Recipe:
nocoupons

• Kosher salt
• Vegetable oil
• 1 pound elbow macaroni or cavatappi
• 1 quart milk
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 12 ounces Gruyere, grated (4 cups)
• 8 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (2 cups)
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3/4 pound fresh tomatoes (4 small)
• 1 1/2 cups fresh white bread crumbs (5 slices, crusts removed)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

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 6 tablespoons of butter in a large (4-quart) 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 two more, until thickened and smooth. Off the heat, add the Gruyere, Cheddar, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add the cooked macaroni and stir well. Pour into a 3-quart baking dish.

Slice the tomatoes and arrange on top. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, combine them with the fresh bread crumbs, and sprinkle on the top. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top.

This editorial piece from the New York Times was a long time coming. Micheline Maynard lists all the reasons why YOU shouldn’t aspire to become a restaurateur or a chef just because you’ve watched the Food Network since its conception or happen to have read all of Anthony Bourdain’s books. Everybody likes food, everybody cooks, so you are not special. Just because you eat every day doesn’t make you an expert. It’s humbling and a bit of a gnar-kill, but I mean, I’m still going to write in my blog as an amateur foodie anyway.

Maynard writes:

“While restaurants have long been a dream for the hospitality-minded, the industry has never had such a high profile, thanks to the Food Network and celebrity chefs whose restaurants have become launching pads to marketing empires.

The allure is easy to understand, said Peter Rainsford, the vice president for academic affairs at the Culinary Institute of America and co-author of “The Restaurant Startup Guide.”

“So many people love to cook, they like food, and they think, boy, I’ll have a job where I’ll do what I love,” Mr. Rainsford said. “They don’t realize how hard a job it is, both financially and physically.”

Dude, when someone “gets it” please let me know. He’s in the opening scene with his son and his Vespa (typical). How’s that for The Bloodsugars’ street cred?

I’m glad that television networks realize that there’s a demographic for culinary-travel shows, though.

Watching Emeril Live makes me feel so uncomfortable. I feel like the audience never knows when the appropriate time is to holler at Emeril besides the usual alcohol-spiking, BAM-yelling, pork fat-rendering or garlic-smashing. There’s always one guy in every show that calls out at the completely wrong time (once someone said “Aww Yeeah!” when Emeril added celery into a pot of stock…nothing exciting about celery…). I also feel sorry for the guests that sit at the front with Emeril, on a little stool on stage. I mean, who are these people? I can’t imagine who these middle aged couples are, and why they’d want to be that close to Emeril. Were the show tickets anniversary gifts? Did their credit card companies award the seats to them? Are they friends?

So many questions, but I guess I can unclench my ass now that Emeril Live has been nipped in the bud.