Oh the weather outside is frightful...

But yummy comfort foods are so delightful.

The DC area got dumped on today with its first snow of the winter. I think all of an inch stuck when the snowing stopped and gave the melting a chance to catch up.  For those of you who aren't familiar with what happens in DC when it snows, let me boil it down for you - PEOPLE FREAK OUT.  I have never encountered a place with a higher concentration of educated, capable people who dissolve into frightened children at the mere mention of our flaky friend Mr. Snowflake.  Seriously, people, it's snow, not a nuclear meltdown.  Allegedly the panic is a result of the melting pot of people we have here.  Diplomats and their staffs from across the globe, many from countries that rarely if ever see snow, west coast and southern transplants who suffer the same inexperience with the blanket of white, etc, etc, etc.  Growing up in Michigan and spending my grad school years in Chicago, however, have made me intolerant of those who can't handle snow in a way I can scarcely describe.  But it boils down to this - if you're afraid to drive in the snow or just don't know how, that's okay - STAY HOME!!! and out of my way!

But all my harping and whining about people who can't drive in the snow aside, I'm a Michigan kid and the sight of snow makes me happy. Even for the two and a half hours it took Ben and I to negotiate our way to the post office, Safeway and Whole Foods (a trip that normally would take an hour and a half tops!), I was giddy like a kid on Christmas morning.  He has other, less happy feelings about snow, most of which begin and end with "I hate it!" but that's his perogative.  I was blissed out.  Here's a pic of what our street looked like when I woke up yesterday morning.
 

To combat the snowy weather, I opted to make an adult twist on a childhood comfort food favorite and tried out Ina Garten's Grown Up Mac anc Cheese.  Totally delicious.  Only change I made to the recipe was to use about a half cup store bought breadcrumbs instead of making my own with white bread and a food processor like she does.

Ingredients

4 ounces thick-sliced bacon
Vegetable oil
Kosher salt
2 cups elbow macaroni or cavatappi
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated
3 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated
2 ounces blue cheese, such as Roquefort, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch nutmeg
2 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed (sub 1/2 cup store bought bread crumbs)
2 tablespoons freshly chopped basil leaves

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place a baking rack on a sheet pan and arrange the bacon in 1 layer on the baking rack. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the bacon is crisp. Remove the pan carefully from the oven - there will be hot grease in the pan! Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels and crumble when it is cool enough to handle.

Drizzle oil into a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the macaroni and cook according to the directions on the package, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain well.

Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan, but don't boil it. Melt the butter in a medium pot and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. While whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute or 2 more, until thickened and smooth. Off the heat, add the Gruyere, Cheddar, blue cheese, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add the cooked macaroni and crumbled bacon and stir well. Pour into 2 individual size gratin dishes.

Place the bread slices in a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until you have coarse crumbs. Add the basil and pulse to combine. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the top of the pasta. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top.