Well, I finally picked up a tube of the newly released Teese® cheddar cheese. My first goal was to see how easy and quick it would be to make something akin to the old Kraft mac ‘n cheese box crap we had as kids. Yeah, nostalgia has me hankering for crap once again.

The Teese was insanely easy to use and melted beautifully but the taste wasn’t quite there yet. I think I’m going to have to keep experimenting but here’s what I did during round 1:

  • 1 log of Teese® cheddar, shredded in a processor for easier melting
  • 1 shallot quartered and sliced thinly on a mandolin
  • Earth Balance margarine, a glop
  • about 1/2 to 3/4 c. rice milk
  • 1 pound of whole wheat pasta shells
  1. Boil pasta shells and drain in sink. Transfer to large bowl.
  2. In same pot, melt butter and saute shallots until translucent.
  3. Add Teese® cheese and a dribble of soy or rice milk, start stirring to melt. Keep stirring until melted. Only add more milk if you’re certain it needs to be thinner.
  4. When all cheese is melted, pour over pasta and toss.

Verdict: Looked like old-fashioned mac ‘n cheese. Easy, no brainer, but doesn’t taste exactly like the Kraft stuff. That may be ok with some folks but I want to perfect crap first and then perhaps the Holy Grail. I’m going to buy another log of Teese and try a few more things, like adding some of the ingredients from a non-Teese recipe. Maybe a little dijon and touch of garlic. Maybe a tad more salt. Paprika. Or nutmeg. But no nutritional yeast, that stuff is rank.

Sorry, no photo, wasn’t worth it. Looked exactly like yellow Kraft mac ‘n cheese, just didn’t taste quite there yet. Still yummy though.