mac and cheese, a different way

There's a very popular Jewish deli in the next town and we went there on my birthday. I had their macaroni and cheese, which is really good. The waitress didn't know the recipe, but she did know that it contained chicken broth. Hmm.

That was interesting, because I had been wondering if mac and cheese could be made with some liquid other than milk - I mean, of course it could, but how strange would it look? - and here was a direction to go in. I do have a recipe using tomatoes and tomato sauce, but here I was looking for just a slight twist on the traditional.  I decided to try it.

Prior to that, I'd bought some Christmas-tree shaped pasta at Home Goods, (four dollars, mind you, but who can resist such a thing?), and that put me on the path of mac and cheese for Christmas Eve dinner.  So, I made it!

I had 14 ounces of pasta, which is close enough to a pound. I had four cups worth of shredded cheddar. I knew I needed four cups of "white sauce".

I always keep Knorr bouillon cubes on hand in case there is no real thing around, but it's salty so I use it half strength. I dissolved one cube into a quart of hot water ahead of time. Then I melted a stick of butter, whisked in a half cup of flour and let it bubble a bit, then whisked the broth into it, brought it to a boil and boiled it for one minute. At that point the cheese got stirred in and all melted happily. No salt necessary!  It looked fine and there was plenty of it. I baked it in the usual way and that was that. It looked fine and tasted very delicious although a little rich.  I am happy knowing I'm eating only half as much dairy as is usually in that dish, but I may try it next time with vegetable broth.