grown up mac n' cheese, my mi casa & a peek!

Last night I made Ina's grown up mac n' cheese, I'm not gonna lie, it was pretty darn fantastic. Adam said it was the best mac n' cheese he's ever had. The best mac n' cheese I've ever had is from a restaurant in Portland called Mothers, but this was a runner up I'd say. So, if you want to make some killer comfort food I'd give it a whirl! Here are my 2 cents: it says it makes 2 servings, I say it makes 4, but next time I would make it in smaller gratin dishes and have it as a side rather than a main course like we did last night (its pretty darn rich). Also, it is worth it to do the extra step of blending the fresh bread with the basil to put on top rather than using panko or something like that (which I considered doing to save time but I'm so glad I didn't!). Also, mine only need to bake for like 20 minutes versus the 30-40 the recipe suggests.

**switching gears**

Every Tuesday night we have our mi casa gathering at our house, I really love it. This semester is different from the last 2 semesters. A lot of folks can't make it due to evening classes, work schedules, studying abroad, etc.. We are just a smaller group which changes the dynamic...as much as I wish everyone could come every week and have my big ol' family of 20ish here I kinda like the change for a bit. We aren't doing dinner, rather I just make a dessert each week (last night it was chocolate chip cookies) and we can almost all fit around the couch and we talk about life, play a game, etc.. It's just a sweet change for a season and I'm really enjoying it. Next week we're meeting for dinner at a Mexican restaurant to say farewell to one of our darlings who is studying in Argentina for the term, that will be bittersweet. Its so weird but each of these college students feel like my own and its hard watching them grow up before my eyes! I swear just yesterday they were all timid freshman and now they are confident sophomores close to being juniors!! WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. I keep telling Adam they are going to leave me soon and its not okay!! Maybe we can convert the guest room into a bunk bed haven and they can all stay forever? :) Surely their parents won't mind......

Here's a peek of a lovely senior, more to come! xo