Checking my email after Shabbat, I read that my friend Charna has a message to relay to me. She has shown her 14 year old daughter Mira, my G-d daughter, my website. Mira likes it but wants my recipe for mac & cheese. Little does she know that I've made it for dinner recently and have the photo file ready to upload. Here it is Mira; now you have to make your mother dinner!

And why not? Any teenager can whip this up between text messages as it's that easy. This is straight up mac & cheese, no motherly embellishments of added nutrition or questionable vegetables. We make tons of this for bar and bat mitzvah parties. Served with Caesar Salad and an ice cream sundae bar, it is not only a no-brainer for me but a huge success with the kids.

More often than not, I omit the bread crumbs on top. For this photo, I sprinkle panko crumbs over the top as that is what I have in the cupboard. They work great even without tossing them in melted butter first. Comfort food at its best and easy enough for Mira to make.

Gluten-free? Note substitutions in the ingredient list.

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces elbow or shell macaroni (quinoa or rice pasta for gluten-free)
• 8 ounces Cheddar Cheese
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup flour (thicken with Wendy Wark's Flour Mix in the recipe archive)
• 2 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Steps:

In a large pot, put water to boil and cook pasta as per package instructions. In another pot, melt the butter.

Add the flour and stir until smooth. Cook the mixture a bit over medium heat until it starts to brown.

Slowly add the milk a little at a time, whisking well after each addition.

Add cheese and continue to stir. If using grated cheese, toss in as is. If using a block of cheese, cut into smaller chunks before adding.

Whisk until cheese is melted and smooth. Add salt and pepper.

Drain the pasta when it is cooked and run cold water over it to cool.

Add cooked and cooled macaroni to the cheese sauce.

Stir to blend the pasta and cheese sauce.

Add to 2 quart baking dish and sprinkle with panko crumbs. Bake in a 350' oven until the crumbs brown and mac & cheese is heated.

Serve hot with Caesar Salad and be a hero.

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