Note from the Editor: 
This is a recipe from the cookbook we are currently reviewing, Freshman in the Kitchen. The recipe being reviewed is for Crepes and Fresh Berries with whipped cream made from scratch. Click the link above to read more about the book and let us know what you think!
Coming from an extreme lover for mac and cheese, I have tried many different recipes for this delightful meal.  So, naturally, when deciding to review recipes for Freshman in the Kitchen, making mac and cheese was immediately on the to-do list.  3 different cheeses! Yum! Generally when I’ve made mac and cheese, cheddar cheese or white cheddar cheese have been my favorite choices.  This recipe, however, calls for cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, and gruyere cheese -  a completely unfamiliar cheese to me!  This recipe also calls for garlic...how intriguing!
 
Mac and cheese is definitely my comfort food.  When I have a bad day, I immediately grab a box of mac and cheese and know that I can at least enjoy those 20 minutes of that day eating something that I love.  Instead of being a rich and creamy sauce, like most mac and cheese recipes I’m used to, the cheese sauce in this recipe was almost like a roux.    A roux is a combination of fats and flour that makes a sauce thicker.  In this case, the 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil that were called for sautéing the onions, needed to be soaked up.  By adding flour, the mixture dried up and became thicker when the milk was added.  This sauce was extremely thick and was not what I was expecting for mac and cheese.
 
 
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One extremely important reason to eat food, besides to devour and enjoy every flavor food offers, is to absorb the nutritional value that is necessary for us to survive.  A balanced diet and frequent exercise together are the best ways to keep you in shape, and enjoying what you actually want to eat.  There’s nothing wrong with eating that piece of cake, or homemade cookie once in awhile; everyone deserves a special treat. But it is important to learn the nutritional information that different foods offer in order to stay healthy. 

This section in Wolverine CuiZine will cover food and its nutritional value and impact on our bodies.  When the clock rolls around 3 o’clock in the morning on Friday and Saturday nights, where are the healthiest places to take care of that pizza craving or that huge appetite for a burrito?  Caloric information will be discussed and addressed so we Wolverines can be as healthy as possible. 

Although nutritional information is important to learn and accept, sometimes we do not want to come to terms with the fact our favorite foods may be extremely bad for you.  Fun facts, such as dark chocolate is good for your heart and more healthy than milk chocolate, are more than welcome to be discovered and discussed.  Eating food should be fun too!

Between creativity and different writing styles, this section should be something interesting and fun to learn and read about.  There is always something new to learn about food.  We are now in the age group when our food may not necessarily be prepared for us each night by our parents.  Making sure that a healthy eating habit is maintained is essential! I’m looking forward to discussing ideas to write about and learn more about food and our bodies!!

 
 
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MMMM decadent chocolate.  Most of my life was spent devouring milk chocolate until I tasted dark chocolate in Greece.  Although Greece is not necessarily known for their different types of chocolate, it opened my eyes to the endless possibilities of darker chocolates.  At first, its bitter taste was somewhat overwhelming, but as I continued to indulge in my first dark chocolate bar, I ended up loving its bittersweet flavor.  Since then, I would never choose milk chocolate over dark again!

Besides the fact that my taste buds have officially crossed over to the “dark side”, there are many different health benefits that dark chocolate offers.  Eating a small piece of dark chocolate each day lowers blood pressure and cholesterol!  Chocolate still has a high calorie count, so although extremely tempting, people should steer clear from enjoying an entire bar.  Who would have thought...