Who made up Macaroni and Cheese? Some would say, " Thomas Jefferson, that's who." Yes, historians may point out that the early English colonists often boiled noodles for half an hour, then added a cream sauce and maybe a little cheese, but it wasn't until Jefferson went to Paris and brought home a pasta machine from Italy in 1787 that baked  macaroni and cheese became known in America.  In fact, you can see Jefferson's own drawing and explanation of the machine at the Library of Congress website.  According to an account of dining with Jefferson there was "a pie called macaroni" which sounds very much like an early version of what we would call Baked Macaroni and Cheese.   The recipe used at that time seemed to be cooking macaroni until almost done, adding  melted butter, a little salt and grated white or yellow cheese and then putting it in the oven for 15 minutes or more.  It's the yellow cheese that might raise a European's eyebrows.  Jefferson had his staff cook Italian pasta, add American or English cheddar cheese, and then bake it to create the dish.

While considering what recipe to include here, I remembered reading a newspaper article that said that President Ronald Reagan liked to celebrate his birthday by having his favorite dinner -- macaroni and cheese.   How fitting, I thought, that 200 years later the dish should still be presidential!   Wondering what recipe he enjoyed, I telephoned the Ronald W. Reagan Presidential Library and Museum bookstore and asked whether they knew anything about the macaroni and cheese recipe.  Without hesitation, they told me about The White House Family Cookbook by executive chef Henry Haller and Virginia Aronson.   The book mentions Thomas Jefferson's contribution of importing a pasta machine in 1787, and the fact that when President Reagan was recuperating from a would-be assassin's bullet, the White House staff provided him with his favorite foods, including this recipe for macaroni and cheese.  I immediately tried the recipe and proclaimed it the perfect comfort food.

1/2 pound macaroni
1 tablespoon butter
1 egg, beaten
3 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup warm milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
a pinch of paprika

 1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter a 2-quart casserole dish.
 2.  Add macaroni to 2 quarts of boiling salted water and cook for 10 minutes.
 3.  Drain well in a colander. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
 4.  Stir in butter and beaten egg.  Add 2 1/2 cups of the grated cheese.
 5.  In a small bowl, combine milk with salt, mustard and Worcestershire sauce.
 6.  Spoon macaroni and cheese into the prepared casserole.  Pour milk mixture over and sprinkle top with the remaining cheese.
 7.  Sprinkle with paprika.  Bake on middle shelf of preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until macaroni is firm to the touch and the top is crusty and browned.
 8.  Serve at once, either as a light entree accompanied by a hot green vegetable and a crisp salad, or as a side dish with Hamburgers or Meat Loaf.

If you'd like to try a different recipe for the dish, you might like it  Cafeteria Style, 3 Cheese Macaroni, "Greatest in the Universe", Polka Dot Macaroni, or in a Crockpot version.   Click on the name to go to the recipe.

Click on the photographs on this page to see their source and read more about the subject.

Who Cooked That Up? is copyrighted 1998 by J.J. Schnebel
Revised 2001
all rights reserved for your pleasure and enlightenment

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