The Barefoot Contessa

I love to cook, bake, and experiment with new recipes.  Here is a picture of me while taking a cooking class in Florence, Italy this summer.  I highly recommend cooking combined with travel, but that will be another blog of its own.  :)

My all time favorite go-to recipe books are the Ina Garten "Barefoot Contessa" books.  Tonight I decided to try a recipe from this book...

If you like comfort food and family friendly recipes, this book is for you hands down.
Thumbing through all the tasty photos, I stopped at the "Mac and Cheese" recipe.  I've never actually made Mac and Cheese other than the Kraft boxed version which may still be lingering in my gut as we speak no doubt.  This recipe is for real! 

Here are the ingredients...

7oz elbow macaroni, 2cups milk, 3 slices of white bread with crusts removed to make bread crumbs, 6oz Gruyere cheese grated, 4oz sharp cheddar cheese grated, 4 tbs butter, 6 tomato slices, salt, pepper, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, and 1/4c flour.

This is the finished product after only 15 min of prep and 35 min of baking...and it is so good!  The sliced tomatoes give the meal a nice texture and lighten it up a bit.  This is a great and easy recipe for kids and adults.  I cut the recipe in half, but here is the full version...

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/mac-and-cheese-recipe2/index.html

What recipe books do you find yourself going back to again and again?

Happy eating!