Food Memories.

My mother hands down makes the best macaroni and cheese in the world. Not only does this carb-filled entrée spend time cooking in the oven and on top of it, but it contains four different types of cheeses. Adding salt to this perfect blend of everything good in the world, would be such a misfortune mistake, and many of my friends realized this during their first time encountering the mac and cheese. So many times I have seen my friends reach for the salt shaker before even trying the pasta and giving it a good shake, completely destroying my mother’s masterpiece.  Within seconds of trying it, they often realize they have made a huge mistake.  Now after being fully accustomed to the appropriate way to take on the delicacy, my friends often quarrel about who gets to eat dinner at my house when the mac & cheese is being served.

                This dish represents my family to me, because on trying another version of mac and cheese I instantly compare it to my mother’s, and each and every time, the challenger loses.  I think of mother blending milk and butter and cheese galore, into a creamy mixture, while elbow noodles patiently wait to be submerged in the heavenly concoction.  I can picture my mother reaching in the spice cabinet, grabbing bottle after bottle, just quick enough so that my grandmother can’t see, and attempt to steal the recipe, as she has done on many occasions.  I remember my sister and I sneaking into the kitchen to grab a noodle to munch on while my mother’s back is turned, if caught a playful scorning is what we receive, or a warning to leave the kitchen.  When I think of macaroni and cheese I think of the sheer excitement my siblings and I feel when it’s finally time to eat (and we get really, really excited). My mom’s macaroni and cheese triggers these memories, because on nights when the dish is served we all eat dinner together. This is different than any other night when any other meal is eaten in separate rooms of the house, in front of TVs, computers, or cell phones.  I can’t tell if it’s the rare occasion of sitting, eating, and conversing with my family face to face that creates excitements which heightens my sense of taste, but I know that the meal is something really spectacular. 

-WK 2.