Kaoru: Mac & Cheese (Part II)

I wanted to do so much tonight -- talk on the phone, catch up on sleep, work, read my growing stack of WSJs -- but none of it seemed appealing. Since posting my anemic-looking mac & cheese months ago, I'd been haunted by the dish. I was itching to revisit it, to make it both gooier on the inside and crunchier on top. So rather than responsibly tackling my list of to dos tonight, I went to the market after dinner and tackled the mac & cheese instead.

The biggest changes with what I did were combining just the right amount of macaroni (I think I may have added too much the first time) and adding another splash of milk to the final mixture. I also incorporated pieces of torn ham, sprinkled a LOT more panko crumbs on top and broiled the last 5 minutes to golden perfection. What resulted was a perfectly gooey, and amazingly crunchy delight ... just the way I love it. I'm so glad I passed on doing any form of real work tonight.