The Mac + Cheese Cookbook

August 1, 2013
HOMEROOM, a popular restaurant in Oakland, California, specializes in just one dish: macaroni and cheese. This isn't your gummy, salty, run-of-the-mill school cafeteria mac and cheese. Befitting its San Francisco Bay address, HOMEROOM daily offers dozens of variations on its signature dish, some with multiple cheeses, some with meats, some with seafood, some with vegetables. Each has a foundation of b'chamel sauce, which serves to bind the pasta with cheeses and other ingredients. Arevalo and Wade address the perennial conflict between partisans of crunchy-topped vs. creamy-throughout by offering both alternatives. An appropriate wine or beer recommendation for each version also appears. For closers, HOMEROOM offers a dessert version of macaroni and cheese made with fruit and nuts, basically a riff on a traditional Jewish noodle kugel. Other desserts include carrot cake, buckeyes, and a homemade version of Oreo cookies.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)