Hot Mac and Cheese-- Yum!

Ansley Dauenhauer
2 days ago
2 min read

A Quote, a Question, and a Quirk

Ansley Dauenhauer theloftyquill.com July 20, 2026

A Borrowed Voice

She didn’t know how to do life without grits.

Delia Owens

Where the Crawdads Sing

A Curious Inquiry

What memories do you have that feature your favorite food?

To prime your pump:

Is your favorite food one from childhood? Or a taste you acquired later in life?

Do you have it often or save it for a treat? Why or why not?

When is the first time you remember eating it?

A Small Moment

If you know me, you likely already know I live by the adage that hot pan of homemade mac and cheese, creamy with a perfectly browned crust of bread crumbs and parmesan absolutely can’t be beat! My kids learned to make mac cheese early. Maddie liked the crunchy kind, and Joseph preferred the stovetop-prepared variety without the crunchy top. Both were in heavy rotation.

They badgered me to buy the boxed variety because that’s what all their friends ate until I actually did and they tried it. They never asked again. One time when Maddie was about six, she had a friend over. “Mom!” Maddie told me excitedly the day before their date, “Keira’s favorite food is macaroni and cheese. We have to make the homemade kind! Her dad’s a chef—I know they don’t eat the yucky box kind.”

Happily I obliged, and when I pulled a bubbling pan of mac and cheese out of the oven, Maddie, Joseph, and I salivated. Keira turned her nose up. For her, mac and cheese came from a box. After getting over my surprise, I scrambled her some eggs. Keira’s reaction reminded me we all favor what we know, and even accomplished chefs in fancy New York restaurants rely on convenience foods.

About a year ago, Maddie texted me: Can you send the mac and cheese recipe? I feel like some comfort food. I sent it right over! Now that the kids are on their own, we don’t eat mac and cheese as often as we used to, but just a few weeks ago, I got a craving. That hot, bubbly dish was as delicious as ever!