. Sometimes it was one of those cartoon cards children buy in packs to give to their classmates. But I could always count on getting a card from him. I miss them. And him.

His cooking? Well, not so much. He made fabulous pancakes and waffles, hot chocolate and a few other things. But entrees were not his forte. Once, when my Mom was sick he attempted meatballs in tomato sauce. He took plain meat, shaped them into mountain peaks and spread tomato paste on top. Then he broiled them. Ohmyohmyohmy were they bad. I don’t remember too many meals from when I was a kid but that one is vivid.

So, in honor of my Dad, with visions of Valentine’s Day and springtime and warm weather ahead, I give you my recipe for Meatballs in Tomato sauce the way Dad never made them.

Meatballs in Marinara Sauce 

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

4 medium cloves garlic, chopped

2 28-ounce cans Italian style tomatoes, chopped, with liquid

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 pound ground turkey

1/2 pound ground veal or pork

1/2 pound ground beef

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

2 large eggs

3/4 cup grated Romano cheese, optional

3 frozen hamburger buns, grated

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over low-medium heat. Add the onion and cook stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes, or until softened. Add the garlic and cook briefly. Add the tomatoes, 2 tablespoons of the basil and salt and pepper to taste. Bring the ingredients to a simmer and cook the sauce for 30 minutes. While the sauce is cooking, place the turkey, veal and beef in a large bowl and mix gently to combine them. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons basil, the parsley, eggs, cheese, if used, and the grated buns. Mix ingredients and shape into 12 meatballs. Place the meatballs on a baking sheet and roast for about 15 minutes, turning them occasionally to brown on all sides. Place the meatballs into the cooked sauce. Cook for another 30 minutes. Makes 4 servings

I’m cooked out. Done. Finished. The snow kept me in for days and I’ve cooked and put away enough food for the rest of the winter. I feel like a squirrel.

So, instead of cooking again I cleaned my fridge. Which reminded me of my mother because in my fridge was some old American cheese, a little darker in color around the edges and somewhat hardened.

Why does this remind me of my mother?

Because I remember my mother cleaning out the fridge and finding crusty American cheese, which she then used (with lots of other cheese) to make macaroni and cheese and it was the best macaroni and cheese you could ever want.

I once wrote about this for one my newspaper articles. My mom was still alive then and she was terribly embarrassed by what I said. Embarrassed that she would use crusty old cheese for cooking.

But I assured her that I was saying good things about her. Admittedly she wasn’t the thriftiest person I ever knew, but she did have a knack for leftovers and macaroni and cheese was one of her best. No need to be embarrassed to use perfectly good stuff even if it is not perfectly new. After all, cheese is supposed to age right? The cheese she found (and that I found) wasn’t moldy or rotten or smelly. Just a little dry. And when you put dried up old cheese in a hot liquid it melts into velvety sauce. So good.

And I guess I am not cooked out after all because I am about to make some Macaroni and Cheese. Here’s my mom’s recipe:

Mom’s Macaroni and Cheese

8 ounces elbow macaroni

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups whole milk

1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste

4 ounces American cheese

2 ounces blue-veined cheese

2 ounces sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese, approximately, optional

bread crumbs, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook the macaroni until it is al dente, drain and set aside. In a saucepan melt the butter over low-medium heat. When it looks foamy, add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes, without letting the mixture become brown. Gradually add the milk and stir constantly using a whisk until the sauce is smooth and thickened. Stir in the salt, American cheese, blue-veined cheese and 2 ounces of cheddar cheese and whisk the sauce until the cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth. Stir the sauce into the cooked macaroni. Spoon into a baking dish and top with grated cheddar cheese or bread crumbs. Bake for a few minutes until the grated cheese is hot and melty or the bread crumbs are golden brown. OR serve without the cheese or bread crumb topping. Makes 4 servings

I love sweet and sour food, especially when it’s cold. And it’s been SO cold here in Connecticut lately that I’ve been whipping up sweet and sour everything. Lots of things, anyway. Like these Sweet and Sour Short Ribs I served last night (with mashed potatoes and cabbage).

I used honey instead of the more traditional brown sugar and added some powdered ginger to give it a little more zip. Both worked really well.

Sweet and Sour Short Ribs of Beef

4 pounds boneless short ribs (cut crosswise)

all-purpose flour

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 large onions, sliced

2 large cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup bottled chili sauce

1/2 cup red wine

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup honey

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon powdered ginger

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Dredge the meat in the flour; shake off the excess. Heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a large, deep saute pan over medium heat. Fry the meat, a few pieces at a time, for 3-4 minutes per side or until golden brown. Remove the meat to a plate and set aside. Add the remaining vegetable oil to the pan. Add the onions and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook briefly. Return the meat to the pan. Pour in the chili sauce, red wine, water, cider vinegar and honey. Add the bay leaf and ginger. Mix the ingredients, spooning the liquid over the meat. Cover the pan, turn heat to very low and cook for about 4 hours or until the meat is tender. Reduce sauce, if desired, by continuing to cook without the cover, for another 30 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. Makes 6 servings.