While Americans might waste time waxing nostalgic for a declining age (visions of mom-and-apple-pie and the inflated egotism of our car industry), I would like to point out something that is truly representative of our nation’s greatness. Although the history of macaroni and cheese does not begin in the United States, I’ll be a patriot and say that the dish is quintessentially a reflection of America and the American experience; every foreign attempt has become a mere mockery.
Perhaps I should first emphasize the name “mac ‘n’ cheese.” Rather than the finer diction we associate with its European influences, the contractions point to our nation’s obsession with a news speak that is inventive, efficient, and proudly low-brow. We are the country that puts the “semi” in semiotics, and our nation’s dishes should reflect that tradition.
Mac’n’cheese is also regional. The southern states are traditional and the recipe is, not surprisingly, slow to change. S’mac, in Manhattan, appropriates the melting-pot diversity of the Big Apple. The Midwest eats the comfort food in the comfort of their casserole dish, while the city liberals out west can buy their organic noodles, veggies, and cheeses in any tangy whacked-out way they want. If congress is ever to stop its recent partisan bullshit, it would most likely be over many bowls of mac‘n‘cheese.
But let’s get right down to what “Democracy” should look like in the culinary world. The versatility of mac‘n‘cheese–the cheeses and noodles to choose from, the vegetables and meats that may be added, the heaps of bread crumbs or diced nuts and herbs (of any sort, subject to preference)–has market value, supports creativity and entrepreneurship, encourages competition, and allows consumers to live free without oppression. The homemade mac’n’cheese you make allows you to be you. Now that’s god-damn American.
[...] in Minneapolis, where the crust is doughy and tasteless and the toppings foolish. Macaroni and cheese is not a topping! PIZZA!!! Your name is an exclamation!!! You have your own [...]