Mac ‘n Cheese – I’ve been Bitten!

PROLOGUE: I continue to evolve – hopefully – and explore and pursue my passions; art, food/wine (sustainability) and marketing all in one blog: In Search of a Personal Stability Zone…

NEWEST POST: Why is my first official food-focused blog on Mac ‘n Cheese? I’ve been bitten. I had my first taste of Mac ‘n Cheese at the tender age of 58 and ever since then, it’s rolled around in the recesses of my mind. Why so late? My cultural background never introduced or indoctrinated me to this culinary phenomenon. Yes, I’m a late Mac ‘n Cheese bloomer because of the orange stuff in the blue package that, even though it’s been around since 1937, was not tolerated or allowed in my mother’s kitchen.

No packaged foods in my mom’s pantry! And, even though, later in life, I had the occasion to sample the orange stuff, I could see my mother’s reason for not buying it. It tasted, in my opinion like, well, crap. Same goes for the Ramen Noodles. Now this from a guy who was brought up on traditional Portuguese dishes like Cacoila; a stew of all of the parts of a pig most people, regardless of the current economy, wouldn’t touch, buy or use. These pig parts needed to be stewed because long and slow cooking was required to make the “meat” tender enough to eat.

Residents of this part of southeastern Massachusetts who think they know what Cacoila [ka-soil-uh] is are shocked, when after asking me if I like it, they quickly find out that my memories of it are quite different from their current experiences. You see, this is a dish of the very poor and was traditionally prepared right after the annual slaughter around harvest time. It contains the pig’s heart, lungs, liver, ears, snout, and tail and, I’ll stop there. What is offered today is the same recipe only with a better cut of pork (butt or shoulder). It is now more commonly served as a sandwich in a Portuguese bread roll. It’s been referred to as Portuguese Pulled Pork.

So what does this have to do with Mac ‘n Cheese? To me, the same thing - people who know what real Mac ‘n Cheese is might understand my knowing what real Cacoila is. As the old Motown tune used to go: ain’t nothing like the real thing baby. Well, maybe more so in the case of Mac ‘n Cheese. With all of this in mind, I moved on to looking up a suitable recipe for Mac ‘n Cheese. Something told me not to follow it to the letter but I did. I was right about being wrong! My granddaughter wanted me to make her some so I did (from that recipe) and she said it was okay. She was being wonderfully nice. I loved that kid from the first time I set eyes on her!

My next attempt, using the same recipe, but eliminating one ingredient (egg that’s what set off my radar), received a much better response and the admission that the previous batch was really not as good as she claimed. My next attempt really hit the nail on the head. It’s a keeper and it’ll enter my repertoire. There’s more about my still developing Mac ‘n Cheese adventure and I’ll get into that in a follow-up blog along with the idea of a Mac ‘n Cheese cook-off for charity.

The one thing that my mind couldn’t let go of as I got into all things Mac ‘n Cheese was how is Mac ‘n Cheese connected to African-American culture? And this is where it got interesting for me. Many of my non-Cape Verdean (Black Portuguese-Americans) friends, especially around the New Year, would go on and on about the food served during this time of the year, especially the Black Eye Peas and the Mac ‘n Cheese dishes. I can understand the going on and on part since I’m easily distracted by the thought of food, cooking and eating. Good food, a nice bottle of wine and the Gypsy Kings pretty much rounds out a gastronomic experience for me.

I remember when I was in college in the Seventies; Soul Food was one of the big things. My friends of color invited me to a restaurant to share their culinary tradition, billed as Soul Food, with them. Well, we ordered, had a few beers and had some good table conversation going when someone asked me what I thought of the Soul Food. I said I didn’t know. I hadn’t had any yet. Everyone laughed. What did I think I was eating then? Well, I had Red Beans & Rice, Ham Hocks and Greens. Obviously, I didn’t have the real Mac ‘n Cheese.

At that point, however, I don’t know who was the more shocked; my table companions or me, when I said that this is what I ate at home. But, they said, “You’re not Black. Is your mom?” “No,” I said, “She’s Portuguese.” That moment has been with me ever since. It taught me that we are more connected than not. When it comes to our culinary cultures, the similarities are even more astounding. As a result of that event, I’ve been interested in culinary connections.

But, what does all this have to do with the Mac ‘n Cheese connection to African-American culture? Here’s the quick version. Mac ‘n Cheese has its origins in Thirteenth Century Italy – big surprise! It could also be considered a proto-type for Lasagna. Somehow, one of our founding fathers Thomas Jefferson brought a pasta machine to Virginia from one of his trips to Italy. His daughter Mary Randolph is credited by some food historians with inventing the dish. Makes perfect sense but how did it get on the African-American table and become a part of their culinary heritage? It’s so simple that the simplicity shocked me. I was especially shocked when I realized a sustainable similarity in French-Canadian and African-American “cuisines” because of one simple reason – hard work.

My dad was an authentic Canadian Lumberjack. He went into the woods in 1942 at the age of twelve. The food they served in the lumber camps is not only reflective of French-Canadian cooking as it had evolved from Old World France in New France. Hey, it’s cold up there! French-Canadian food is calorie-intensive! By today’s standards, it makes McDonald’s Supersize Menu seem wimpy. It’s, in short, working folk’s food. It’s cheap, plentiful and available. It’s also loaded with what it takes to keep you working. Working burns off the dreaded calories. End of story. Did I mention that most of these calorie laden dishes are also simple to prepare?

To wrap this up, this is what I’ve learned and have hopefully been successful in relating to you; we are related more through our ability to stave off hunger though hard work and creativity. Every culture has a culinary tradition of sustainability. Whether sustaining our bodies to deal with the harshness of the climate to assist us to endure our labors, we all share more than we imagine. Many of these lowly foods have been elevated to fine dining menu status or, labeled comfort food or have become a part of either our everyday lives or, of the rites, rituals and celebrations of our culture.

In many cases those foods have evolved and today satisfy needs other than their original purpose of fueling our stamina, stretching our budgets or filling our bellies. I’m already thinking of Mac ‘n Cheese variations. Just had some with hot peppers and boy it was a great remedy for my suffering sinuses! One more thing – there are more recipes for Mac ‘n Cheese than there are hairs on a dawg…