Fancy Mac & Cheese

I doubt anyone will argue with me that Kraft Dinner (aka "KD") is single-handedly responsible for making macaroni & cheese a comfort food classic. Sure, it's not the most nutritious thing you can put into your system, and there's something a bit unnerving about powdered cheese. Yet it has been a best seller for Kraft since its launch in 1937. It has endured because it is fast, cheap, easy to make and it fills hungry stomachs. College students living in dorms can make it on a tiny hot plate. Hikers can cook it over a campfire. All you need is water, a pot and a heat source.

Such grungy origins probably make haute cuisine snobs feel guilty about loving this dish. So they've taken to adding gourmet cheeses like Asiago, Muenster or Fontina, and expensive proteins such as lobster or foie gras. From the standpoint of someone who likes to eat, I have no problem with these twists on good ol' Mac & Cheese. But I don't have the resources to dine like this every day.

Here is my version of KD: Salmon Mac & Cheese. Cook macaroni in a pot of salted water, and in another pot, start the cheese mixture over low heat. The sauce essentially begins as a bechamel sauce: melting butter or margarine, then adding enough flour to make a paste (called a roux), and finishing it with the addition of milk. When the sauce thickens, add grated cheese. You can use one cheese or a blend of cheeses. Just make sure to use cheeses that melt smoothly, like sharp cheddar or Monterey Jack, instead of the stringy or non-melting cheeses. Grating and low heat prevents the cheese proteins from seizing up and ejecting water and butterfat (which would leave you with a rubbery mess swimming in an oily, viscous pool of liquid). Once the cheese has melted, add the cooked, drained macaroni. Transfer the mixture to a baking pan.

Quickly sear a fillet of salmon. Cut into cubes and top the macaroni-cheese mixture with it. Sprinkle bread crumbs or panko on top. Cook under a broiler until the fish has cooked through.

My choice of salmon was not arbitrary. Salmon contains omega-3, tryptophan, vitamin B-12 and vitamin D, all of which are believed to help improve brain function and alleviate depression. Integrating salmon with a universal favorite such as Mac & Cheese meets my cookbook's criteria for healthy comfort foods.