Hillary, a beloved book, and macaroni and cheese
My goodness, what a week this has been. Between natural disasters, the Las Vegas shooting, and the many many news stories about men being scum (there were far more than just those two, they were just the biggest), I've been sad and furious and overwhelmed all week. Today I went to a Hillary Clinton book signing at a bookstore in San Francisco, and all week whenever I thought about it all I could think was "Don't cry, don't cry." I was talking to some other people in line about how we were feeling conflicted about going, because it felt so hard to think about what could have been, all of the things we wouldn't be worrying about right now if she was the president. Can you even imagine? But then when a group of us got up to talk to her, she gave us a long pep talk about how we can't let the dark side get to us. I said "It's hard" and she said "Thank you for saying that! It IS hard!" and guys, I preened like Hermoine Granger only DREAMED of preening. And then after she talked to us for a while longer (so long that one of her people was like "Um, we have to move it along?") we took this picture and I feel a lot better this afternoon than I did this morning. (I'm wearing Tom Ford lipstick in Cherry Lush in this photo -- it's the most expensive lipstick I own, I bought it as a present for myself for my last birthday -- my next one is a week from today, mark your calendars! -- and it's nice but I have plenty of lipsticks that cost half as much that I like just as much, so splurge on it sometime if you want, but it's not the be all end all)
So last year on Twitter, I started a string of book recommendations in the 100 days lead up to the election. I started it because I'd just finished reading HOMEGOING and couldn't stop thinking or talking about it, and I realized how nice it was to think and talk about books instead of how anxious I was about the election. The first tweet is here, and they should all be threaded so you can see them all (some of which I've recommended in this newsletter too, I'm sure I'll come back to some of those choices here and talk about them in more detail!). I was thinking about that today, and how I tweeted my final recommendation, on election day, with so much hope. THE PRESIDENT'S DAUGHTER has been one of my favorite books since I first read it over twenty five years ago, and it's one of the books that when I say I've read it countless times, it's really true. My original copy doesn't have either a front or back cover anymore, I don't think, and I now have another paper copy and also an ebook version. It's a book about a smart, principled woman who becomes president, and her prickly daughter Meg and how that changes and hurts and strengthens their relationship, and it and the whole series are wonderful. Read it and hope we get there, some day. Someday fucking soon.
It's still hot in the Bay Area (I think I got a sunburn today standing in line for Hillary) but both the calendar and the news have me wanting something a little more cozy than the quinoa salads I've been eating for the past week. Don't get me wrong, I genuinely enjoy quinoa salads, but they aren't really a perk up kind of meal, you know? But this macaroni and cheese absolutely is. I got the recipe from my friend Jessica, when I already thought I had the best recipe for macaroni and cheese anyone could possibly have. And then I tried the one she made, and made her give me the recipe. It's by Martha Stewart, and it's thick and rich and cheesy and perfect. Here's one of the places I first saw it, but it's been posted on many blogs, because it's just that good. Note, it calls for a 3 quart casserole dish, which is a 9 x 13 dish. I've cut this recipe in half and made it in an 8 x 8 pan a number of times and it works very well. Also, I like to toast the breadcrumbs instead of Martha's method, but you can try it either way
Perfect Macaroni and Cheese
6 slices white bread (bread with a thicker crumb works better here), crusts removed, cut or torn into small pieces
8 tablespoons or 1 stick unsalted butter
5 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 1/2 cups (about 18 ounces) grated sharp white cheddar
2 cups (about 8 ounces) grated Gruyere
1 pound elbow macaroni (I like to use cavatappi for this, when I can find it)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish. Set a large saucepan full of water on to boil. In a medium sized skillet, heat two tablespoons of butter over medium heat until it melts, and then toss in the torn up bread. Toast the breadcrumbs until they get a little golden, and set aside. In a medium saucepan, heat the milk over medium heat. Melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a high sided skillet over medium heat. When it's melted, add the flour, and whisk the flour into the butter for a minute. Add a cup of the hot milk to the flour/butter mixture, and keep whisking until it's combined, and keep doing this until all of the milk is in the pan. Have a glass of wine or an audio book on or something interesting on the TV, because now you keep whisking and whisking this butter/flour/milk mixture for 8 to 12 minutes (err on the side of 12 minutes). Seriously, I know, it seems like forever, but it's worth it! It'll bubble and get thick, which will make your mac and cheese so delicious. Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the salt, nutmeg, both peppers, 3 cups of the cheddar and 1 1/2 cups of the Gruyere.
While you were doing all of that, your water probably boiled; you can take a tiny break from stirring to throw in a pound of pasta and a handful of salt and stir it all occasionally. Cook it for about two minutes less than the package says. When time is up, drain it in a colander, and stir it into the cheese sauce. Pour the pasta/cheese mixture into your prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top, and scatter the breadcrumbs over everything. Bake until browned on top, about 30 minutes.
Enjoy!
I hope you all hang out with a lot of great women this weekend.
Jasmine
Find me elsewhere! Facebook Twitter Instagram
Preorder my book, THE WEDDING DATE