One of the great joys of parenting, grandparenting. “aunting” and “uncling” is getting to do things again like dress up for Halloween, go see Santa, and play with things like Legos, modeling clay, coloring books, and finger paints.  We’re just doing it for the kids!  And when it comes to feeding children, macaroni and cheese is about as close to a universal food as one can get.   Kids always seem to love it and even when they profess not to be hungry, their little appetites can usually be tempted by a few bitefuls of good old “mac and cheese,” I know a lot of grownups that can be tempted the same way.

The problem is that the geniuses (really) that figured out how to make that little box mix or pop the freezer version into the oven make us forget that as good as those products are, homemade macaroni and cheese is far superior (in taste and nutrition) and is the best kind of comfort food.  If you haven’t made homemade macaroni and cheese in a while, it’s time to enjoy this wonderful dish with or without the kids in your life at the table.

Macaroni and Cheese

Serves 6 to 8

Preparation time:  30 minutes
Cook time:  30 minutes
Total time:  1 hour

2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 pound cavatappi or elbow macaroni
2 cups milk
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup Fontina Cheese, grated
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup panko breadcrumbs, or leftover bread, crusts removed, made into crumbs
¼ teaspoon paprika
Kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Cook the pasta according to pasta directions and drain well.  After the pasta is drained, drizzle the olive oil over it and toss.
Meanwhile, Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan. Add the flour and cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk. While whisking, slowly add the milk and cook for a minute or two more, until thickened and smooth. Remove from the heat.  Add the cheeses to the sauce and stir until smooth.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.   Add the pasta to the pan and stir to coat the pasta well with the sauce.   Pour into a lightly buttered 9 x 13 inch rectangular or oval baking dish.

In a small saucepan, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, sit in the breadcrumbs and the paprika and stir with a fork to combine.  Sprinkle the crumbs on top of the pasta. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the topping is nicely browned.

One year ago today, we posted our first entry on Sauce and Sensibility.  Hitting that “post” button for the first time was a little disconcerting—kind of like getting up in front of an audience the first time I made a speech—butterflies in the stomach and all.  But I needn’t have worried—because nobody was reading!  Well, that’s not fair—my family and closest friends are certainly not nobody—they are everything to me—but of course they were the only ones reading a year ago.  That’s beginners’ blog life!

Now, I am somewhat amazed to say—things have changed a lot.  In the year since we’ve started, 49,000 visitors have stopped by Sauce and Sensibility—and looked at 250,000 pages.  Compared to the 175 visitors in our first month, over 8,000 stopped by last month.  Of course, those aren’t big numbers at all in the blogosphere, but it’s certainly enough for my talented photographer husband and me.  And the best part of all is that we really are having fun cooking together and learning about the art and science of food photography.  And the food blog community is a great place—filled with talented cooks and interesting people all over the world—we’re definitely here for the long haul.

Anyway, since it’s a day of looking back for us, I thought it would be fun to see which recipes were the most popular of the 92 posts we’ve done this first year.  And here they are, presented Letterman-style, beginning with:

The 10th most popular recipe on Sauce and Sensibility this year:

Shrimp Salad in Wonton Cups—nice to look at, easy to eat.

#9
The Panaché and the Monaco—the answer to a hot summer thirst.

#8
Smith Island 10-Layer Cake—a really fun project and delicious!

#7
Tex-Mex Pasta Bake—my family loves Mexican too.

#6
Beef Bourguignon—a wintertime classic.

#5
Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp—I’m not the only one who loves this combination!

#4
Shrimp Salad in Lime Vinaigrette—thank you Donna!

#3
Goat Cheese-Stuffed Eggplant and Zucchini Rolls—ooh, have to make those again soon.

#2
Buffalo Chicken Dip with Celery Fans—my mother’s little trick with celery won raves!

And…the #1 most viewed recipe on Sauce and Sensibility in the past year was…
Vegetable Tian—beautiful to look at, really good, and really good for you!

Thank you for reading–it’s been a great year.

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