Stephanie Stiavetti

I was attracted to Melt: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese by both the title and the great cover photo. Who doesn't like Mac and Cheese? Who doesn't want to find new ways to combine pasta and cheese? In this regard, the cookbook does not disappoint. There is a broad range of recipes for everything from pasta salads to stovetop dishes to baked casseroles to dessert and on and on. The recipes are clear and well-written, the photography is outstanding - there is lots to like here.

Melt is also full of good information about making different kinds of cheese sauces and about many different kinds of cheese, particularly artisanal cheeses. This is a great primer for those who aren't as addicted to food porn as some of us are (I've been reading cookbooks since I was 8 or 9 sitting on the floor watching my father cook or my mother bake bread). This is a fun read and the recipe for tuna noodle casserole turned out really nicely, although the next time I make it I'll be reducing the amount of bread crumbs dramatically.

This is the first time that I've cooked from a recipe on my Kindle and I have to admit that I much prefer printed matter for this task. I need bigger real estate for my recipes - it sucks having to page back and forth endlessly to get the information you need. I also think cookbooks should bear evidence of use - those spots and stains that let you know someone really used the book and what recipes they cooked. Old-fashioned, but there you have it.

My one quibble with Melt is the focus on artisanal cheeses. In many ways the book reads a bit like a brand-name advertising cookbook with its shout-outs to various brands of artisanal cheese. The authors do offer suggestions for alternative cheeses, although these are also sometimes difficult to find. As a Bay Area denizen I knew immediately that these writers are from here due to their assumption that these cheeses would be available anywhere. In the Bay Area (and Seattle and other West Coast places) we have many food products readily available at our fingertips that just aren't available in other places and it's really easy to forget the relative food privilege that we enjoy. It's easy to forget that for a lot of people in a lot of places the variety of this kind of ingredient is far less broad. Our plenty in these areas makes us a little tone deaf - I'm as guilty of that as the authors. Despite this quibble, this is a fun cookbook and you should be able to find substitutes with either the authors' suggestions or your own research. Lots of great ideas - do try.… (mais)

An intriguing collection of recipes that include pasta and cheese, but might not all strictly be called macaroni and cheese.

This cookbook takes you through types of cheeses and pastas, how to choose them and their history before it delves into a broad range of recipes that range from exotic to home-style.
As a carb-junkie and macaroni and cheese fanatic, I can not wait to try the buffalo mozzarella caprese pasta salad, petit basque with roasted garlic, chili-mac with redwood hill smoked goat cheddar and roaring forties with honey-roasted delicata squash.

Also, some of these cheeses might be harder to find, but not to worry...alternative cheeses are listed.… (mais)