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Frozen and boxed macaroni and cheese are so prevalent. You might think that there is a good reason why the homemade version isn’t more common, but there isn’t one. Homemade macaroni and cheese can be cheap, simple, and, with this recipe at least, very hard to screw up. Homemade macaroni and cheese is also warm and comforting, like a warm blanket on a cold fall morning, only instead of holding you in bed, it holds you to the bowl, greedy for more rich cheese and silky sauce.
 
To make the sauce that goes on the macaroni, you will need cheese (of course) and some kind of milk or cream. If you try to make macaroni and cheese with just these two things, though, the sauce will not be thick enough, and you will wind up with macaroni soup. You you need something to change the texture of the sauce so it thickens. There are two main ways that people do this. The first of the two involves thickening the sauce with a roux, a mixture of butter and flour.  With the second, the sauce is thickened with eggs. This recipe uses the second method.
 
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“‘Too much trouble,’ ‘Too expensive,’ or ‘Who will know the difference’ are death knells for good food.”

-Julia Child, Mastering the Art of French cooking.


I am a huge fan of Mario Batali. I love following his recipes because they are delicious and authentic. They are often simple and not particularly difficult, but they are never dumbed-down. In his books, he tells you how to make everything from scratch,. 

Doing this is often not especially demanding, though, because his recipes rarely have more than 10-12 ingredients, He does not attempt to cut out fat, and he is not afraid to throw in an esoteric ingredient once in awhile, but oftentimes the ingredients are be simple and easy to find. He tries to present Italian food to American audiences without cutting corners as best he can. Unlike a lot of Food Network Stars that I can name, he has yet to succumb to the “death knells of good cooking”.

This is Batali’s take on meatloaf, although calling it a meatloaf might be a little like calling the space shuttle an airplane. It’s a meatloaf flavored with pecorino Romano cheese and stuffed with carrots, spinach, prosciutto, and cheese. It really is a beautiful dish to serve.  The meatloaf emerges from the oven with a beautiful brown crust and cheese melting out the sides while it fills your kitchen with incredible aromas.  Then you slice it and there are so many good parts to be had. The loaf itself, which is a little salty from pecorino Romano cheese, has a delicious crunchy exterior. The carrots and spinach are delicious as well, as they absorb the surrounding flavors. The sweetness of the carrots melds with salty and porky prosciutto and the flavor of the baked cheese, and they will be unlike any carrots you have ever had. And the cheese looks, tastes, and smells delicious.

This is a great dish to serve for guests. It is gourmet without being esoteric or tricky, comforting without being bland, and has a beautiful presentation, but you don’t need to fuss over the appearance.
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